Things I'm thinking about...

1. I'm sorry for leaving you for so long. I know my previous "Collections" post was interesting, but not 2 months worth of interesting. :)

2. Yesterday I heard thunder and immediately stopped what I was doing... NW Oregon is not often graced by thunderstorms. Let's just say I haven't heard thunder for a whole year. I was a great treat to sit on our porch and listen, a nice reminder of home.

3. Since April I have had dizzy spells on the barge (at work). This concerned me for a while until I realized it's boating season and the barge is slightly affected by wake caused by the hundreds of boats that pass daily. (just so you know, it didn't take me long to figure that out!)

4. The farmer's markets have been open for the past two months and we are soooo happy to see them again. I'm taking the kids to Sauvie Island later this week to the "you-pick" farms. Due to all the rain (it's been a long spring), all the crops are running several weeks behind, but hopefully there will be some strawberries to pick!

5. I have lots of pictures to share, but first I have to figure out the new blogger. Lots of things have changed during my break from the blog. Pictures include: cute kids, recent hikes, friend getaway over Memorial Day weekend, our apartment, Mom, Aunt Lynn, and Heather's visit, and recent crafts. Stick around, they'll be posted soon...

6. Recently, I've been thinking a lot about our future kiddos. I attribute most of this obsession to the line of work I'm in. I love my job, feel exhausted at the end of everyday, but it is completely worth it. We have names for two of our kids; Heath thinks we have three, but I am strongly opposed to naming one of our kids "Flora". Please back me up on this people. We don't plan on having kids anytime soon, it just excites me to think about what our future might look like in the next 5 years.

7. My family has gone through lots over the past several months, and I'm so glad I'm on this side of it now looking back. There have been and will be major changes, and it's hard to picture what my time will look like when I go home for Christmas this year. It will also be the first time to visit Tennessee without my granddaddy Daniels around. I have missed his laugh lately...

8. This can be held accountable for most of my depressed feelings lately.... we had our first 80 degree day this weekend, and have had only a handful of days in the 70s this whole year. Thus, the sun has not been around for a while. Not trying to complain... I still LOVE living here and am blessed to be surrounded by beautiful scenery daily. We are now recognizing though, the importance of a Hawaiian getaway, which we will be taking Spring of 2012. Good solution, huh?!?

9. Couponing. I'm not going to be the extreme couponer like the ones featured on TLC's tv series. I have been buying Sunday papers though, and follow 2 blogs that basically do all the work for me. I'll post more on this topic later; we did save $30 on last nights grocery bill solely due to my couponing! It feels nice to save our family money.

10. Things I'm excited about:
-Katie Buckel's visit!!!! (next week)
-Tommy and Emily's wedding (August)
-Newton family visit... and Granny and Pawpaw making the trip to see us!!! (August)
-long weekend trip with Heath to Seattle (2 weeks!)
-I'm sure there's more, but I have to leave in 5 minutes for work, so the rest will have to wait. Until next time friends.