Our Easter at Silver Falls

Summer invited Saylor, Joe, and I to go with her to Silver Falls on Easter Sunday. The weather obliged, and it was a wonderful day. We got to go behind two big waterfalls, and enjoy a couple miles of trails. We ended at a delicious "mod" restaurant in Salem called Venti. Joe got a vegan pita, while I got a sesame ginger tofu/rice/veggie mix. Delish. 

In other news, I've been getting a little more integrated at the youth shelter. I had my FINAL mentor interview, and now am days away from being matched with a mentee. In the meantime, I've cooked at the shelter 3 times, and am scheduled for one more in a couple weeks. I am really starting to feel like a little part of the 'group'. The youth at the shelter are so nice, and funny to boot. I mean, they genuinely crack me up!!! Every meal we eat, we go around the table and tell our highs and lows of the day, and then have some other topic of interest like- if you could have a super power, what would it be? Or like last night, 'if you could have any attribute from an animal, what would it be?' I'm SO looking forward to getting matched with a mentee!!! 

Work is going really well. The principal seems interested in giving me a daily extra hour next year, which will be WONDERFUL! He is SUCH an amazing boss. The first thing he asked when he told me he was interested in having me work three hours a day is 'how will that affect your life outside of work? because in my experience as a manager over the years, if things at home aren't working out, things at work won't either.' I thought that was so wise, and progressive!! I feel so lucky to be a part of the Muddy Creek team! 

Warm weather has been bestowed upon us the past 5 days, and not only does the sunshine warm the outdoors, it warms everyone's attitudes in Oregon!!! Everyone seems to smile more, and have an extra hop in the step. We're looking at 4 days of rain though, starting today. But at least we're getting patches of sun, which is better than nothing. 

Saylor started gymnastics on Monday. It is run through the school, and so the teachers are student teachers. Not to be a downer, but it wasn't at ALL what Joe and I were expecting. Saylor was by far the oldest kid, and.... the teacher was a tad.... eccentric? But none of that mattered, because by the end, Saylor was SOOOO happy and went on and on about how much she LOVED gymnastics. So all in all, that's all that matters. 

Joe and I have been enjoying watching 'COSMOS' by Carl Sagan! Man oh man, that guy is AWESOME. It's so much fun. Joe is SO knowledgeable about space. It's a great way to gain insight, and also spark conversations between us about this amazing topic. We'll watch about 10 minutes, and then we'll pause it and I'll just blabber off a bunch of questions, and then Joe answers them for me. It's so much fun! I love being married to him. Last night he asked me 'are you really enjoying this, or are you watching it just to humor me?' and I said, shocked 'what?!? you think i would sit here and ask all these questions just to humor you??" and he rubbed his hands together, like he does when he's excited and said, 'i just wanted to make sure it wasn't too good to be true'. haha. 

A week with my parents!

Well my parents left this morning after 6.25 days with us! Thank goodness for Skype, because although we will miss them terribly, it really makes it so much easier being able to SEE them about once a week! We did SO many fun things while they were here. Here are some of the pictures we got. (They got out of order, so excuse the randomness)

 Fernview campsite where we stopped and at our lunch.

On our (long) drive to Redmond!

 What's wrong with this picture??

 Smith Rock

 All of us explaining to Saylor that she should not be standing on wobbly fences that are right above a 50 foot drop.

 Sleeping lynx

 Bobcat

 We visited the High Desert Museum while Mom was attending a saddle fitting seminar. They had an abundance of cool stuff. Some animals (like the bobcat and lynx pictured above) We got there at 11 am, and stayed until they closed at 4, and they had to usher us out around 4:15!

 They had a butterfly and hummingbird room.

 And a lot of exhibits about the native americans and settlers

 But best of all, they had TONS of activities to keep kids interest! Saylor had a BLAST

 Diggin for potatoes

 Playing an old fashioned game

 Goof

 Our view for most of the time in Redmond

Saylor having a good time meeting the horses at Mom's saddle fitting seminar













Joe caught a quick picture of a yawning bobcat

 Mom taught me how to french braid on Saylor's hair

It was a GREAT trip. Sad that I'll have to wait until July to see them again. They treated us to delicious meals, and wonderful company! We got to bowl, climb, go to wacky bounce, go to the beach, and more. They even made it possible for Saylor to start gymnastics, AND for Joe to join an indoor soccer team! I couldn't ask for more generous parents! So inspiring! We don't take it for granted, guys! We love you and miss you already!!!

