From Arizona to Alaska

Our Story

I’m not really sure how to start this but I guess the beginning of our family’s story starts in Arizona where I met my wife. We met in Tucson! I’m originally from Phoenix and moved down to Tucson because it was a smaller city and Phoenix was just too much for me. My wife and I met at Amazon and to be honest. I knew from the moment I met her that she was the one. I know that sounds really cliche and corny and I never ever really believed that was a feeling until it actually happened to me. You watch movies all the time, hear people talk about that unimaginable moment, and all of a sudden it happens to you; it’s very surreal to say the least. Fast forward a year half into our relationship; my wife ends up pregnant with our now 1 year old daughter! The crazy part about her pregnancy was that during the time neither one of us had a job and were sharing a one bedroom apartment with a good friend of mine at the time. We were sleeping on a pullout couch in the living room and neither one of our parents knew she was pregnant because we weren’t married and both jobless. I had tried to join the airforce in the past 3 times and due to medical reasons, they wouldn’t let me in.

(Now before I continue. This isn’t a sad story or a sympathetic one. Writing our story and really thinking about it as I type these words. We’ve came a long way and just actually putting it out there in the open; gets me amped up, knowing we really made things work out)

Continuing…when my wife was 7 months (barely showing) i finally sat down with her parents (whom I had never met before) and dropped the news. I wasn’t scared because I had faith that I could handle the responsibilities of what were to come but I did have to come up with a game plan. Throughout her pregnancy and hiding things from our parents; I tried for the 4th time to enlist into the airforce and sure enough…I GOT IN. I don’t believe in coincidence tbh, and everybody believes in what they believe in but I forsure viewed that as a blessing. Now I had a career which could provide medical, financial, & structural stability for my family; so when it came time to drop the news. I explained eveything to her parents and let them know that I would be leaving for boot camp June 21st and would be back August 12th if I made it through. Afterwards, I promised them that I planned to marry my wife if we could make it through the long distance of boot camp, and tech school together. It sounds bad but at the moment my wife and I agreed that we didn’t just want to get married because she was pregnant. First we needed a few trials and tribulations to make sure this is what we wanted to do. Well, long behold. I made it through boot camp. I graduated August 12th and my daughter was born August 16th. I missed her birth but my & my wife’s parents were super supportive. We made it with no problems through tech school, FaceTimed everyday, and when I came back home for 2 weeks, before leaving to Alaska. We got married in that small amount of time! I also got to see my beautiful daughter for the first time as well! She was 4 1/2 months looking at me like “who’s this guy???” Surprise. I’m ya daddy girl haha! The story isn’t over though! In 2 weeks prior to me leaving. We got married, went on base and got I.d. Cards, and completed a lot of paperwork to be on a waitlist for a house on JBER so we could all be a family!

Story is still not over…

I left and came to Anchorage December 21st of 2022 by myself because we were waiting for a spot for a house still, my old car would not keep up with the snowy terrain we’re weren’t used to, and we still had to wait for our household goods to get here. I just didn’t think it would be beneficial for my wife and newborn to be up here without anything.

So from December 21st to March 23rd. I managed to find a car in Arizona and have it shipped. Move into our new house on base, and get the house setup so when my wife walked off that plane on the 24th, they were move in ready and by move in ready I mean

1) Daughters room was completely finished
2) our room was completely finished
3) Living room was done

The only thing that we needed was food, which we went to Costco and bought a bunch because dad was living like a college student.

(Unfortunately our newborn and my wife were not doing top ramen everyday)

But that’s our story! In I’d say a year. We’ve came a long way and sometimes I think back to when I had to look her parents In their faces and let them know i was going to take care of their daughter. I’m happy I followed through.

We’ve both almost been here a year. I’m coming up on a year before her and we’re still getting used to the climate coming from Arizona but overall, it’s a beautiful place to be honest!

Number of Household Members: 3

Duty Station: JBER

Our Family’s Wish

Wish #1 – Snow Blower – I’d prefer gas because it’s easier or something with a battery pack. I thought I could just shovel snow but even i can’t keep up with nature.

Wish # 2 – Snow tires – for a 2013 GMC Terrain Denali. Tires are expensive and we’re driving as slow as we can to conserve the tread when stopping but they won’t last forever to be honest

Wish # 3 – Deep Freezer – We go to Costco a lot but the wife and I don’t have a lot of storage for chicken, steak, etc with the base housing fridges so a deep freezer is something we’ve been looking for as well!

It’s hard to say what’s priority because I feel like they’re all important to us, as well as

(who am I to prioritize anything? Just be happy that receiving something is an option) so there’s that!