Week Two in Sandpoint

Bridge/Hwy coming into Sandpoint

So we have now been in Sandpoint for two weeks, this week really flew by!

Work for me (Kara) has been really good. I don't feel completely comfortable with everything yet, but it's coming along well. The people I work with are great, and very helpful with newbies! Everyone seems to really love their jobs, and a few spend time there on days off sometimes just to hang out. I think that's a good sign a decent place to work. One crazy thing is that every day, someone brings in something for everyone to eat. Doughnuts (on four different days already), veggies, fruit, chips & dip, chili, candy, chocolate cake, popcorn, coffee, etc. (That's only for the first 2 weeks!). I am really going to need to watch how many 'snacks' I'm munching on between patients! :) It's been interesting to me to get to know the patients I work with since the work is completely different than in ND. Most of the older people I got to work with in ND and MN grew up farming or ranching, and here most people grew up being loggers. I even had one patient here whose grandma came here from Europe and was forced to work at a tuna cannery in California when she was 8. Crazy! So now it's  Andy's turn....

Round Lake/Anniversary

Hello fellow blog followers! So the interview I had  last week went well. I am on the substitute teaching list at a charter school for middle and high school students. I  haven't gotten called yet, but was told that I could be as busy as 3-5 days/week. I guess I'll just have to wait and see. I have had a few chances to network with business professionals around the area through chamber events and local business groups. I have a busy week ahead following up on employment leads such as:  short term marketing positions at 2 local coffee roasteries, and a possible sales position at a software company. Those are the job leads that would be based out of Sandpoint so far. In addition to that, I am also working on sales opportunities with a couple logistics companies as well as an audio and web meeting solutions co. You know the old saying, "if you throw enough stuff on the wall, something's gotta stick"! If anyone has any other ideas I am all ears. :) When I'm not job hunting I spend my time biking up mountains, and finding new trails to run. Back to Kare...

Round Lake State Park

Sour Patch Kid? :)

Round Lake

This past week we went hiking at Round Lake on our anniversary, which was really fun. They have pretty leveled trails in the mountains/trees surrounding a smaller lake. Yesterday we went hiking up Schweitzer, the mountain we are living on, called Mickinnick Trail. It was a pretty steep trail at times, but had amazing views! I was reminded just how out of shape I am, as today I am walking around like I need both hips replaced. :) We have started going to a church in town that we really like. Here's a link to their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Sandpoint-ID/Grace-Sandpoint/232884868320?ref=ts . We have met a few people there and are hoping to meet more as we go. We are really missing friends and family this week, since we don't have the ability to be in contact as often and aren't able just to go hang out with people we know. We are hoping to have more opportunities to hang out with new friends after work and on weekends as soon as we can. 

Trees turning on Mickinnick Trail

 We hope that you are all finding time to enjoy the beginning of fall---heard it was gorgeous in ND today! Thanks for the care packages and cards this week, we really appreciate it. I am working on getting some return mail out soon! :) If anyone gets an itch to send a letter, our address is PO Box 2484, Sandpoint ID 83864. Have a great week!!

View of Sandpoint from the top of the trail

Week One So Far.....

Since Sandpoint is beautiful and the days are getting shorter and shorter, we've been trying to take advantage of as much outside time as possible. On Monday, we took a walk around town and checked out some local businesses. Yesterday, we went for a shorter bike ride looking for fun trails. Andy took some of them and went on a long bike ride this morning. 

Taken from one of the trails last night.

After I got off work tonight, a couple of my co-workers were nice enough to borrow us kayaks and we hit the lake. I guess it's the biggest lake in Idaho and one of the deepest in the world (top ten or something like that). Sandpoint is a city built around part of this lake, which is surrounded by mountains.....gorgeous scenery!!!  It's been a lot of fun!! It's supposed to rain the rest of the week, so then we will probably do some more unpacking/organizing! Our landlord called last night to tell us that we need to park in the garage because some black bears have been breaking into cars in our neighborhood looking for food. I guess they're ripping off car doors for a candy bar. Luckily they're black bears, which I am told don't really like to snack on people parts. I guess the berry season was really short this year, so they haven't had as much food as usual.

Work has been going well so far. I feel a little slow on the documentation system they have, but I really like it. They have a super productive team and work side by side together. Each morning we have a meeting that is 30-60 minutes long addressing different things. Some are to talk about patients on Medicare and how well they are doing w/ therapy, updating their goals, etc., some are just to update us all on what's going on, and today they even had a time where you just let out anything you had to say about/for anyone, from problems to invitations to gatherings. I actually document what I did for each minute of my day, so my productivity balances out. I haven't had to do this at a job yet, but I like being able to keep track of it personally. I think I will learn a lot on this travel assignment!! They are also offering me free continuing education so that will be fantastic! 

