Always an Adventure With Us

So another trip home for Jake has come and gone. For the most part we just relaxed and enjoyed getting to spend a couple weeks together. We had a fun night out with Wes and Sandy to celebrate Jake's fake birthday, since he will be on island for his actual birthday. We had fun at the Portland Zoo. Jake and his co-worker Rory went fishing. We went to see District 9. Our big excitement was going to be a trip to CA to see Jake's family over Labor Day weekend. In typical fashion it proved to be more of an adventure than anticipated.

We got packed and headed out on Friday. The car was full because we were taking many boxes of kitchen things for Jake's brother Ethan to have now that he has moved out to start college. Chugging along, and pleased that the traffic was not too horrible, we made it just north of the tiny town of Curtin, OR (3 hours from home) before it all went downhill. The car made a little jerky motion that felt like a tire had gone flat, so I pulled over and Jake took a look. None of the tires looked flat, so we decided to give it another go. A few miles later, it was still not feeling right so we took the next exit and found that what the road sign claimed to be a gas station, was actually just an abandoned building that used to be a gas station. We pulled over anyway and when Jake got out of the car he noticed smoke coming out of the wheel well in the back right side. Now I am not a car expert by any stretch but I do know that smoke is a bad sign! Out came the road side assistance card cause there was no way we could drive it again and had to get a tow. I am quite familiar with this process now, as I had to get a tow just a couple weeks before when my starter died!

By the time the tow truck arrived and took us back to Eugene (30 miles away) it was past closing time for most places and it was not looking promising for us to make it to CA. Amazingly there was a shop open so we stopped to see what they could tell us. There was nothing they could do for us that night, but proved that the owner operated stores care so much more than the chains. The owner said they would come in the next morning (even though they were supposed to be closed) to see if they could fix it and get us back on the road. As if this was not enough, he then called local hotels to find us a deal since we were stuck there for the night. To top it all off, the tow truck driver then drove us to the hotel so we didn't have to drag our stuff around town. The next day we got the sad news that the problem was worse than expected (broken wheel bearings and leaking brake system) and would not be fixed until after the holiday. Luckily our friends Jonas and Dohnele who live in Sutherlin were planning to go to Portland and they kindly stopped in Eugene to pick us up and take us home.

So the weekend did not turn out quite like we had planned, but that seems to be par for the course with us! I now have my car back and hope that it has got all the bugs out and will stop hating me now. I don't want to see it like this anymore.....

1 Week Down, 12 Weeks To Go

So I have started the P90X workout program and have successfully survived the first week. Well I am really only half doing the program because I am not following the diet part. I am too picky of an eater and really just don't like to cook for myself all that much. So I figured, why start a diet I will only fail at? That would just make me feel bad. So I am trying to eat a little better and doing the workout program. So far, so good, though it was questionable at first. These are serious workouts!! Tony (the leader on the videos) is kind of a tool, but it is inspiring me to get in shape so I can find him and punch him! Only 12 more (very long!) weeks to go.

Really not much else going on here in lovely Beaverton these days. Our friends Sandy and Wes moved here at the beginning of the month. Wes is working with Jake, so Sandy and I have been hanging out while the boys are out on island. We went to see Julie and Julia last weekend. It was a cute movie, but we learned a valuable lesson... when the ticket guy tells you it is getting kind or full, always opt for the next showing. We learned this lesson the hard way. We bought the tickets and figured it would not be all that bad. Wrong. We ended up on the second row! Movies look very different from that angle, and not in a good way! It was still a good movie though.

Jake will be home in a few day. Hooray! He will be home for 2 weeks this time, which will be wonderful. As usual, I have my list of honey do's for when he is home, but it is short this time, so there will be more time to get out and do fun things, including heading to CA to visit his family for a few days.

Well that is about all the news I have. I am sure there will be more exciting things to blog about when Jake gets back.

Sisterly Fun

A couple weeks ago Sissy and I went on an adventure to NYC to see our baby sister. She is living in Rye and working as a nanny for 4 totally cute kids (a 5 year old boy and 2 year old triplet boys!). Our plan was to take the all-nighter on Thursday so we could maximize our vacation time. It would be a novel, that I am sure no one wants to read, if I wrote all the details of the trip. So I will just give the highlights from each day.

Day 1, Thursday
- The first challenge of the trip was actually getting on the planes since we were going standby. I made it to SLC, step one complete. We enjoyed a wonderful parade of about 50 kids in full Scottish kilt attire while we waited for our flight! We both made it on the flight to JFK, even ended up in first class, step two complete! We didn't sleep too much, but that didn't matter.

