For our last day in Oregon Race and I slept in late, drove around to places my parents grew up and houses I lived in and we drove out to see Mt. Bachelor. Near Mt. Bachelor there are tons of lakes. We stopped at Devil's Lake which is gorgeous and explored around it. There is still snow on the ground there and the lake is a gorgeous green color. And it's not nasty green as you are still able to see straight through the clear water. Also, my husband is so awesome that he went skinny dipping in the freezing cold water while I watched. :) I should have gone with him....next time! Anyway, it was a wonderful, relaxing last day and I am not at all ready to get back to real life in Arizona.
Race and I at Devil's Lake
My dad and I at Devil's Lake
Race skinny dipping at Devil's Lake...haha.
I almost forgot! We stopped by Petersen's Rock Garden before heading to the airport. I remember going to this garden as a young child and I remember it being absolutely gorgeous and enchanting. Last year my grandma and I went and it was dead. There were no gorgeous lily pads in the pond And it was just not at all what I remembered. Luckily it was exactly how I remembered it this time. I guess last year I just came during a bad season. It was gorgeous this time though. Everything is made out of rocks and there are little fairy houses and cute bridges and so many lily pads. And there were some gorgeous pure white ducks swimming in the pond. I was so glad that we were able to stop and see it.
Here are some of the bridges going out into the pond and there are some fairy houses in the middle. Also you can see some of the pretty lily pads.
Here's me on one of the pretty rock bridges with so many lily pads behind me.
Well, as of 4:30 this morning we are back in Flagstaff. It's so nice to be home but I do not feel ready to buckle down and find a job. I love not having a job but it is also stressful in the money department so I will start looking for one this week. Next week I am planning on going down to the valley for a few days to help my brother and sister-in-law with their cute babies while they get ready to move into a new home. I am excited to hang out with the babies and with my sister-in-law Nikki. Also, it will of course be fun to hang out with my brother. :)
Here's a cute picture of the babies I get to hang out with for a few days! This was from about a month ago and I can't remember who is who in this picture. I can't wait to go see them and see how much they've grown though!!
We explored downtown Bend last week and it was lots of fun. There were lots of cool shops. My favorite was a little antique shop with lots of cool glasses and clothes. I found some gorgeous baby blessing dresses. Unfortunately they were quite expensive.
This picture is in front of my Grandpa's first dental office.
It's hard to read but it says Dudley's {Harry Potter! Who's going to see it at midnight this week?!}. This was a really fun bookshop. More pictures below.
{I love rocking chairs. I need to find a good one before I have a baby someday.}
This was at a cute soda shop. I loved their stools. Also Helena's outfit was super cute.
Jasmine found us these awesome glasses at the antique shop.
Also, I had the comfiest outfit that day. I got the maxi dress at TJ Maxx last week. The sweater was from Last Chance years ago, the shoes were from Kohl's years ago and the bag is my sister's.
More exploring downtown. I'm not sure what they were looking at in this picture...
Anyway, downtown was lots of fun. We have one day left before we fly out tomorrow evening. I am not sure what we'll do with our last relaxing day before we have to get back to real life. I am going to have to start job searching when I get back. Any suggestions for where I should get a job?
I found Race's first white hair when we were at Detroit Lake the other day. He was very excited. He looks forward to having salt and pepper hair and then someday having a head full of pure white hair. I'm excited too. :) He will be such a cute old man!
Can you spot his white hair?
Also, Race and my brother Knowlton took apart a camera tonight to try and fix it. Three hours in and it has been taken apart and put almost all the way back together. We still don't know if they've fixed it or not yet. I did get pictures of them being manly though.
{The gloves were to keep from being shocked from some copper part. They found these after they had each been shocked quite a few times}
Sidenote: Race is very good at fixing things and I love that about him. He fixed our vacuum that broke and we vacuumed our apartment after months...gross, I know. He's also fixed lots of vacuums at the schools he cleans. Vacuums are his specialties so we'll see if that knowledge transfers over to cameras...
I could write a lot but this is my second time trying to start this post so I'm going to keep the writing to a minimum. I do have lots of pictures though!
We are loving our Oregon vacation and spending lots of time outside with family. The weather has been perfect!
Fourth of July in Las Vegas and at the airport:
Fourth of July sparklers in Oregon:
Hiking at Smith Rock with cute baby Jude and cute sandals. There were also cute cousins but I unfortunately do not have pictures of the cute cousins.
