Look Alive People!

Oh blog you've been on my mind for a while.. just time to sit down and get to it!

There is always SO much I want to share and write and remember - I have to set aside the time to do it. I am going to be "back-posting" some entries I think.. dating back to meeting our new nephew, my mom's stay with us over Mother's Day, Travis's birthday, job changes, our 2 year wedding anniversary and strides in my health.

I am looking forward to catching up on here and sharing all the fun goodness with those who check out this little personal space of the internet I have.

*I love having a cup or (2 or 3) of tea in the morning .. such a lovely way to get going on the day.

Where's That?

When family or friends ask us where we live (unless they live in the Portland area), they almost always say: Where's that? when we tell them Fairview (not to be confused with an awful institution that is no longer!). 

Some fun facts about Fairview*:

1. There is an amazing wild rabbit population.

2. It's where people who want to get away from Portland city life go to veg out.

3. There is zero sign of elderly people - really - we have yet to see any members of the senior community.

4. Amazing restaurants are within a 5 mile radius.

5. population: about 9,700.

6. Fairview has a newsletter in lieu of a newspaper.

*completely made up by S and T due to our observations. except for #5 - that one is pretty much true. And #6.

To kick off the summer in our new little city we ventured over to Blue Lake Park for an afternoon. It is so gorgeous and huge! So many play structures for kids, family bbq's and some crazy Frisbee golf games. Take a look at our afternoon in the park via 2 videos..

Seriously YouTube? You pick that photo of me to be the default photo for that video. Good grief. I know it looks like I'm giving it the wow one of the cats just used their box stink face, but it was such a fun and pretty day. 

I was going through our summer time photos and videos because I'm someone who just loves loves loves the summer time and could have it for 3 seasons instead of just 1. (I'd make an exception for winter time - peppermint hot chocolate, Christmas, snow flurries.. ahh.) But since meeting this guy..

I've been changing my tune about this whole fall thing slowly but surely. Maybe a new pair of mid-calf, slouchy brown boots have something to do with it? Well time to start making our home 'fall ready' .. and by that I mean I am making several of these..

via Pinterest

Have a lovely week. Toodles friends!

Labor Day Weekend!

Ohhh summer evenings. I am going to miss nights like this in a few weeks. Right now I can look out the window and see the gorgeous sunset and pale pink sky. Oregon you're so pretty.

ever road tripped with a kitty? we have! (I think this was in 2009.)

Over Labor Day weekend we were with the Waltz family down in southern Oregon. I love visiting my husband's family. They are only a 5 hour drive away (instead of having to hop on a plane to visit mine - but always makes for a fun trip to California or Florida). We have a routine set nearly every trip we go down south. Load up the car, drive 2 minutes, drive back to our place for something we have forgotten to say g'bye again to our furry kids, stop in Eugene for coffee + snacks, pass the Rogue River and be welcomed by Medford. 

So this trip was full of a few firsts for me. Well - first we did watch the Ducks lose not play as well as they could have.. but still had a good bbq with all the Waltzes that night. After a late night DQ run it was time for bed since we were heading to Crater Lake on Sunday! I had never been and it was sooooo beautiful out there! 

We took the trip with Travis's brother Kevin and his wife Bonnie. Here are a few photos of our afternoon at the Lake.

Sunday night it was bbq #2 with Travis's sisters and brother with their spouses and kiddos. Love summer nights, bbqs and kids running around shoeless. =]  After more food and ice cream, we had a long game of Clue to round out the night. I so love these nights with Travis's family. Food, ice cream, board games and lots and lots of laughs. 

A couple fun photos of the evening.

so cute right? She is a giggly girl. And just one of the reasons I love being an Aunt.

Monday morning we were packing up and getting ready to head out to Travis's Grandma and Grandpa's farm. I got to feed a horse for the first time! Although I was scared he would eat my hand, I made a new friend in a brown horse named Shorty. I LOVE going out to his Grandparents house. It is way out in the country, beautiful scenery, family photos everywhere and his Grandma is the best cook! Before getting out to their house we picked up our other niece and nephew to take them to Starbucks (they already have a puppy, what's a little espresso going to hurt?) .. kidding of course. We got them hot cocoa and a smoothie. *With extra sugar. ;)  One of the traditions Trav and I have with them is to go to a book store and get one book each under $10. Below are their finds..

 

I also picked a berry off a berry bush and ate it for the first time. I know I know.. I haven't 'lived', but really I promise I had a great childhood - just 'city style' I guess? One of my favorite things though about our trips to southern Oregon is seeing Travis with his family. I love seeing where he is from, who he grew up with and how everyone meshes together. I am so blessed to be part of this family and always look forward to seeing everyone. Family is super important to us and I look forward to one day starting our own little Waltz crew. =]

Sweet + Sweaty Times in Bend!

Vacation days are so fun, yet never seem long enough. Agreed? Well, we got back from our stay-cation in Bend, Oregon a couple days ago and wanted to share some photos (of course!). You've been fore-warned: many photos ahead...! On our first night in Bend we explored part of the downtown area near our lodge. Deschutes Brewery - delish! We went back and watched some Inception and had a craving for a sweet or 2 .. or 3. *On vacation, there are no calories. You didn't know? Oh yeah, total and pure fact. :) We saw a fun spot called Powell's Sweet Shoppe and decided to check it out. When you walk in - it is a candy heaven. Any kind of candy you can imagine is in there with Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory playing in the background. Below, is an old card catalog from a library (there were a couple of these lined up) and you could find a candy (or 5) and keep on shopping.

We settled on a few scoops of gelato.

On to Day 2.. it was time to burn some calories and meet a spot we had been looking forward to: Smith Rock. You may have seen the video in the previous post, but some photos are too fun not to share.

Ok so this photo isn't exactly fun to share, but you can see a portion of the Smith Rock area.

We take our hiking very serious.. ;)

Look Ma! It's a big rock! :)  To answer your question: Yes, my calves are real.

Before a long hot day of hiking, you must get at least a couple cute fresh and happy photos!

We decided to take the River trail first (along Crooked River) that goes about 2 miles around Smith Rock. So the beginning of our trek looked a lot like this....

 

Then when you get to the other side (passing many rock climbers and other sweet hikers) you can start to see the image of Monkey Face rock. Can you find the Monkey face below??

 We started using Monkey to be our guide as to how close we were getting not only to the Summit but it also helped us see if we wanted to keep going around (meaning: UP and at a steeper incline in the 90 degree heat).

We decided: ONWARD!!

Close to the summit!

This is the view from the TOP! We made it and look at how beautiful!

The other side of Monkey.. and the VIEW! That is part of the Sisters Mountains to the left.

We did it!! YEA!!

Beginning the trek down and back to base. Our car is down the Rock we are standing, on over that foot bridge, up the small hill, then up another big hill.

This hike was quite challenging. I have some friends who have hiked it and even if you're in super duper shape, you will find some tough spots! It was a little bit of rock surfing on our way down. That trail is ironically called: Misery Trail and rated most difficult on their guide information. Bend has some fun spots to eat and drink.. but when it comes to their outdoors - they do not mess around! There is a reason everyone there is sun kissed, in great shape and all smiles.

Bend thanks for the fun! We will be back again! 
Next time though.. rafting, kayaking and more Sangria.