Winter/Spring 2010

So, I've come to the realization that I just don't have time to write every week anymore. So this may turn into a quarterly blog. :) But it still is a good journal for me, and a good place to write down my thoughts.

Spring is here! 2010 is flying by so quickly! It's hard to believe how fast it's going!! Last weekend was Easter. We had a great Easter spent with family. My parents and brother came to Trav and I's church, Calvery! I think my mom liked it a lot. It was a great service. A key part of it that spoke out to me was that we need to not look at our circumstances and instead focus on God and trust in His promise to/for us. I am going to try really hard to do that!

We had a great lunch with my family after church, and then went to Trav's parents to have Easter dinner with them and Grandad. Kathy got a new car from a friend and it was fun to check it out and to see how excited she was about it. She said it's the nicest car she's ever had! We are very happy for her. She definatly deserves it!

We didn't get home until about 9 because we had to stop at the store to get a hose to install our NEW DISHWASHER! Yes, thats right, we finally got a new dishwasher! I've been wanting one for 3 years (since we got the house) and we finally went and got it! We went Saturday. We went to Stover Evey and Jackson, where we also found our fridge for this house that we LOVE. The guy who helped us was the owner and when he saw us looking at the Bosch that was on sale, he said "Thats a tough one to pass up. It just went on sale on April 1st." (it was April 2nd). So we talked dishwashers for about a half hour with him. He said Bosch (who I'd never heard of) makes the best dishwashers. This one was $478 normally, but on sale for $278. Trav and I wanted to spend between $250 - $300, but not more than $400 for sure. It was perfect! We asked them about the room in the back with all the dinged up products (thats how we got our fridge for half price) and he said there were no dinged up black dishwashers. He took us back to show us a close out they had. It was $300 but not nearly as nice. So, we decided on the Bosch and got to use Erika's Denali to pick it up and haul it home! We got home right in time to celebrate Shelby's birthday, so we couldn't install the dishwasher yet. Shelby's birthday bbq was a blast! We played games, ate good food, and had a great time laughing with friends.

So, the previous weekend (end of March) we drove to Bend to visit Ladd. We hadn't seen him since september, and it had been far to long. We hadn't even been to his new house, OR met his new girlfriend! So, the weather had been mellow pretty much all winter, and by the end of March we knew we were good to go. Nope. Friday morning there is a blizzard in the pass! It had been going all night too! I checked the weather and it showed that it cleared up by about 3pm, and Trav and I were going to be driving through there at about 4, so we got our chains (just in case) and decided to give it a go! We got lucky. All the snow had melted off the road and the sun was shining when we drove through! The scenery was beautiful though!

We got to Ladd's at 5 and got to check out the house! Nice work Ladd! It's awesome. And he's totally Laddified it! Plants everywhere. :) I didn't expect any different though. We got caught up, had some good dinner, and watched some March Madness that evening. Saturday we got to meet Teresa. It was a beautiful day! In the 70's! Just clear, sunny, warm, and perfect. Teresa is super nice. She wasn't shy, which is nice! Sometimes it's hard to meet new people because they are so shy and it takes them a good while to warm up. No problems with Teresa though! She was friendly and outgoing right from the start! We all went to Ladd's parents for dinner that night. We had delicious food, and played Balderdash. I'd never played it before, but it was SO much fun! I must own it! They had a brand new puppy. He was only 5 weeks old and was SO sweet. He just wanted to cuddle. I cuddled with him all night and he almost conviced Trav and I to go get one!! But we were able to stay strong. :)

It was a really fun weekend. We headed back Sunday early afternoon and it started pouring rain as we were leaving. When we got home we found out that a little later that rain turned into snow, and it's been snowing non stop since then! We seriously just snuck in and out!

Trav and I's Christmas gift to each other was a new sink and faucet. We ordered it in January, and it came in in February. But it took us until March to find a time that we could all be free in the evening. So Derrick and Rachelle came over Sunday March 21st, new sink and faucet in tow! We were pretty much thrilled! So we took out the old nasty, stained, chipped, shallow avocodo sink, and pulled the new sink out of the box. And....it was the wrong kind. It was an undercounter mount instead of an overcounter mount. Ahhhh! Poor Derrick was so embarressed. But he was doing us a HUGE favor with the whole thing, so we were totally fine. The only thing that sucked was that while we waited for the new one, we had no water in the kitchen. We had to do dishes in the bathtub! So we went to the store and bought paper plates, bowls, and plastic wear! The new sink made it in by Wednesday and Derrick came over that night to help us put it in! It is so nice! It's nice and deep, it looks nice, it goes with our other kitchen appliances! It's black granite and I'm in love. I'm also in love with our new faucet. It functions the right way, it doesn't leak, and it has a pull out sprayer! It's a dream. It encouraged us to get a new dishwasher. :) Now all our appliances are GREAT, and we want new cupboards and counter tops. But that will have to wait.

So, the weekend we got the sink that didn't work, we babysat Coraline Friday - Sunday. We had a lot of fun with her. We had some nice weather, so we went to feed the ducks, played with sidewalk chaulk, and went to swing at the park. We even had a couple bbq's! She was fun to watch.

We celebrated Dad's birthday at Willamette Valley Vineyards on March 6th. It was another gorgeous day! I even got to wear a summer dress!

The next weekend my cousin Mandy was visiting just for the weekend, so we had a game night with her and my family. It was good to see her! She's only here every 5 - 10 years.

Last but not least: Seafood and Wine Festival 2010! We rented a beach house for 2 nights with Air, Mo, and her finace Dave, and Trav and I. Nate was there for a few hours too. It was a wonderful weekend! Friday we got to relax and enjoy the beach house....as well as try to figure out the pellet stove. :) Trav finally got it to stay running!

Saturday was the festival. We woke up early and went for a walk on the beach. It was so nice. Air straightened my hair before we left for the festival. We ended up parking down the street and walking in. It was PACKED. Luckily we had e tickets, because about 5000 people didn't even get in that day. We drank lots of fruity and delicious drinks and wine. We had a great time.

I'm hoping this spring brings a lot more sunshine! We got spoiled with sunshine a lot during the winter, and NOW the cold and rain wants to come in. It's almost Trav's 28th birthday! I can't believe we're going to be 28!! Seriously.....I still feel 22 at the oldest!  I guess your only as old as you act right?

What we're looking forward too:
New dishwasher getting installed
Orcas Island (in the San Juan Islands) vacation at the end of April
Sunriver Vacation in June