Oregonian

I love rain. . but the motto "everything in moderation" applies here too. I am a true Oregonian but, I think when June begins to look like January it is a bit excessive. Oh well, at least I have some homemade bread in the works and some homemade strawberry jam to eat it with. mmm mmm good.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day this year was very good. We went to La Grande for my Grandma's 80th birthday party. It was a lot of fun to be with the family. We spent some time putting flowers on graves of family members. It was good and difficult especially since we haven't seen Grandma Perry's grave since the funeral. It is still fresh. I love my family. I honestly can say my greatest memories come from being with my family.

Prissy Girl. . I think not!!

I have come to the conclusion that I am not a prissy girl. . but I would not classify myself as a tomboy either. I think I have a certain girlishness about me, but I am also not afraid of getting my hands dirty or do "boy tasks". .Here is a list of things to prove my point.

1. I like to shoot guns.
2. I like to shoot rock chucks.
3. I have been thigh deep in mud catching bull frogs and loved it.
4. Cadavers. . Totally don't freak me out.
5. I can change the oil in my car! Thanks Justin!
6. I love to garden. . . or get dirt under my fingernails.
7. I have held snakes. .not that gross.

Okay so I hit a blank, but I love spending time with Justin, because if it weren't for him I wouldn't know how to change the oil in my car or experience "hunting".

Speaking of hunting Justin and I are looking forward for our rock chuck shooting adventure we have planned for this weekend. Woot woot! :) I'm sure there will be pictures of that soon to come!

Good News. .and Life Lessons

Justin and I moved back home so that we could get our finances in order so life would then become easier and we could get back on our own two feet. :) The good news is we have made a lot of progress thanks to Jami and Joe's generosity of letting us live with them.

When I attended Oregon State I made the mistake of taking classes and not paying for them right away resulting in a large sum on my account and a lot of interest that has accumulated over the years as I've been SLOWLY working at it. Well, since we have been home we paid it off. I no longer owe Oregon State any money at all. WHEW!! What a huge weight off my shoulders and a lesson learned. I told Justin that I will never owe Oregon State money again unless. . . my children attend OSU. :) Go BEAVS!!

I have learned a lot. I will be honest. I have never been that great with my finances. I never balanced my checkbook I would just guess how much I had. . I floated checks more than I would care to admit and I spent my money impulsively. Now five years after my mistakes were made I've finally gotten on track but am still paying for them. I learned how to balance my check book. I've been learning to live within my means. I'm paying off my debts one by one and as I pay one off I feel so much better and those conference talks about getting out of debt don't make me feel as bad as they used to. I figure as long as I am working on it and there is improvement being made I'm doing just fine and I have nothing to feel poorly about. The beauty of this lesson is that by changing my habits my marriage will be so much better for it. I appreciate Justin's patience with me and my "baggage" that he married into.

I have one more debt that I have to pay out side of my gigantic student loans; which will unfortunately be a constant companion for years to come. Once that one debt is gone life will be even more amazing and cause for celebration. :) I can't wait.

Arizona!

Justin and I flew to Arizona last week for James and Mallorie's wedding. They got married at the Arizona Mesa Temple. It was a beautiful ceremony. We had a lot of fun especially dancing at the reception! We are so happy for James and Mallorie!

Nothing too exciting

Well, life is still going and we're still busy! We had a nice Easter holiday. We went back to my Mom and Dad's for Easter and had a great time. I have to say our football game in the back yard was pretty fun. Hallie was making all sorts of plays for us. :) It was so much fun to be with everyone. Justin went to Rexburg to help his sister and brother-in-law move back here to Portland. He is actually in the process of an all-nighter drive home. I wonder how well I will be sleeping tonight. :/ We are excited for this next week. We are flying to Arizona to go to Justin's brother's wedding. It will be fun to see him get hitched :) Anyway, we love you all.

Weekend Getaway!

Sign for Columbia Cliff Villas. . . .

Sign for Columbia Gorge Hotel . .

Columbia Gorge Hotel

Cliff Villas Hotel. .

Now see why we got confused!?!?

Our view from our room!

Justin and I spent this last weekend at a Hotel in Hood River. It was beautiful! When we got to the hotel we tried to check into the Columbia Gorge Hotel. . .but that didn't work. Turns out we actually made our reservations at the hotel next to the Columbia Gorge Hotel call Columbia Cliff Villas. We went over to check in and while doing so mentioned that we were celebrating our two year anniversary. And to our amazement she upgraded our room to a river view room. Sooooo beautiful! Our anniversary isn't until the 22nd, but this past weekend is the only time we could go. . regardless it was a ton of fun and the perfect weekend!