Cullen + Angie

Here you go, Wisconsin! Here are a few more photos that I took at Cullen and Angie's wedding. Tim will post his soonly.

 

 

Love, Sweet Love

   I love a good wedding. I love the coming together in the spirit of devotion and hope, the cake, the cheer, or, if for no other reason, to witness which crazy relative comes out of the family closet and wreaks havoc in some unsuspecting way (I'm lookin' at you, my sweet brother Dan).
  The only thing I love more than a good wedding, is a good surprise wedding. After 8+ years, Tim's cousin Cullen and his lovely girlfriend, Angela decided to make honest people out of each other. They got the judge on Monday, called us Tuesday, and had the wedding on Wednesday. Quick and dirty and sooooo much fun!
  For all of the family in Wisconsin, bare with me; I'm working on all of the images from the wedding and I'll post more in the next couple of days. Until then, congratulations, Cullen and Angie! We loved being part of your special day!

Whatever Gets You Through the Night

I have to hand it to Alex, he tries. He really does.

Case in point: 
  Alex finds himself blessed and cursed by attending a Mandarin Immersion Program for school. He gets a kick out of learning a  language that no one else in the family comprehends and he finds it especially delightful when he gets to "teach" me Chinese (I use the word "teach" loosely because the only phrase that I have managed to remember over the last three years is 'My butt is on fire,' which will obviously be loads of help to me in China).
  On the flip side, going to a school like this one requires Alex to spend a fair amount of time with his arch nemesis, otherwise known as: Homework. (Key in the sinister sounding music here.) Last year was an almost daily battle with his sworn enemy that left him frustrated and deflated and me ready to sell him and his Chinese school on Ebay.
  This year, however, he has found his balance. Besides doing his homework behind furniture or under blankets with a flashlight, he uses this little trick to mix things up. Had I any idea how much it would focus and calm things, I'd have worn it every single day for my Chemistry classes in college.

 That's my boy.

Walkin' on Sunshine

While some of you have been buried under enough snow this winter to seriously consider moving to Florida (Wait! They got snow too!), Portland has received it's own version of crazy weather. It's called "sunshine." In February. Although I can almost see the collective eye rolling, I have to tell you that this is noteworthy. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining; in fact, I have spent a lot of time reveling in it. But allergies in February are no picnic. And Portland, as my friend Chelsea so noted, may be the only place on the planet where sunshine causes traffic jams (I wish I were kidding).

At any rate, I thought I'd share a few shots that I've taken over the last few days of things awakening. But as a side note, please don't fantasize about moving here. It's pretty, but unless you're willing to swing on a pole for a living (and some of you might totally fit the bill), the finding-a-job-thing here is about as much fun as the layers of snow you are residing under.

 

  

 

A Nod to Hybernation

Gray skies and rainy days. We're making the most of it.

Another Day in Paradise

There are some pretty serious perks to living out here in the Pacific Northwest. For one, we're only a stone's throw away from the ocean and the mountains. This arrangement fits nicely into my "Both is Best" philosophy. You'll never here me say I'm either a "mountain" person or an "ocean" person. Nope. Don't have to sweat that particular question because "Both is Best." See? A nice perk.

Today, we decided to throw the stone towards the mountains and go for a nice long hike. A seven mile hike, in fact. This was a major victory for Tim and me as we didn't have to drag the kids out by their ankles from sheer exhaustion nor did we have to morph into pack mules and carry them out. We have glimpsed the future and it is good!

As a side note, I usually take lots and lots of photographs of our adventures or at least carry the camera around and threaten to take lots and lots of pictures, but today I brought only one lens and forgot a backup battery (Didn't I learn anything in photography school??!). I got exactly 10 photos taken before my camera pooped out which was totally irritating because this hike is spectacular with lots of waterfalls and a vast, impressive landscape. You'll just have to take my word for it. (Except for you, mom and dad. This is a MUST on your next trip here!) Anyway, here's what I managed to salvage:

 

M is for Montana

So, I have been asked by a couple of people when I might be planning to update my blog which means two distinct things:
a) People are reading my blog (yay!).  
b) The Wii game that my brothers lovingly sent the "kids" for Christmas has taken over my life.

In the past week since we've been home I've taken on the hours, pallor, and unblinking stare of your stereotypical gamer. Not a pretty sight, I can assure you. That being said, I must take a moment from my ridiculous obsession to write about our holiday in Montana. Beautiful, majestic Montana. *loving sigh*

I truly love going back to Montana to visit. I love the scenery. I love the people. Hell, I even tolerate the ridiculous walking pedestrian laws. (For those of you who haven't had the experience of whiplash or terror from this particular law, Missoula has decided that a pedestrian can walk or run into traffic anywhere on a street and without any warning to vehicles on the road. The pedestrians of Missoula take this law to heart and use it often.  Doesn't matter if four lanes of traffic are clipping along at 40 mph, those little buggers will jump out there and dare you to run them over because they know they have the right of way.  It's amazing that more people have not been maimed or more drivers have not died on the spot from heart attacks).
Anyway, besides that little detail, Montana, specifically Missoula, is a place for me to breathe and be still. We hiked daily and saw dear friends. We went up to the local ski area and explored. We caught up on Dexter and Big Love. Tim cooked and we ate our body weight in decadent food. It was a wonderful trip.

 When we visit, we stay with one of our best friends in the world, Jim (aka Jimmer). Jim has an amazing depth of knowledge about Roman and Greek history, classic movies and books and opera from around the world. He's also a musician and was a friend of Harvey Milk. To say that Jimmer is an interesting character is kind of an understatement.  I love spending time with him because I always experience and take away something new and unexpected. I have seen Turandot and Madam Butterfly and have a fondness for Puccini opera. I have fallen in love with Maria Callas.  Under his influence, I've read Anna Karenina, had awful dreams while trying to get through the book of American Psycho, and have taken a couple of stabs at Proust. He has given me all the back stories on my favorite Hitchcock films.

This trip, Jimmer introduced us to 1970's Italian horror films. Think B rated slasher meets art house meets the 1970's. In short, kind of beautiful, kind of cheesy, and strangely memorable. We laughed uncontrollably.

I can hardly imagine what he'll have in store for us next.

Now we are  home again getting back into the swing of life in the city. In my mind, I'm already planning our next trip to Montana.