Spring is here...

or atleast the Northwest's idea of spring.
It's a bit more colder and rainy than I'm used to, but still beautiful and welcomed.



Cherry Trees. They might be my new favorite tree. These soft pink blooms are everywhere. This was an unexpected treat.



I've seen lots of rainbows from the barge. This one was the most vibrant I've seen; look for the pink and purple.





Farmer's Markets are finally open again. Which means we can eat plenty of these sugary strawberries again! yum.



Hope you are having a great week. We are really excited for next week! My mom, aunt Lynn, and Heather (my cousin) are coming to visit! Woohoo! Can't wait.

A typical day in pictures...

My days are filled with lots of laughs...



Brother-sister bonding time...



Messy lunches with an 18 month old... I love her eyes in this one :)



Sweet little toes...



Crazy bed hair, and cuddles with Andy and Mr. Beaver...



Sweet faces from a baby who looks like a little girl now...



And swing time...


Aren't they cute?

I'll answer that for you... yes, they are!

Birthday post to come in the next day or two. Thank you, dear friends and family, for making this birthday one of the best to date! I love you all.

Japanese Garden

Heath and I went to the Japanese Garden last week. One day a year, they have free admission to the gardens! I normally costs $9.50 per person, so we jumped at the chance to go. Though crowded, rainy, and cold, we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly!

The Japanese Garden is located next to the International Rose Test Garden that I have mentioned before. I've been told it's a great place to go for the whole day, to meditate and appreciate natural beauty. Going on a free day, we experienced the beauty... not so much the peace and quiet though. :)

Enjoy my colorful leaf pictures! I'm pretty sure this might be my last post of them... they are dropping fast. Hope Tennessee still has some left for us!















Just so you know, it's supposed to rain the whole time we are in Nashville. We cannot the escape rainy, gloomy days! It hasn't been too bad, though I would appreciate one occasional sunny day! I've had a hard time taking pictures for my etsy shop because I've had no natural light. Oh well.

Texans, we'll be saying hello in less than one month. Tennesseans, we'll be there Monday! Have a lovely weekend, dear friend.

Shutterfly & Christmas cards

Anyone else out there use Shutterfly? I've been on their email list for a while now, and they send out pretty incredible deals. Well, it's about to be Christmas time and they have really cute Christmas card designs! And, if you blog about this promotion, you get 50 free cards. Woohoo! Shipping usually runs around $3.00. (Unfortunately, you can only get this deal if you blog about it.) The offer is good until December 31. I was going to make my own Christmas cards, but who can beat free?!? Shutterfly is a wonderful place to purchase photos and use it for photo storage as well! Shutterfly has so many cute and classic christmas card designs! They will look perfect on my fridge. :)

My favorite Christmas cards are: Gift Tag Story, Gorgeous Gift Tag, All of Us, and Retro Christmas. You can also search for your favorites by clicking this link.

If you have never used Shutterfly, simply sign up and receive 50 free 4x6 prints! Great deal huh?

http://blog.shutterfly.com/5358/holiday2010-blog-submission-form/

Click the link above and get started fellow bloggers! I'm anxiously awaiting your lovely Christmas cards. :)

It's Fall Y'all

I cannot express to you how nice it is to live in a place with actual seasons! It's so wonderful. Living in West Texas was not terrible, but in the middle of fall I always found myself becoming home-sick. The leaves never changed colors... the weather stayed warm until December...

Well today, Heath and I got to experience Oregon fall weather at its finest. We drove out to Mt. Hood (which is about a hour and twenty minutes from our house) to explore the Salmon River area. Imagine the sound of the leaves ruffling softly as the wind blows, watching them fall slowly around you as you walk along the trail, and listening to the river move rapidly over the shallow rock beds. (that was my sorry attempt of describing the most beautiful, serene place in the world!)



This was probably one of my most favorite hikes we've taken thus far. It probably won me over due to the golden, yellow leaves, the perfect 70 degree weather, and the abundance of wildlife.

We weren't able to spot any Salmon... I think they're spawning. However, we did hang out with some monster Steelhead Trout. (see picture below) It's amazing how amusing these things can be. We watched them for at least thirty minutes. And I probably could have watched them longer :)



I realized that Oregon has giant redwoods too.







I love living here. The past few weeks have been a little difficult. With the job search, finding our new everyday routine, missing friends and family... but today was a great day. For Heath and I, and for me individually.

I think I'm a mountains kind of girl. You know, some people like the beach, some people like texas, but I like the mountains. And the rivers and waterfalls that come with them. :) Thanks for reading, and I promise to share more pictures and updates soon!



Happy Weekend

Portland

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Heath and I went on a little adventure. Heath, Theresa (my mother-in-law), Mira (a Newton-family friend), and I packed our bags and headed out to the Northwest early Wednesday morning. Mira lived in Portland for twelve years or so, so it was very helpful to have her as our guide! Boy, did we have fun. smile.

I decided to post the following pictures to give you just a glimpse of what you will surely see in person.... right?!?!

The flowers and trees in the Portland area are beautiful!!! I wanted to take pictures of every single rhododendron and tulip I could find... they seemed to be four times the size of any I've ever seen. Must be the rain.


The Rose Garden in Washington Park. Though there were hardly any roses in bloom, this garden was quite impressive to view, and it made me really excited to visit back in June. (Many rose pictures to come!)


We learned that you must be prepared for rain at all times, hence our hooded jackets. It never rained like it does in the south, just drizzled... a lot. And even hailed on us a few times. I think Heath and I might suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) while living up there... sunny days seem to be few and far between there. That's why we are moving in the summer!!!


When you come to visit, I'll have a bouquet of those waiting for you. Guaranteed. Now, won't that be lovely!


Multnomah Falls. One of the most majestic places I have visited. Pictures just don't do it justice.




Last but not least, we found our apartment! It's settled in a great location, just steps (literally) away from the MAX station. We'll also have two bedrooms so our lovely friends and family can come to visit! Can't wait to cook lots of salmon and start my garden.