Well Done Nature, Well Done.

Snow belongs in the mountains. Thankfully around here mother nature agrees and we very rarely get snow in the valley. Last weekend we ventured up to Mt. Hood to pay the snow a visit. I went snowshoeing last year for the first time and really enjoyed it, so we thought we would give it another go. The weather was perfect for a day up on the mountain. Blue sky and sunshine all the way. When we got to the sno-park there were a couple of guided tours getting ready to start so we hustled to get our shoes on and get on the trail before we got stuck behind them. The destination for this trip was Tri-County Ridge, which would give us a view of Mt. Hood to the east, Mt. Jefferson to the south and the Three Sisters even further south. The trek up was not so bad, definitely some steep hills, but the view was going to be worth it. As we got farther into the wilderness area it began to look like we were walking through Narnia! It was beautiful and when we finally got to the top, the view certainly did not disappoint. It was great to be out and enjoying the snow right where it belongs.

Mt. Hood

Mt. Jefferson

Mt. Jefferson and the Three Sisters (on the left)

The Celebration Continues

As part of being nominated for the Outstanding Achievement Award all of the nominees and their family were invited to attend a Trail Blazers game this past week. It was the first time either Jake or I had been to an NBA game, so we were pretty excited. We were in a suite and had some yummy food and a hosted bar to go along with the view. It was a fun night watching the Blazers beat the Charlotte Bobcats.

27. Really, Do I Have To?

I think my grandma was on to something when she picked an age and every year just kept celebrating that same one. She picked one in her 80's but 26 was pretty good to me and I would be alright with repeating it again. Unfortunately the calendar disagrees.

Mom and Mike decided to come up for a visit to spend my birthday with us. It had been sunny and nice for about three days leading up to the day they were arriving. In true Portland fashion however, the morning they got here it was pouring rain and literally did not stop raining until the next morning. Welcome to Oregon!! But we were not about to let a little (ok, a lot) of rain stop us. We headed straight from the airport down to Tillamook to visit the air museum and the cheese factory. Jake and I had been there before, but the massive size of the air museum building still amazed me. Sadly the plane that Mike wanted to see most was out for repairs.

After seeing all the museum had to offer it was off to the cheese factory. The samples were delicious as always, but I was highly disappointed that only one little section of the factory was processing/packaging the cheese, so we did not get the full experience.

The next day was my actual birthday. I went in to work for a few hours and then went to pick up mom and Mike for a day of wine tasting. We made 5 stops in all- Sokol Blosser, Archery Summit, Zerba, Erath and Rex Hill. Each had some good wines, and they spoiled me and stocked our wine rack with a mix of whites and reds. It is great to have such good wine so close to home. Don't worry though, it wasn't just drinking all day, we also stopped for some lunch at a delicious cafe in Dundee, the Red Hills Market. When Jake got off work he joined us for dinner at Mingo. It was a very good birthday and fun to have visitors along for the ride.