Day 2, Friday
- Sis and I successfully navigate the train and subway and get to our hotel. It was too early to actually check in, so we left our bags there and wandered around the city
- Seeing Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, Garmet District
- We caused a scene when we had a celebrity sighting. "Oh my God!! It's him!!" I yelled like a total tourist when Matt Lauer was heading to his car.
- Finally checked into the hotel, changed clothes and headed for the train to go out and meet Jess in Rye. Along the way we had to transfer at Grand Central, and it was as huge as I had imagined.
- We had fun meeting Tanya (the mom) and the kids Jess watches. It is a cute little town with a claim to fame. The dock where they filmed Big is not far from the house Jess lives in!
- After playing in Rye we headed back to the city. We were staying on the 34th floor, and noticed that there was a "balcony" outside the window. Really it was probably just decorative as there was no door, but that did not stop us. Out the window we climbed. We enjoyed the awesome view, however, it turned out to be much more difficult to get back in without the heat vent to climb on. We made it back in after a lot of laughter, and I somehow was the only one injured. I am happy to report that my 3+ inch dark ugly bruise is almost healed now!
- Later we took the Staten Island Ferry out and back. It was awesome to see the city from the water and of course the great view of the Statue of Liberty.




















Day 3, Saturday
- Taking in the craziness of Times Square.
- A homeless man called me a lesbian! WHAT!
- Central Park! The park was huge and sadly there was no time to see everything.
- American Museum of Natural History. Again I was overwhelmed by the size of this place. Everything was awesome though. The two best parts were the Hayden Sphere (It totally blew our minds!) and the pterodactyl.
- Walking around after the museum we had our first real scare in NYC. Mugger? Nope. Car wreck? Not even close. It was a SQUIRREL and it fell out of a tree and just about hit Sissy in the head! We all almost had to change our pant cause we were laughing too hard. In retaliation, Jess later tried to kick a pigeon.
- We enjoyed a sweet treat at Tasti D Lite. As I had never seen it, I was informed that this is where the girls from Sex in the City go in the show.
- St. Patrick's Cathedral was amazing!!
























Day 4, Sunday
- Ground Zero. It was totally surreal to be there and think about how long it has been since 9-11. We walked around the whole construction site where they are building the memorial. They also have a memorial museum set up with video about building the WTC towers, items that were recovered from the wreckage, pictures and stories of those who lost their lives and letters of sympathy from people all around the world. It was very touching and I could not even begin to imagine what it was like to be there on that day.
- Many sights to see close by - New York Stock Exchange building, Federal Hall and Canal Street.
- Empire State Building. The view was awesome and we got there right before sunset so it got better by the minute.
- Back to Times Square at night to see all the lights.

























Day 5, Monday
- Guggenheim Museum. It was cool, but I discovered that I don't have nearly as much appreciation for art as Jess and Sis do. Go figure!
- Crumbs! Holy moly, this was the most delicious cupcake ever.
- Lots of souvenir shopping.
- Very long subway ride back to the airport.

It was such a great trip and I loved getting to spend time with the sisters. Sadly it doesn't happen too often anymore now that we live in 3 states across the country from eachother. I love you both! Thanks Jessie for letting us come visit. I took tons of pictures, so see more of New York City.

On Vacation at Home

Since most of my time in the last few months (and for the rest of the year) has been spent on an island off the coast of California, it does seem like I am on vacation when I return "home" to Portland. So, I am now half way through my 6 days off and decided to share a few photos from my last trip.

Although summer has set in on island and most of the vegetation is withering in the heat, the cactus are in bloom adding some great color to the landscape.

About the size of a small lap dog, the California state threatened Island Fox enjoys a nice foot rub first thing in the morning.

Our project is expected to continue through the remainder of the year, more fox pictures to follow. I am back out on Thursday, not to return until the end of August. Also, I will continue to add additional pictures to this gallery.

Florence on the 4th

Last weekend I headed down to Florence, OR to spend the 4th with my aunt and uncle. Jake was out of town and sitting at home on a holiday did not sound like fun. Since I had Friday off work I packed up and made it to Florence by about 2. We had some lunch and it was time for Uncle Larry's nap. So Nana took me on a tour of town, down to the beach and to Old Town to see many of her favorite shops. It was a cute little coast town with all the mom and pop shops along the river. We went back home just in time for cocktail hour. Their friend Rick came over and had a drink with us. At this point I noticed that my aunt and uncle are officially more "with it" than I am. Indeed they own a Wii, and I was one of the few people in the world that had not yet played. So we decided that it was time for me to give it a shot. As it turns out, the Wii is quite fun!! This was only the first of many times that we played. After a couple drinks and a bit of bowling action, it was time to go to dinner. We went to Waterfront Depot down on the river. It was delicious!

We were beyond full and it was almost bed time, but not before a little more Wii. Seriously, I think I might need to purchase one now!

The morning of the 4th was quiet, just breakfast and Uncle Larry washing the cars. We went down to the river to watch the duck race and check out the street fair. We enjoyed some lunch and it was back to home before the rest of the excitement. In the afternoon the Elk's Club was having a car show and dinner. There were a bunch of really neat old cars. After checking out the cars we headed in to the bar for a couple drinks. Sadly, we lounged around too long and they sold out of the dinners. So it was on to plan B, the restaraunt/bar in the same parking lot. Turns out they were closed for the holiday. Plan C was finally the winner - Jerry's Place. This place did not see us coming! Little did they know that Nana and Larry (in their 60's/70's) could be such a wild bunch. A few drinks later it was Keno time, and Larry won big, so he had to ring the bell and buy a round for the bar!

