All Caught Up

I think this will finally catch us up on the blog. A couple weekends ago Lindi came to the great state of Oregon for a psychology convention in Portland and had the pleasure of being the first to sleep on our couch. Since Jake and I were working during the day and Lin was at the convention (aka shopping downtown!), there was not a whole lot of excitement during her trip. We tried out a Mexican restaurant nearby and then just enjoyed a few adult beverages at home one night. Watching Step-Brothers was the activity the next night. Then came Sunday and the real fun happened. Lindi had never been to a vineyard, and since there are a few (dozen) close by we thought we would share the wealth. We headed to David Hill first and enjoyed a few samples. We each bought a bottle of the house white to enjoy later. There was another vineyard not too far away, so we headed down the road and found Shafer's. This was not a typical vineyard. In addition to the wine samples, they also had a large variety of jams to taste on crackers. There was also a room filled with Christmas decorations to look at. Mostly ornaments and things to set on tables, but there was every size shape and design you could think of, and more. It was a little too much Christmas for me (since I am a scrooge and all), so I wandered for a bit and then returned to the wine. We bought another bottle here and then headed back home.

The next weekend I headed to Utah for Jess's graduation ceremony. I still can't believe my baby sister is graduated from college!! I am so proud. Due to a little miracle I made it on the first flight. I greatly enjoyed the very short flight now that we are back on the west coast, it is no longer an all day excursion to visit family. Everyone was together at Bry and Leisl's house for a combo birthday (Xavier and Mom) and graduation party. Upon arriving at the house I was greeted by a crowd of mask wearers afraid of the pig flu. Sadly this was not documented on film. We enjoyed dinner, cupcakes, and just hanging out. After the crowd started thinning out we looked around and realized that it was just Jess, Sis, Bry and I in the room. Seeing as how this does not happen often, we decided it must be documented. Our first attempt was with Sis's camera in the cupboard on self timer. It was not too bad, but we tried the self portait style as well and it turned out pretty good.

Can you tell we are related at all?

There are no words!

The next day Mom and I headed to Logan to keep Nana and Uncle Larry company. Jess and Lindi joined us for dinner at Cafe Sabor. I also went to visit Jenny and Rob, and Amanda came by too. It was fun to see them again and catch up. Saturday was the big day, and of course it was raining. Everyone else arrived in Logan that morning and met at Kappa Delta. I then started the shuttle service getting the graduating girls, then the parents, aunt and uncle to the Spectrum so they didn't have to walk in the rain. The ceremony was good, and Jess and Lauren sat in back so the Leystra's would make it before she had to walk (Xavier had a soccer game that morning too). Lin and I headed down to the floor and played papparatzi during their walk.

Before the ceremony. Good job girls, it's official!

We went back to KD to take pics with the fam since it was raining. There are none here because really we just took too many. We had lunch, watched the Derby and then it was time to head back to SLC. Don't worry Lin, we will do this all again next year with you! Somehow I was convinced to go out to Liquid Joe's on my last night in town. I had never been before, and all I can say is it was interesting. I had some fun and the people watching was excellent, but I am glad that is not an every weekend experience. It was great to see the fam and friends that I had not seen in a while. Congrats again Jessie, we are all very proud!!

Playing Catch-up

We have fallen behind on our blogging, so this is my attempt to abbreviate the last few weeks and catch-up to the now.

My first weekend home, Jonas (my college roommate), Dohnele and Emma Parker came up from Sutherlin, OR to visit. We hoped to do some shopping with them and then go to the Portland Zoo, however the rain prevented us from making it to the Zoo. Instead, after shopping at IKEA, we went to Multnomah Falls in the rain....go figure. Even with the rain it was still a great time and very pretty. Afterwards we decided to check out Powell's Books downtown, which is a ginormous (yeah that is officially a word now) book store. This place was impressive! So large even after we all split up for an hour we did not cover the entire store! We were happy to have the Parkers and hope they will come visit again.

Jonas and Dohnele with their daughter Emma

The next weekend Kari and I made the drive south to visit my parents in Alturas. My brother Zeke came up from the valley as well, so the parents had a full house for the weekend, with all their boys back at once. It was very nice to see the family and visit with everyone, even though it was a short weekend trip.

Kari and I decided to explore a little this past week and take a hike. I picked a rather easy hike in the gorge that leads to a nice overview, however before we left I realized the storm moving in would obstruct the views. Instead, we went to a nearby state park called Molalla River and walked the trail system there. It was nice to get outside and we practically had the trails to ourselves. The trails mostly paralleled the Willamette and then the Molalla Rivers, where we saw some waterfowl and plenty of deer tracks. This park is supposed to be home to the Willamette Valley's largest blue heron rookery, so we will have to return when the birds are there. All in all, a nice easy walk through the woods and along the rivers.

