Saturday, February 4, 2012
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.
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.
Monday, January 2, 2012
So Long 2011
I had every intention of getting our Christmas post done before the end of the year so everything would be all in the right year and neat/tidy. Obviously that didn't happen! Even though I am posting late, December was still a great month.
Work was very busy with holiday parties for both our production staff and our office employees. As I was in-charge of both events, that meant many long days at work in December, but it was worth it because they both turned out great. At our office party the winners of the 2011 Outstanding Achievement Award were announced. The nominees for the award were announced a few weeks before the party and I was honored to be nominated and truly thought that is where it would end. I was quite surprised when my manager got up to describe the first winner and started talking about me! I don't write about work much on this blog, but I truly do love my job and my manager. Winning this award after being at the company for only a year and a half was a shock to say the least. I am so grateful to have a job I enjoy with a wonderful company.
The holiday bug finally bit us this year and we put up our tree for the first time since we did Christmas on our own in Kentucky in 2007! It was great to actually feel like it was Christmas time.
We decided to do gifts for each other before heading out of town. I am now the proud owner of a sewing machine!
Next came our trip down to CA to spend Christmas with the Bonham side of the family. We lucked out and had great weather on the drive down. On Christmas Eve we went down to Susanville to visit the rest of the family. We spent some with with Grandma Jeanne and cousin Daryl, who we haven't seen since the wedding. After lunch we ventured over to the Bonham's to see Grandma Marlee, Grandpa Jack and Aunt Sue. Unfortunately we had to hit the road before Bill, Verlene and Kara arrived.
Christmas was spent opening stockings and enjoying bread pudding. Zeke, Katherine and the boys came over in the morning and the present opening continued. The boys were patient and took turns opening.
The hit of the day was from Jerry and LaDel - a kids basketball set.
After it warmed up a little outside the brothers assembled the hoop and it was time to play. The boys were interested for a few minutes and then wandered off. Of course this meant that the grown-ups could have a turn. At least an hour later, after we had all practically worked up a sweat playing we put it away and went back inside. Hope the kids enjoy it as much as the grown-ups did!
We spent a couple more days hanging out with the family, playing games and lots of laughing. Weather was rolling in so we ended up leaving a day before we had planned to, but we were thankfully to have mostly dry road for the trip home. It was another great holiday season and a good trip to CA.
New Year's was quiet for us this year, which was just fine by me. I actually stayed up to watch the ball drop and enjoy a glass of champagne, then it was time for bed!
So long 2011. Bring on 2012.
Work was very busy with holiday parties for both our production staff and our office employees. As I was in-charge of both events, that meant many long days at work in December, but it was worth it because they both turned out great. At our office party the winners of the 2011 Outstanding Achievement Award were announced. The nominees for the award were announced a few weeks before the party and I was honored to be nominated and truly thought that is where it would end. I was quite surprised when my manager got up to describe the first winner and started talking about me! I don't write about work much on this blog, but I truly do love my job and my manager. Winning this award after being at the company for only a year and a half was a shock to say the least. I am so grateful to have a job I enjoy with a wonderful company.
The picture came out blurry, but you get the idea. The winners and the management team.
We decided to do gifts for each other before heading out of town. I am now the proud owner of a sewing machine!
Next came our trip down to CA to spend Christmas with the Bonham side of the family. We lucked out and had great weather on the drive down. On Christmas Eve we went down to Susanville to visit the rest of the family. We spent some with with Grandma Jeanne and cousin Daryl, who we haven't seen since the wedding. After lunch we ventured over to the Bonham's to see Grandma Marlee, Grandpa Jack and Aunt Sue. Unfortunately we had to hit the road before Bill, Verlene and Kara arrived.
Christmas was spent opening stockings and enjoying bread pudding. Zeke, Katherine and the boys came over in the morning and the present opening continued. The boys were patient and took turns opening.
The hit of the day was from Jerry and LaDel - a kids basketball set.
After it warmed up a little outside the brothers assembled the hoop and it was time to play. The boys were interested for a few minutes and then wandered off. Of course this meant that the grown-ups could have a turn. At least an hour later, after we had all practically worked up a sweat playing we put it away and went back inside. Hope the kids enjoy it as much as the grown-ups did!
We spent a couple more days hanging out with the family, playing games and lots of laughing. Weather was rolling in so we ended up leaving a day before we had planned to, but we were thankfully to have mostly dry road for the trip home. It was another great holiday season and a good trip to CA.
New Year's was quiet for us this year, which was just fine by me. I actually stayed up to watch the ball drop and enjoy a glass of champagne, then it was time for bed!
So long 2011. Bring on 2012.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Thankful in Utah
The holiday rotation had us in Utah for Thanksgiving this year. The night before we were leaving SLC it dawned on me that I had not taken any pictures. Oops. None-the-less it was a good trip. The week in UT was spent hanging out with family and of course the traditional friends party.
The friends party had a little change up this year in that we decided to focus more on the food and less on the drinking, which meant no punch. Don't get me wrong, there was still plenty of drinking, but since there was also plenty of food, it meant feeling much better the next day! We also incorporated games into the event. In the end this was a great idea, even though we had to take a few mandatory breaks cause the game was causing us to not be friends! It was great to see many of our friends that we tend to only see once a year.
