He doesn't want us to leave...:-(

I think Fuz is sending a subtle message through his persistence in tackling our luggage. Now I see him through our bedroom door and he is sleeping on top of my clothes which are in my suitcase. Poor guy- I feel so bad leaving him to fend for himself in the hot, stuffy house. We have people lined up to keep him company, but still...He loves Bryan so much that lately he has been jumping into his lap whenever Bryan is sitting down. I don't know what he will do without us...

In the meantime, it is nearly 2 in the morning and I have been working all day to get ready for this next trip. We are going to Iowa for my cousin David's wedding and I am excited about some of the events we have lined up. In the meantime however, I have been busting my butt with getting everything organized and in order around the house- I may need a pre and post-vacation to my vacation. I already stopped my diet when I inhaled every last item in my fridge and my parent's fridge that may go bad (we don't ever waste food!). We also had a little scare tonight when I could not find Bryan's wallet! Things are already tight when going on a long trip that we don't need to lose any more money! All in all, I have a good feeling about it and am excited to leave town again and see some more new country!

We will be back on Sunday afternoon! Hopefully I will have lots of good pictures to share!! :-)

Happy 3rd Anniversary to Us!

It has been three glorious years and tonight we are celebrating, my number-one husband and I! While the rings have lost their luster, our hearts still sparkle on...
Our symbols of our vows continue to gain value with each and every year and we realize just how real and true those vows are!

I love you Tall Glass! :-)

The Celebratin' Continues

It turns out June is a very busy month- I have been out of school for 2 weeks now and have barely had time to catch my breath! But it has all been in fun, and I did get a chance to redeem my massage (a gift from a student) on Friday, which was magical. Tonight, for example, we had two prospective buyers call and/or look at our Honda for sale, and I am also trying to get my paperwork lined up to renew my teaching license, which is up every three years on my birthday (which it turns out is now only a couple weeks away- I have been successfully procrastinating!). I am really hoping to have these two pressures (which have been on my mind for months) alleviated soon! I also feel like I have a ton to do before we leave on our next trip in a week from today, which is usually how any preparation before a trip goes!

Over the weekend I did massive cleaning and cooking for our fathers for Father's Day, and our mothers, sisters, husbands and child. While Bryan and I were pretty much too busy to sit down and really enjoy it until after dinner, we enjoyed hosting our families and celebrating our Fathers. We also helped our old neighbors/good friends move from their apt that used to be above ours to new digs out in Astoria on Sunday. It was a nice drive to and from yesterday- Bryan was able to get a U-Haul for them and drive it out. Now my legs and gluteus maximus hurt but I burned plenty of calories in all the moving! Being out at the hatchery (where our friend Bobby will be working) reminded me of the summer when my sister worked for the forestry service and lived in a cute little cabin in the woods- similar to where he will be living. I also saw the motel where "Kindergarten Cop" was filmed- which is one of my all-time fav movies. Though it was busy, we had a great weekend with family and friends.

This week we are also celebrating our 3rd anniversary! Its so hard to believe it has been three years. While the last year or two have dealt us quite a hand, I enjoyed going back over our marriage license papers tonight while applying for my teaching renewal, and reflecting back on our wedding and first year as newlyweds. I know one day I will look back on all the years (no matter how hard) fondly. To honor our big day, Bryan went out and got inked after work tonight with his buddy. He has been anticipating this tattoo for a long time now so we figured our anniversary was just a good a time as any- and though it will technically be my gift to him I did not want to watch it get put on. He was also a little squimish but apparently it did not hurt too bad. It is a picture of his alltime favorite car- a Honda Hatchback (or "EF") and it is on his right calf just below his shorts line. He has a nice patch of cleanly shaven skin there as well :-)Overall he is really happy with it right now, but may add more on later (since right now it sortof looks more like a pen sketch than a tattoo).On Wednesday, our actual anniversary, we plan to go out to dinner and see "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" which opens that day (hence the picture of Bumblebee, which you can transform into the car).

Fuzzy is also turning 7 this week! We got him when he was 4 1/2 years old, which was 2 1/2 years ago June 27. To celebrate, we upgraded his feeding system to bowls that sit high off the floor (which will hopefully make cleanup unnecessary or at the least a little easier). They all match, wheras before we just used whatever bowls we had, and now he can have his water out by his food, whereas before it was in the bathroom sink. He also now has a bowl for his wet food, which we have cut down to serving him once a day to watch his waistline. He seems to really enjoy his new fine serving dishes!

Happy Father's Day Dad! I love you!

Arizona!

Bryan and I took our first ever trip to Arizona this past weekend and it was a fun, though quick trip. It is always cool to see other places, including different vegetation, animals, people personalities, traffic patterns, etc. We decided in all of our (limited) travels, we still like Oregon the best and we were happy to be home. We also missed our kitty, who was hanging out with Grandpa and Nana and was happy to see us in return!

Since I was a bridesmaid with my good friend Gillian, along with another friend from high school (Abbey) in our friend Kacee's wedding, Gillian and I and our hubbiess traveled on over to Arizona on Thursday night. Our flight was delayed thanks to tornadoes in Dallas and bad weather in Denver and such, so we did not arrive in Phoenix until 12:00 am. Since Phoenix is two hours from Tucson (the wedding site) we did not get to check into our hotel until 2 in the morning on Friday.