Andy  has a job interview tomorrow, and has made a lot of calls/filled out a lot of applications this week. We are looking for something he can do for this entire travel period rather than just 13 weeks at a time. Surprisingly, he has had a lot of leads, so that's exciting. I just hope he is able to enjoy this next little bit being off of work, since I've had a lot more time off in the past few years than he has. :) 

I am still trying to get used to this time zone, and am not a huge fan of it. It's about a 20-30 minute drive from town up to our place, so by the time we get done in town and get back up here, it's already 8 pm or so, which means 10:00 central time. So if anyone wants to get a hold of us, please call in case we don't! :) I better get to bed, but here are a couple pics from kayaking tonight. They aren't the best since they're from my phone, but we haven't put the others on the computer yet.....sorry!

We Made It!!!!!

So after a few days journey, we are finally here!!!

I'll quick recap the rest of our trek and make a quick post. So we went to Boise from Yellowstone and stayed w/ my aunt and uncle Jane and Marv. We were able to catch up w/ her daughters (Anna and Alecia) and their families as well as my Aunt Kathy, and her daughter Kristy's family. We had a great time catching up with them and getting shown around. They were amazing hosts we hope to see them again while we are in Idaho. On Friday, we traveled to Couer d'Alene, in northern Idaho. Instead of driving through the mountain ranges the whole way through Idaho, we were advised to drive through Oregon and Washington instead. It's a longer distance but takes the same amount of time because of less mountains. It actually went pretty quickly and we saw some gorgeous scenery along the way. We stayed with my cousin Brooke and her family once we got there. We got to know CdA a lot better and had a lot of fun with her and her family, and were able to see my cousin Taylor & his girlfriend as well. It's a great city with a lot to do!

Today we drove up to Sandpoint, which is where I will be working. It's absolutely gorgeous. The town is in a valley surrounded by mountains, and in the middle, is the biggest lake in Idaho. We met up with the guy whose condo we will be living in and he said, "Welcome to Sandpoint. This is the town, and you will be living way up there," while he pointed to the top of a nearby mountain. We followed him up, thinking it would be just a little way up the mountain, but didn't stop driving until we got to the top. We are right by the Schweitzer ski resort, and could easily walk to the lift from our place. Crazy. It's only 9 or so miles, but it takes about a half hour to get here. I'll add pics tomorrow, but it's just getting to late at the moment. After we settled in a bit, we drove into town, ate supper, found where I will be working, and got groceries. We are in pacific time so it was pitch black by the time we got back up to the mountain, which meant a beautiful sky full of stars.....and the smell of pine needles of course. We hope to be able to explore the town a lot more this week.

I start work tomorrow and am excited but nervous too, as I think it is with most first days. I don't think it has hit me yet that I'm not home, since we've been so busy, but have a feeling it will hit me this week. I will definitely be missing family and friends while we are gone. But I am so glad that Andy is along with me. It makes me feel like there really is no reason to be lonely because it is going to be so great doing this together. Anyway, I better get going, but hopefully will have time to fill in some of the gaps tomorrow or Tuesday including lots of pictures from our week long trip to Sandpoint!

And we're off!!!

So you know how things never really hit you until they happen? Let's just say, both Kara and I experienced that while we were saying our goodbyes. We knew it would be hard with our friends and family, but I never really knew it would be so hard to leave my brother. He's my best friend, along with Kara of course, and we've been together forever. If you are a twin, you know what I'm talking about. Although it was tough, I am really excited for this experience with Kara.

It's only been a day, and we've already had a great trip. It all started from Hazen yesterday, and we got to Yellowstone last night. My good friend John was kind enough to let us stay at his cabin for the night. This morning, we had a relaxing morning, toured the park a bit, and took off for Boise. Some of Kara's family lives there so we wanted to visit them for a couple days. Along the way we saw some incredible scenery: the Grand Tetons, many streams & rivers, and lots of wildlife. We listened to some of our favorite christian CDs while we admired God's creation. It's incredible to think of how big God is and how small we are. We know that He has had his hand in this moving process from the very beginning.

 My friend John's place at Yellowstone

Yesterday we traveled for about 12 hours and today will be about 9 or 10 including pit stops in Yellowstone. Tomorrow will be spent in Boise relaxing with family. We plan to be in Coeur d'Alene for part of the weekend to visit more family, and will be in Sandpoint by Sunday.

                                               The 6-cylinder is really going to have to do work!
                                                                   Wish it had a hemi!

Sorry the pics are a little blurry, they are from the phone. We will add more from our camera later---we have tons! We'd also like to give a shout out to Century Baptist Youth Group. We'll be checking up on you regularly. ;-)