Spending time with family at Detroit Lake and admiring Oregon's beautiful mountains:
What happens to Race when he doesn't put on enough sun screen at Detroit Lake:
And finally {for tonight} playing croquet ALL DAY in the backyard:
{Race has the best croquet stance ever. :) Notice the slightly raised heel for absolute precision in his hits.}
That's all for now but I have so much more to share. Today we spent the day playing Michael Jackson: The Experience on the PS3 Move, playing croquet again, meeting up with family at the park, exploring downtown, going to Applebee's with all the older cousins and my sister and I ended the evening by going to see Monte Carlo in theaters. {I know those movies are cheesy but I love them all and this was no exception. Helena liked it too! :) } It was a good day!
Packing is super stressful for me. Which means I try to pack a few days in advance so I am not stressing close to the actual trip. I spent today and yesterday packing. I decided to pack Race's stuff as well. I am not sure why seeing as packing stresses me out...I guess I just want him to look super good. So I decided I should pack all of my favorite clothes instead of all his old, awkward hand-me-downs that he would end up packing.
{Sidenote: Before Race and I got married literally ALL of his clothes were hand-me-downs. This isn't necessarily a bad thing except for the fact that about half of these hand-me-downs were shirts that said things like "poo chucker" on them. Haha! Now I buy him normal, good-looking clothes. :) }
Anyway, to begin the packing escapade Race and I did ALL of our laundry yesterday. Everything, except for the clothes we were wearing, was washed. After that I spent about an hour and a half folding all of that laundry {we don't do laundry for at least a month so there was a lot to wash and fold}. I then packed Race first. He is the easy one. If only I could just pack t-shirts and jeans. Boys have no need for undershirts, belts, jewelry, hair things, cardigans, etc. LUCKY!! After finishing Race up I opened all my drawers, pulled out by bags of belts and hair things, opened my jewelry box, grabbed my basket of shoes and began. And I of course had my lists on hand {I write lots of lists. For this trip I have so far written two but I am sure that before we leave I will have at least one more with last minute things that we need to remember}.
After I had everything ready I began packing. First I laid out outfits that I have worn and know that I love. After that I started trying on new outfits and things I hadn't worn in a while just to make sure they still look good. I am not sure why I feel like I have to do this but I do. After finding enough outfits I grabbed all of my shoes and tried to narrow it down to just a couple pairs that would match everything. Then I went through and tried to figure out what belts, hair accessories, and jewelry I would need to go with each outfit. I really don't use lots of accessories but it is still a must do when packing.
Finally, I started to fit everything into my duffel bag...this is always the scary part because what if it doesn't all fit! This is exactly what happened. I got about half of it all in my bag and then realized that there was no way I was going to be able to fit everything. So I had to take everything out, fit Race's stuff into the duffel bag and jack his nice suitcase {This was especially mean of me considering Race is devoting his entire carry-on backpack to bringing the PS3 and the Play Station Move so that we can play Michael Jackson: The Experience with my family in Oregon...best game ever by the way}. Luckily Race's stuff fit into the duffel except for his church clothes which I very kindly fit into my bag. Also luckily my things did fit into the suitcase. I do have a problem when packing though...I ALWAYS overpack! I don't know how to help it! Any suggestions? I guess I just really like to have options when I am on vacation so I end up packing tons of extra shirts, undershirts and cardigans.
As you can see below, everything fit but it was overflowing so I was definitely sitting on the suitcase to get it to zip up.
FINALLY after getting everything packed I packed up my toiletries, or at least the ones I am not using in the next couple of days and some things to have on the plane. Also, I already made sure to have an outfit out to wear on the drive to the airport and on the plane. For example, the one sweatshirt I am bringing that I don't want to stuff into my bag. And the only pair of tennis shoes{ish} that take up more room than all of my flats and sandals {Does anyone else wear their bulkiest clothes on the plane just so they don't have to try and pack them?}.
That was my whole packing adventure. This was the first time that I laid out all of my outfits so that I could make sure to have shoes and accessories to match everything. Usually I pack each outfit and then try and remember what I packed and what else I need. Not super smart. I am glad to be done threeish days in advance. I just really hope there is nothing that I forgot!