I told her we were lost in the woods and this is what I got.

Boobies, Beaches and Beer

So I have finally found the time to sit down and write my first blog post. Kari has done an excellent job of keeping you all up to date, but I decided to expand on my travels and our most recent adventures here in Portland.

In January I started my new job with Island Conservation and after a week in Portland for training, spent a few weeks in Ecuador on my first project. This was my first time visiting Ecuador and I was very excited to see some of this diverse country. We flew into Guayaquil and then drove to the small coastal town of Puerto Lopez, which was quite a tour as we went from big city to very rural towns. The poverty levels in some of the small towns we drove through reminded me of the prosperity we enjoy back in the States and how we should not take it for granted. After a day in Puerto Lopez spent finalizing our gear and supplies, we were ferried out to our final destination Isla de Plata. The "Poor man's Galapagos" as it is often called, is part of the Machalilla National Park and is an important breeding ground for several seabird species. In fact, traversing around the island consisted of wading through colonies of birds, who often were standing directly in the middle of the trail. Blue-footed and Nazka (masked) boobies were quite common, as well as Magnificent frigate birds and Red-billed Tropic birds. The island also hosts two species of Albatross (including the Waved, which is critically endangered) although they were not present during our time there. Additionally there are numerous passerines that were continually showing up on the island and a few residents that provided daily entertainment, such as the local mocking birds. In all, the island is a magnificent treasure with diverse flora and fauna that seemed to have something new to show you everyday. Our conservation work there should have a very positive impact on the bird life and our hope is that our efforts will aide in helping the island return to a more natural state.

After returning from Ecuador, I spent my time off moving Kari and our belongings across the country to Portland and unpacking boxes in our new home. Unfortunately I was not able to help with all the unpacking and settling in as I left again on my next tour, bound for Puerto Rico. This time our destination was a small island off the NW coast of Puerto Rico called Desecheo, which is part of the US National Wildlife Refuge system. Historically this island hosted the largest nesting colony of Brown Boobies in the world and several other seabird species, however the booby colony is now reduced to a sparse few that only roost on the cliff faces and other species visit infrequently. The island also has several endemic species including a species of anole that was quite prevalent. For this trip we flew into San Juan, drove across the island and parked it in Boqueron for a few days as we prepped for four weeks in island. On our departure day the weather decided to not cooperate and the wind shut down our helicopter operations (the easiest way to get on/off island is by helicopter). We were shut down for two extra days waiting for better weather, which I spent working hard on my tan at the beach. However, the weather finally cleared and we were off to work, not to return to civilization for four weeks. Our work there should have major impacts on all species and should aid in the restoration of the islands fragile ecosystem.

Now, you know about the months spent surrounded by boobies and the beaches....on to the beer! Kari and I joined two other couples last weekend for a nice trip to Portland's Spring Beer and Wine Fest. Portland is home to many breweries and the PacNW is a great place to be if you love good beer. Oregon's wine country is also situated close to Portland and many a local winery made the treck to share their lovely creations. We hopped on the Tri-Met (no drunk driving!) and headed down town. There was an amazing selection of breweries and vineyards, not to mention eateries and specialty foods (such as my fav. pickled garlic!). Needless to say we spent the entire day there and got our moneys worth! Kari enjoyed her wine sampling, while I stuck to beer. Although, there were also a few distillers, that had some specialty liquors. I would highly recommend Ben Distillery's "Mazama Infused Pepper Vodka", it is simply amazing. Also, Kari found a strawberry lemonade vodka cocktail (pre-mixed), called "Hello Lovely", that she enjoyed. Anyway, too many good beers to remember.....er maybe too many good beers equals loss of memory? Either way, we both enjoyed tasting the different varieties and had a great time. Check out some pictures from my travels at http://picasaweb.google.com/karibonham/SlideShow#

Smelly McGee and Chatty Chatterson

There is really not too much going on, but I felt the need to blog today. Jake is still in Puerto Rico, but returns home in just under two weeks. This project seems longer than the last time he was gone, but I was busy packing and getting ready to move last time, so I was not thinking about it so much. Life is good though. I am still adjusting to working from home. It is very quiet, but at least I can get laundry done during the day so it isn't taking up my weekend.

