Almost gone....

Well, we will be leaving for China one week from Monday. CRAZY!! I can't believe the time is already here! It seems like there's still so much to do! The most important thing for us to do now is spend as much time as possible with friends and family that we will miss so much! So if we get to see you one more time before we leave, YAY! And if not, we love you and will miss you! We will be updating this blog as regularly as possible to keep you all up to speed with the exciting adventures in our lives. We love you and wish you happiness for the next 6 months!!

Bridal Shower

Well, my little sis is getting married (Brittany, not Karli) so I threw her a bridal shower in Caldwell for all those friends and family that may not be able to make it to the events in Utah. It turned out great, thanks to some great new recipes and the wonderful friends and family that came! Congrats Britt--I love you!

Birthdays!

It was Bennett's birthday on the 23rd--she is now 2!! We celebrated Bridger's birthday at the same time. Here are pictures of our adorable nieces.....we love them!

Benny & her favorite Uncle Chase

Cute baby Madelyn. She's getting so big!

Yay for sidewalk chalk! Our gift was a hit. Probably more drawing on her legs than on the sidewalk, but oh so much fun!!

I love my Benny!

Yee Haw!

Chase & I went to the Snake River Stampede....one of my favorite pastimes. We had a great time admiring the animal cruelty (I actually don't think it's cruel) and eating great snacks.

Chase getting ready for the rodeo....I demanded that he change his yellowish shirt & shorts combination and this is what he did instead.....go figure.

Snake River Stampede!!!

So patriotic

A little of the action

Halftime freak show

Chase's cousin, Nat, was bull riding....exciting!

He rode well, but right after this buck, the bull decided to just start running instead of bucking. He was confused about his duties. Anyway, Nat got a re-ride option, but didn't take it.

Mountain Adventures!

We took a little trip up to Wallowa Lake, Oregon after Chase got off work on Tuesday. It is located in NE Oregon and was gorgeous! We only spent one night, but we had many adventures...

Chase chomped a deer..........and I ate another as a dainty snack. (These deer roam the area around the lake and are super tame. I guess they let you pet them....we ate them instead.)

Beautiful scenery......

....but strange people.



We decided to take an alternate route home, and we were presented with some gorgeous views!

Chase posed by the sign of his employer--the US Forest Service. This was near the entrance for the Hells Canyon Overlook, which was a beautiful vista of the Snake River Valley. Did you know that this gorge is the deepest river gorge in North America? NOW YOU KNOW!

P.S. We saw a baby bear cub right on the highway. It lumbered off the road before we could get a picture, but it was SO cute and so little!

Workin Man

My mujer is making me participate in this blogosphere, despite my attempt to take a recess. I am to explain these photogs.

This summer I am working for the Forest Service. I work 8 days on, 6 days off. I camp the whole time I'm working. I'm a hydrologic technician and I am collecting data on the effects of roads on watersheds. I do a lot of driving. I go to an assigned forest, drive up old logging roads that are gonna be decommissioned or maintained, and use a fancy GPS and laptop to map and record various data on the roads...stuff like erosion, landslides, and drainage points. It's pretty interesting.

These photogs were taken in Olympic National Forest where I spent the last 8 days working. It's a beautiful area on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. I was near the Skokomish River the whole time. The forests were dense and gorgeous.

Vagabond

Well, I have convinced myself that I don't need a picture in order to post something on here. Chase currently has the camera and so I can't post any pictures, but I can tell you about what's been happening with us lately! I have been a traveling fool the last few days. I hit the road with my mother-in-law on Friday, headed for Oregon. We stayed at her sister's for a couple days. I learned how to extract honey from beehives, went to Caledonian Days (Scottish festival), and did A LOT of reading and eating. Fun.

Now I am at the Wintrode residence for a couple days with Molly. We have become blogging buds. Tomorrow we will be going to the Cheese Factory....and Les Schwab, since I have a almost-flat tire! =(

On Tuesday I will pick up Chase and we will go camping in the wilderness. I haven't seen Chase in 8 days....so I am a bit anxious. We will get pictures up soon. I am enjoying the vagabond (and unemployed) life.....but ready for a little....something different.