We slept in and lounged by the pool with drinks in hand until 1:30 in the afternoon, when we had an appointed lunch date with the engaged couple and a few more of their friends. Then we moved to our next destination: the rehearsal and dinner (yes, more food and drinking ensued in rapid fire timing)at the Westin hotel overlooking Tucson. After dinner followed the bachelorette party, held in an exotic drink bar and along bordering streets where more rowdiness may or may not have ensued. During this time, the boys went to a bar at Old Chicago and then hung out at the hotel. I enjoyed being the DD, having just as much if not more fun. Gill and I got back to the hotel around 3:45.

On Saturday, more lounging poolside occured until our hair appt at the salon in the afternoon, followed by dressing and pictures. The wedding occured on an upscale ranch on the edge of town, where we had gorgeous views of the desert and felt the scalding sun on our backs. We drank, ate and danced until midnight and it was an absolutely beautiful wedding with a absolutely beautiful bride- a self-proclaimed tomboy who after eight years since high school is just the same as she was back then. It was great to see her!

We said our goodbyes at the reception and headed back to the hotel. We secured a ride back to Phoenix Sunday morning and took the few remaining seats nonstop back to PDX at 1:00 pm. Luckily, we recieved free tickets thanks to the Groom's father though we had to fly standby, which in and of itself is not always the most pleasant or settling experience (the chance for losing our luggage or being separated increased, though we were blessed with good fortune each way and had really good flights) By 6:00 I was unpacked, we had Fuzzy back and we headed to dinner. I went to bed early (10:30) and was exhausted for my first day of summer work: nannying a one year old boy. The job is cake and a very welcome change of pace from school and even previous nannying jobs. I enjoy just having one very easy going baby to look after, who does not require too much entertainment or conversation, and naps twice a day, which lends me time for relaxing and catching up on reading. Additionally, this is a part-time job which leaves me for time for being productive at home and tutoring former students in preparation for next school year.

All in all, it is looking to be a great summer and I am so excited! Plus, we have another trip quickly approaching: a wedding for David in Iowa. Two weeks and counting...

Fishy!!!

We got two new items two weeks back...a fish tank and a basketball hoop. Both for Bryan's entertainment and both for a total of $35. The fish tank came from our neighbors/friends, and includes a trigger fish named "Killer". His name is decieving, because he is the most shy fish I know. But he lives alone and it is probably best that way.

Bryan got the b-ball hoop off of Craigslist and has used it a couple of times so far....last week my friend Melissa came over to cut our hair and highlight mine (I am a blonde now!) and both items provided endless entertainment to the kids while we were all busy. I am glad Bryan is finally getting/entertaining other (cheaper) hobbies besides cars! :-)

New Books

I don't buy books often (I am a firm believer in la biblioteca...the library, which is even good for renting movies!) but today I had the opportunity to trade in a gift I recieved (I already had a copy of the book a parent gave me) for these two books, which I got for almost nothing after using my 20% off Educator card at Barnes and Noble! Yay! I am so excited!

"Hungry Girl: 200 recipes under 200 calories" is a phenomenon in the recipe industry right now, and lucky for me, they follow Weight Watchers so all the recipes in the book can be broken down into Points values! Woo hoo! I am excited to get cookin' on this!

I also bought "Letters from a Skeptic" by Dr. Gregory Boyd which I have heard most of, read to us throughout the school year in our weekly staff devotional time, though I am looking forward to reading/ re-reading it now. It is written by a former atheist turned believer and is comprised of letters from the author to his father, who continued to question Christianity. It is a great defense of the Christian faith, written in easy language to follow, and contains common questions asked by new and non-believers and practical and insightful answers. I recommend it to anyone!

We are taking a trip to Tucson for a wedding on Thursday so I cannot wait to take my new reads along! And maybe all the other 7 magazines waiting for me on my nightstand...

Letting Go

Friday was our last day of school and when it comes to saying goodbye, our feelings (between my class and I) I think were mutual...we were ready for summer! We ended on a high note so I attached some pictures to commemorate. On Thursday, we had Parent Career Day and had some fascinating entrys in our parade of parents willing to come in and share what they do, including a construction worker, a harvester, an Intel engineer, a policeman, a realtor and a banker. We even got to meet a police dog named "Barak" who was a true German Shepard and has been on the police force for 5 years following a two year training program in Germany. He only understands German commands and was very into smelling and licking the kids! Our field day outside on Friday was exciting as well, though we had some interesting weather the end of last week. It was easier to say goodbye this year than it was last year, so hopefully each year will continue to get a little easier.

Another piece of letting go that I am NOT willing to face is saying goodbye to my all-time favorite pair of sneakers. Bryan worked for Nike when he was younger and bought me this pair of Ace 83 shoes, which were very classic and trendy in their time (circa 2001? 2002?). No one wears them anymore and now I know why- during Field day they officially fell apart. Both the front of the soles on both shoes and the back of the sole on one shoe came unglued. I think I will keep them though- they are very special to me because they represent a good time in my life when Bryan and I were freshly dating...7 or 8 years ago. Now we are about the celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary and wonder, where did the time go??? I guess now since we are "official" (:-)) its time to let go of the past and move forward....