Thanksgiving day was a feast. We had to bring up an extra table to fit everyone, and it was nice to all be together. I think my mom said it best when she said the thing we are all most thankful for is that Sissy is with us. After a pretty serious car wreck just a couple weeks earlier, things could have been very different this holiday season. We are so happy that she is getting better day by day. Love you Sissy!
Round two of Thanksgiving (or Fakesgiving, as we like to call it) was at Bry and Leisl's house. Since we are still off on our holiday schedules they were not with us on the real day, so we have a bonus day to celebrate. This year we mixed it up and had a pizza party since everyone had enough turkey already.
A few more days of just relaxing, playing games (I heart Perquackey!), upgrading mom to a smartphone (yikes!), raking leaves (child slave labor!), and being with family and then the vacation was over. It was once again a good trip and hard to believe that it is already December now.
The friends party had a little change up this year in that we decided to focus more on the food and less on the drinking, which meant no punch. Don't get me wrong, there was still plenty of drinking, but since there was also plenty of food, it meant feeling much better the next day! We also incorporated games into the event. In the end this was a great idea, even though we had to take a few mandatory breaks cause the game was causing us to not be friends! It was great to see many of our friends that we tend to only see once a year.
Thanksgiving day was a feast. We had to bring up an extra table to fit everyone, and it was nice to all be together. I think my mom said it best when she said the thing we are all most thankful for is that Sissy is with us. After a pretty serious car wreck just a couple weeks earlier, things could have been very different this holiday season. We are so happy that she is getting better day by day. Love you Sissy!
Round two of Thanksgiving (or Fakesgiving, as we like to call it) was at Bry and Leisl's house. Since we are still off on our holiday schedules they were not with us on the real day, so we have a bonus day to celebrate. This year we mixed it up and had a pizza party since everyone had enough turkey already.
A few more days of just relaxing, playing games (I heart Perquackey!), upgrading mom to a smartphone (yikes!), raking leaves (child slave labor!), and being with family and then the vacation was over. It was once again a good trip and hard to believe that it is already December now.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Halloween 2011
Halloween around here has not been too festive the past two years. 2009 - Jake was gone for work and Sissy was visiting. We purchased candy to hand out and then promptly got wrapped up in watching the World Series and forgot to turn on the porch light so kids would know to stop. Oops. 2010 - I don't even remember if Jake was in town or not, but either way I know we (I?) didn't do anything.
2011 was a different story. Sandy and Wes had a party at their house which was fun. There was very appropriately themed food and drink with dead man meatloaf and brain hemorrhage shots served.
We also had fun with our costumes, channeling our love for fitness and mockery. Thanks goes to the Goodwill for my full outfit and our props...
Needless to say, neither of us wore our costume to work on actual Halloween!
2011 was a different story. Sandy and Wes had a party at their house which was fun. There was very appropriately themed food and drink with dead man meatloaf and brain hemorrhage shots served.
We also had fun with our costumes, channeling our love for fitness and mockery. Thanks goes to the Goodwill for my full outfit and our props...
Needless to say, neither of us wore our costume to work on actual Halloween!
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Hiking In The Dark
During Labor Day weekend, we decided that instead of spending our three day weekend sleeping in, we would get up before the crack of dawn and go on a hike! That Sunday we set the alarm for 3:15 AM, finished packing snacks and water and hit the road. By 4:30 we were at the trail head for Angel's Rest in the Columbia River Gorge.
After soaking up the view for a bit longer we started the 2.5 miles back down the mountain. We got home and promptly went back to bed. It was a great feeling to wake up at 9:30 and know we had already put in a 5 mile hike and had the rest of the day ahead of us.
We started up the mountain with headlamps shining. I had never done a hike in the dark and was a bit apprehensive to say the least. I quickly discovered that bugs like light. The light they seemed to prefer was the one on my head. Thus I was constantly flailing my arms around so they wouldn't land on my face. I was not going to be able to take 2.5 miles of this up to the top!! The headlamp was then converted to a wrist lamp which was much better. After a while I got used to the dark and was enjoying the hike. Thankfully we did not come across any wildlife, though we did spot a few scorpions in the scree fields we had to cross. We finally made it to the top, though we hiked faster than anticipated so we had to wait around a bit for the sun to come up. But once it did, it was totally worth it...
After soaking up the view for a bit longer we started the 2.5 miles back down the mountain. We got home and promptly went back to bed. It was a great feeling to wake up at 9:30 and know we had already put in a 5 mile hike and had the rest of the day ahead of us.
On the Water
In August we were invited to join some friends for a day of rafting on the Rogue River. After spending the night in Roseburg we got up and hit the river the next morning. It was a gorgeous day, perfect for being on the water. We paddled down river for a while until we came to a spot to pull over and eat lunch. A couple more hours of lounging in the raft, enjoying the sun and braving the "rapids" we arrived back at the pickup spot. We had worked up an appetite and stopped at a Mexican restaurant before heading back to Roseburg. The next day the guys went fishing while Sandy and I headed back to Portland. It was a fun weekend spent on the water.
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