We met quite a few friends that night. There was Jimbo the Chef and former mayor of Cold Bay, AK. Kimmy, who told Rick he was not her type, but who took quite a liking to Nana, and a couple fishermen who enjoyed a shot that was on fire! Needless to say we had a good time. After all the fun could be had at the bar, we headed home. Even though it was getting late, we decided to bust out the dominoes. Turns out that I also quite enjoy dominoes!

We did not bother trying to see the fireworks that night because it was going to be very crowded and the fog had rolled in so you would not be able to see much anyway. Overall it was a great 4th.

Sunday it was time to go back to the real world. I hit the road around noon and was taking the coast highway home to see the sights. I stopped a few times to take some pics of the view, and then was on the road. Unfortunately, everyone else and their brother were also heading home and had decided to take the coast highway. It was stop and go through all of the little towns, but I figured it would pick up when we turned inland. Wrong. It slowed all the way to a stop instead. This provided a lot of time to take pics of the mountain we were driving up. It also settled it that my next car would be an automatic. Stop and go traffic all the way up and then back down a mountain sure does wear out your leg! What was supposed to be a 3.5 hour drive turned into a 5.5 hour trek! But I made it.

It was a great weekend and I enjoyed spending time with Nana and Uncle Larry. From now on I will take I-5!

Here are more pictures from the weekend.

More Pictures

Nothing too exciting, but I finally posted more pictures from our trip.

I also added a few from our camping trip a few weekends ago.

Enjoy!

A Year Already!?

Hard to believe that it has been a year since we were in Tahoe for this. It has been a great year full of changes. To celebrate, my wonderful husband planned an Oregon coast get-a-way for us. We left Friday and headed west, stopping in Cannon Beach for lunch. It was such a cute little town with lots of shops and eateries along the main road. It was just a pit stop though as we had to get to Manzanita before 4 to check-in. This was an even cuter and smaller town (actually called a village). We checked-in and headed to our rental house. Isn't it so cute!!


It was a two bedroom with a great kitchen and a hot tub! A wonderful place to get away from everything and not worry about kids being loud in hotel halls or splashing in the pool. We got unpacked and headed to the beach. It was definitely not laying out weather, but it was still the beach.The next day we headed out to Nehalem Bay State Park, just south of Manzanita. It was a very cool park. Not every day you can see the ocean, a river, beach grass and a forest all in one place. We had fun walking around on the ocean side and then decided to head to the bay side of the park. Wandering down the beach on the bay we saw a bunch of elk, deer and racoon tracks but sadly no animals. We thought we would walk all the way around the bay and get back to the ocean. But after quite a while walking we decided it was farther than anticipated and turned around. After a quick picture by the bay we got back in the car and headed to another state park nearby.
Oswald West State Park was another great adventure. This time we got to hike around in a forest and see a waterfall going down to the ocean. I could not believe the size of some of the trees there, they were huge! This beach turned out to be a major surfing spot and there were a ton of people. We walked around a little more and went back to the house to get ready and head to dinner at the Terra Cotta Cafe. It was delicious and the homemade cake was amazing!

Sunday we made our way down to Tillamook. The first stop had to be the cheese factory. The building was massive and I could watch them make that cheese all day. After Jake peeled me away from the viewing window we went back down to the sampling table to try out the cheeses. I love cheese and this did not fail to please. Of course we could not leave without grabbing some ice cream too. Wow! That is all that can be said about it. If you have the option to eat Tillamook ice cream, don't pass it up.

Our next stop was the air museum. This was a really great find. It is on an old Navy base and the whole museum is in an old WWII blimp hangar. The building is massive and makes the planes inside seem miniature in comparison. There was a little theater where they showed a movie about the building and how it was built. They had TONS of war time items, everything from uniforms, radios, service awards, and pictures. And of course planes, some of which are still in flying condition and others are just for display. It was awesome to see all of the planes and read the stories about where they were used.

























After the museum we ventured back to Manzanitza for our last night of vacation. Nothing too exciting, just relaxed and enjoyed our time away from home. Monday we got up, packed up the car and headed back to Beaverton. Again we stopped in Cannon Beach, but this time it was to see Haystack rock. The name may not sound familiar but I am sure most people have seen it before. If you have seen the movie The Goonies, you have seen it! It turned out to be pretty good weathter too, so we walked along the beach and watched all the Puffins who nest on the rock fly around.


One last stop at the candy store in town for some salt water taffy (yum!) and it was on the road again. Our anniversary celebration was rapidly coming to an end. It was a fantastic weekend and I was very sad for it to be over. I have an amazing husband! Love you Jacob! Here's to another new adventurous year.