Here are some things that I learned about packing that help me not stress out about it as much:
1. Make a list and rewrite that list if you need to halfway through because it gets so cluttered with doodles.
2. Listen to good music {Lately I like "The Script" radio station on Pandora}.
3. Have a friend to talk to while you pack {I used to love packing with my sister because we would just chat away and take HOURS to pack just cause we were hanging out}.
4. Lay ALL your outfits out so you can figure what shoes and accessories match more than one outfit.
5. Do ALL of your laundry before packing.
6. Pack early so you're not stressing.
7. Take your time.
I am not sure what else but these are a lot of things I haven't always done in the past and they definitely made this time packing a bit easier and less stressful. I still overpacked....but someday I'm sure I'll learn to only pack what I'm going to use.
Well, I am glad to be done packing and now I am going to get a good night's sleep so that I can enjoy the rest of my weekend before we leave to Oregon on Monday!!!
I don't come up with super cute outfits very often. And then when I do I don't have anyone to take pictures of them. But, I can take pictures with my iPhone. So when I came up with this cute outfit a couple of weeks ago I did just that. So here is my first and most likely last outfit post. Unless of course Race decides he wants to start taking pictures of me. We'll see about that one...
tank top & sweater: Old Navy $7ish total, belt: off of a skirt from Kohl's $5, scarf: WalMart $5, jeans: Target $6, sandals: Wet Seal $6
I love getting things on sale and am super proud of myself for nothing on this outfit being more than $10! I also loved using the scarf as an accessory. I have always been a big fan of scarves but have never figured out how to incorporate them into an outfit. That's why I was extra proud of this outfit.
Well, that's all for now. Maybe someday I'll do another outfit post...we'll see! They definitely won't happen often since I come up with maybe one cute outfit a week. But it would be fun to add something new to my blog. :]
I haven't written in quite a while. My last post also kind of made it sound like I might never blog again. However, I am back! I thought about it and I really do like blogging and sharing what is going on in my life with friends and family...and the occasional stranger. Anyway, now onto my life as of late.
The biggest news in my life right now is that I quit my job about a week and a half ago. There are all kinds of reasons for why I quit but it has honestly been wonderful! My job caused a lot of stress and it is wonderful to not have that load on my back right now. I am in the process of finding a new job but I am not trying super hard right now because I love having the time to keep my house clean, cook for my husband, and still be able to relax. I have cooked more for Race since I quit my job than I have probably the entire year that we have been married. And I love it! I love thinking of things to cook, learning how to cook with what we have in the house, making lists of what to make for the week then making lists of what groceries I need to buy. I love making lists of what needs to get done around the house and then being able to cross things off the list as they get done. I really feel like I am getting the hang of being a wife now after not doing it for the first nine months of our marriage. There are definitely pros and cons to not having a job but right now I really am enjoying all of the pros. Race and I are a lot tighter on money than we have been since we got married but I feel like we are so much happier in other ways. And I think we eat way healthier since we don't have the money to go out to eat all of the time. We are definitely learning to stick to a budget more than we ever have before but it is so worth it.
In other news, we are going to Oregon next Monday!! I am so excited! I lived in Oregon until I was eight. I don't remember tons about it but I just went back to visit my grandparents last year and every time we drove somewhere I was awestruck at the beauty of the mountains and the land there. I can't wait to show it all off to Race and for Race to meet my Great Grandma Usher, get to know my other grandparents better and to meet all of my cousins and aunts and uncles that weren't able to make it to our wedding or reception. Mostly I just can't wait to show Race off to all of them! Also, my grandparents will be celebrating their 50th Anniversary! I love having examples in my family of happy marriages. :] We will be in Oregon for a week and then we are headed back to Arizona for a couple of weeks before we head up to Utah for Race's family reunion. I was able to go to Race's family reunion last year and it was so much fun! He has a LOT of family in this small town and they all get together for a day of games, auctions, good food, and finally a dance! That is definitely my favorite part. They have a live band {made up of the cutest little old men} play music while we square dance and two-step the night away. Apparently last summer someone commented to Race's mom about Race and I being good dancers. Woot! Woot! We have never had any dance lessons but apparently we move well together. ;} I love dancing with my husband. He often dances with me in the kitchen with or without music and it is one of my very favorite things to do with him {I don't know if he even knows that}.
Well, that's about it for now. Plus a picture I took on a date Race and I went on forever ago. The sidewalk did all the talking for us.
Also, check out this link. It's a really neat video/love story.