On Friday I met with a girl that also works for UPG and lives in the area. It was nice to get out of the house and be social, even if it was only for an hour. I am sure we will hang out again. Friday I also decided to head to the DMV and get my Oregon license. I had been putting this off because when I looked online I found out that you have to take the written test, even if you already have a license from another state! What if I don't pass, how embarrassing! I decided Friday was the day, because the current office is just down the street, but April 1 it is moving farther away. So I headed out with the many required documents and figured it would not be too crowded because it was 3 o'clock in the afternoon. WRONG! Turns out that about a million kids in Beaverton were turning 16 on Friday! So I took my number and found a place to stand. Finally I was called to the payment booth, then you have to take your application to the testing booth and wait again. As I watched a few kids come out of the testing room with heads hanging down, I started to wonder if I was going to pass this test! I mean, these kids have been reading the handbook and sitting through driver's ed for who know's how long and they are not passing. I on the other hand have not taken a driver's test in over 8 years! The pleasant (not!) lady behind the desk called me back for my test and I found the assigned computer. Of course I was seated right between Smelly McGee and Pregnant Lady Talking to the Computer! The first few questions were not bad. Then I missed a couple, but seriously who knew that you can turn left on a red light as long as you are turning to a one way road! When I learned to drive red meant stop. None-the-less, I finished the test and received a passing score. This required more paying, and waiting to get a picture taken. After all of that, they do not even give you the license on site. I have a piece of paper and will get the license in the mail in 5 to 10 business days. Thankfully my KY license plates don't expire until next January, so I will not have to go back there again for a long time!

In other news, I have decided that I need to read more so I don't waste my life away watching re-runs of TV shows I have already seen. I have added the list of recently read books to the side-bar to keep track of what I read and to recommend to others. Enjoy! So today I headed down to the library and got a card. I have not had a library card in a very long time, but with the lovely state of the economy, I figure getting books for free is a pretty good way to go. As I am looking at a book a girl in the same aisle is walking closer and closer to me while looking at the shelves. I thought to myself "she must know I am here because she just walked by me 30 seconds ago". Not so much. I took a few baby steps to the right in hopes that the motion would get her to pay attention. Again, not so much. She literally walked right into me. To her this must have meant that we were supposed to be friends because instead of apologizing and moving on with our individual searches, she decided to strike up a (rather loud and one sided) conversation with me. Now I know I am in no position to reject friends at this point, but I now know way more about this person than I ever wished to. She is really into sci-fi (obvious by the looks of her) but trying to branch out, she recently paid for 4 ice skating lessons and only attended 1, and she was mad because her husband broke the umbrella she wanted to use today. During all of this the only words to come out of my mouth are Oh, really; Ah-ha; and Right. At this point she was also reading the descriptions of books to me. She mentioned wanting a funny book so I quickly recommended Jen Lancaster. This suggestion was for 2 reasons - 1) her books seriously are hilarious and 2) that meant she had to go to L and we were currently in A. Worked like a charm. Off she went. All in all my first Beaverton Library experience was an interesting one, but I will definitely be back, and watching out for Chatty Chattersons.

Wine, Doughnuts and One Way Streets

That pretty much sums up my weekend. My wonderful friends Michelle and Kevin decided last week that they were going to drive up from Utah to see me for the weekend. That's right, an 11 hour drive each way for a weekend trip! Much to my surprise, when they arrived in Beaverton at 4:30 Saturday morning my amazing little, Sara, was with them! Needless to say, after they got here everyone went back to sleep. We then spent the rest of the day being tourists. After a very long detour, many u-turns and wondering how we drove right past it: we went to a local vineyard - Ponzi. We did a wine tasting and I actually found 2 wines that I liked! The first one we tasted was a 2007 Pinot Gris and it was lovely. Another we tried was the dessert wine - a 2006 Vino Gelato. Wow, is all I can say about it. We decided it would be great with vanilla ice cream and a peach. We had a lot of fun and it will be a must see when Jake is back in town.


After the tasting we headed to a local diner that we had stopped at earlier to ask for directions. It turned out that the place had only opened the day before. It was very mom and pop and the food was pretty good. We decided to head to downtown Portland and check out a few sights. We quickly discovered that downtown is full of one way streets and none of them seemed to be going the way that we needed them to. On the positive side, we went on a great little tour of Portland. Our first stop was Powell's Books. This place was totally overwhelming! The building took up a full block and it was 4 stories of every book you can imagine. A Pike, Brian, that Sara, Michelle and Kevin know is from Portland and was home for Spring Break so he met up with us there and played tour guide. We then headed to Voodoo Doughnuts for a sweet treat. It was a tiny store and there was a line out the door, but it was totally worth the wait. They do crazy things with doughnuts - adding cereal, Oreo's and even bacon on top! It was delicious. After a little more walking around we decided to head to Brian's house to just hang out. We had dinner and a few drinks and just enjoyed relaxing. We even found the stash of old toys that Brian and his sister used to play with and had a blast from the past with all the Barbies!


Sunday was spent at the Portland Saturday Market (Sunday's too). It is an open air craft market downtown that sells everything you can imagine. Getting to the market was yet another adventure including more u-turns and issues with one way streets while trying to find the light rail stop that actually had parking. We finally made it downtown and saw many interesting things both along the way and at the market. The doughnuts from the day before were so good that we decided to go back again because we were so close to the shop. A little more wandering around town, back on the train and we were home again. It was a low key night cause I had to work the next morning and they were driving back to Utah. So we walked to the Chinese restaurant up the street for dinner and watched a movie. Overall it was a very fun weekend.