Picture Updates!

Fresh brushed teefs!

Saylor planted, and has been taking care of her plants ALL by herself!! She is currently growing spinach and chard!

Right after she watered them, she swore up and down that she saw her plants grow even bigger :)

Spring is approaching!

Hello everyone!

Well, I deleted my Facebook once and for all. No turning back now! I've been taking a lot of pictures with my Canon to put in my blog, but I cannot find my connector cable. So until then, I'll leave you with my fuzzy Android camera pictures...

 We are enjoying using our local co-op, still. We strive to eat vegan, and succeed about 75% of the time. Joe isn't eating meat, and I am eating it much less (once a week) and striving to cut it out entirely. Our rock climbing is improving. Finally starting to wake those muscles up!

Saylor is growing up too fast. She'll be FOUR next month. She is such a sweet girl, and has a very keen eye for particularities.

 I cut a good 4 inches off my hair, and it feels great. (P.S. I was not doing the duck face. This was a picture I sent to Joe sending him a virtual kiss.)

My parents will be arriving here next Wednesday, so we are really really looking forward to that! Joe and I are getting ready to start our garden back up, and are going to expand this year. My neighbor (and best friend) Summer and I just started talking today about sharing a CSA (Community Sustained Agriculture), which is where local farms send you weekly boxes of fruits and veggies from their crops! So we are both very excited about that. Work is going very well. Just living and loving life day by day!!!

Love to you all!

No freedom till we're equal. Damn right I support it.

Even if you don't agree with gay marriage, or being gay at all, I urge you to watch this video. I believe in equality with every fiber of my being. 

Love is patient

Love is kind

A new year...

Well we are back in Oregon after a 2 week (too short) visit to Georgia. Personally, this was the best trip I've had back home. We split up time between both my and Joe's family evenly, and even got some time to visit with old friends. Coming back home every 6 months has some interesting, unexpected bonuses. I feel like I REALLY get to see how people/things change in a more dramatic way. Usually when you see something every day, it's not as noticeable when it slightly changes. Joe's little brother is about to turn 14, and he changes SO much every time I see him. He's such a neat person- so logical and understanding, but fun and free spirited. Joe's little sister Anna has always been a great sister in law AND friend to me, but at 17 and a half, I am getting excited to see the woman she's growing into. My brother and I got some wonderful hang out time, and I got to hang out with his new girlfriend Leah a bunch as well. She fits right in with our family, and I feel like I'm catching up with an old friend, rather than getting to know my brother's girlfriend.

Things here in Oregon are going well. I'm SO tired, though. Probably because both my and Joe's parents spoiled me and allowed us to sleep in while they tended to Saylor in the mornings + getting the house back in order after Luna was here for 2 weeks. Our awesome neighbor/friend took great care of her while we were gone. So appreciative of that!

Our resolutions are going well. I'm super hairy and proud! Joe and I went to his gym on campus yesterday and he forced me into running and entire mile without stopping- I know, I'm weak, but I've been out of the exercising loop for a few months, so I was super proud of myself. They have a rock climbing wall in the gym as well so we attempted to do a little bouldering (that's climbing small walls without harnesses). We are going to take a belay class next week though, so we'll be able to start climbing the real walls with harnesses. I can really feel a big shift in my thinking recently. I'm no longer focusing on how I look, but how I feel. Not the calories in what I eat, but the nutrition. I seriously feel my confidence getting stronger and stronger every day, and it is both liberating and relieving.

I have also gotten another cleaning job at a local church and the church's book store. It is a small job in comparison to the school I clean daily, but will still be a great little added income.

Now I just have to come back down from the clouds that our families put us on, and get back to doing the nitty gritty every day work of a wife and mom!