I loved having visitors! Thanks for coming to see me guys!

Life Update

So, we finally have real internet (not a wireless connection from the neighbor!) and I can update the blog. It has been a while and a lot has changed since the last post. Jake arrived safely back in the country (he will post more about that later) and his travels did not end there. He flew into Portland from Ecuador. Left Portland the next morning to head to Cincinnati. Had a day off of travel and then we started the 4 day drive across the country. The drive was long, but we did not have any real weather trouble so that made things much easier. In just our luck fashion, Murphy came down with an infection the morning before we started driving, so he was not feeling well the whole drive and spent the vast majority laying on Jake's lap. I was glad he was behaving, but felt bad that he didn't feel good. We arrived in Beaverton and I got to see our new apartment. I must say that Jake has a good track record for finding a place for us to live without me being there. I have not taken any pictures, but I will work on that this weekend.

Our stuff was with a moving company and they were not arriving until the next morning. So we went and got a key to Jake's work storage unit from his boss and found a sleeping bag and camp pillows to use for the night. At this point Murphy was still not acting like himself so we decided that we would look for a vet and take him in on Monday. The moving company came early the next morning and our living room filled up quickly with all of our belongings. We spent our first day here beginning to unpack the essentials - bed, shower curtain and kitchen things. The day went by quick and we made a lot of progress. The next morning Murphy seemed to have gotten worse over night and we decided that he needed to see a vet that day. It was a Sunday, so the only place that was open was the emergency clinic, so we got in the car and were on our way. This turned out to be not such a great day. After a few hours at the clinic we learned his kidney's were failing and we had to make one of the hardest decisions and we had him put to sleep. I keep reminding myself that it was the best for him, but he is definately missed. We had lots of fun with him and will never forget about him.

Murphy in one of his favorite resting spots.

We stayed busy the rest of the week trying to get things unpacked and set up before Jake left for his next project. We also enjoyed getting to know our way around town and even went out for dinner and drinks with a couple of the guys that Jake works with. I took Jake to the airport on Tuesday and he is now enjoying himself in Puerto Rico. Yesterday we finally got internet and I could actually work. I am still getting used to working from home, but enjoying it so far.

That is about all the excitement from Oregon for now. Come visit if you would like!

Birthday and Boxes

Since Jake was out of the country, my loving mother scheduled her flights for the month so she would be in Cincinnati on my birthday. I was excited to see her, even if she was only going to be here for one night. Then, a couple weeks before she was coming, I was talking to Sissy and was having a slight freak out about packing (or the lack there of). So she let the surprise out early that she was coming into town for my birthday and staying for the weekend to help me pack. I was even more excited! Sadly though, this was highly de-motivating for my packing. I did not pack one thing between the time I found out she was coming and when they actually got here.

On my birthday, Jake had planned to have flowers delivered to my work. He is just so wonderful! I left work early to go pick up Mom and Sis from the airport since their flights were arriving about the same time. We went out to Brio's for dinner (very good Italian food). It was fun because that is where Jake and I went the night we got engaged, and it was likely the last time I would be there. One of the lovely sights of the evening was a woman dressed in a hideous outfit, that we were sure she thought looked really good. We found it hard to believe that a gold lemme shirt with a short fur coat was fashionable, but hey what do we know? Sis got pictures on her phone, but I do not have any to share. We then proceeded to blind the restaurant with Sis's bright flash taking many pictures of ourselves.

What do you mean family resemblance?

We spent the rest of the night just hanging out at my apartment. Sadly, they are both allergic to cats, so it was less than ideal. Murphy says he is sorry for being hairy.

We took Mom back to the airport the next morning so she could finish her trip. Sis and I headed back to start packing! I have learned that you don't realize how much stuff you have until you have to put everything into boxes!! Our first cross country move was pretty easy, we had very little furniture and hardly any stuff. This time around we have more furniture and all of the things we acquired by getting married which has drastically increase our stuff count! Sis is a pro packer though and we made great progress. Now my living room looks like a storage unit, but that is better than Jake coming back and nothing being packed. Thanks Sis! Murphy has enjoyed all of the new things to climb on and get inside of, so he has not really cared that it is a disaster zone.


Things are going well though. This coming week will be my last in the office. My job is great and is allowing me to work from home in Oregon at least until the summer. I have never worked from home before, so it will be interesting. I know I will miss the people I get to see everyday, including my Kentucky mom. Jake gets back to Portland next Saturday and I can't believe he has been gone for 4.5 weeks already, time has gone by so fast. I am very excited to see him and ready to get this move done with and start settling into our new home.