Hangin Out in and Around Portland

So the month of October has flown past. I am still working at Wells Fargo and having the time of my life let me tell you!! We have had a lot of company which has been awesome and I finally got a new camera so I have some pictures to post. I won't mention the three new coats and 2 pairs of new shoes but hey I need to get set up for city life. Shawn, DeAnne and their kids came down for a night with mom and dad. It was so fun to have all of them even though it was a short visit. Sarah Day is currently living with us so we had a rousing party this weekend with Carolyn, Leah, Mia and Mera. We have another fun weekend planned this weekend. We are taking off on Thursday night for San Francisco. We are hoping to see some sights and hopefully meet up with Cody and possibly Scott Smith. I will check in when I return.




The Girls Enjoying life in Portland.

Carebear, Mouse and I


Crazy girls

Mt. Hood..the only beautiful part of my drive

Gail and Brian at Sweet Tomatoes...dinner one Friday Night
The Amtrak station where I picked up Sarah.

Fountain in front of my work
My Excercise Routine

My Work

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Happy Birthday Auntie Jay/Mom!

Hope you had an awesome birthday on saturday. Sorry this post is a few days late. We miss you and love you lots!

Happy Birthday Lisa!

Hope you had an awesome day! We all love and miss you lots!

Happy 20th Birthday Brian!

Happy Birthday... we love you!

Another Week in Wyoming!

As the weather consistently becomes cooler, the colors around Southeast Wyoming are turning from green to yellow to brown. Thinking it would be our last chance for the year, Carolyn and I took a picnic up to Vedauwoo park one day last week. I think we had just missed the best and brightest of the fall leaves; the trees were getting pretty bare, but we had a nice walk and lunch anyway.

In the middle of one trail we were excited to find a mommy moose and her calf. We decided our lives were more important than our hike, so stopped and turned around. I climbed the rocks, giving them a wide berth, and snapped this pic from up above and beside them. The moose on the left, the mom, is staring straight ahead at Carolyn... who is about 30 yards in front of her on the trail.



Back to work for awhile, now. We had just a skiff of snow earlier this week, but it melted right away. Jack Frost, however, is getting lots of practice.

Looking forward to mom and dad's visit in a couple of days, and Carolyn's parents are coming too! It's the perfect time for a Great Alaskan Fish Fry!!!

Finding Fall Fourwheelin' Fun

Last week found us out in the country... a real blasty blast. It was starting to get pretty cold, but for the most part we had sunny, sunny sunshine. I took on the responsibility of making sure that the four wheelers and such ran smoothly. ;) They worked fine...

Under the pivot... all's well from here...
Getting the cows back in on the four wheeler...
Dave and Jane Bowman's farm...


This was a first... hand feeding a raccoon oreo cookies!
Charlie the parrot - he can unwrap and eat a starburst all by himself! Maybe I should check for cavities in his beak?!?! :) He also likes to sqwak "Raanntt! Yello!" when the phone rings!

Jane and I went for a dune buggy ride at dark. We were spotting for coyotes, but I think that we were laughing loud enough that we didn't need a gun to scare them away!!!
Then I was able to take Carolyn for a ride the next afternoon. She did very well, and only screeched when I admitted the wind was so cold I was driving with my eyes closed. We survived!
When we returned home from gospel meeting Thursday night the cows were everywhere! They had been corralled for the day, since the calves were weaned that morning. I guess in their extreme anxiety they chewed through the bale that was blocked the way out. Anyway.... I was more than happy to help get them back in.... on a fourwheeler in the dark! It's great... peel out!!!

Vedauwoo Park in the Rain...

"Tara-winn" (as she is called by about half of our field...kids) and I stopped by Vedauwoo park on the way to Laramie a couple of weeks ago. The falls colors were beautiful, and it was raining - smelled awesome. It made me a little homesick for Alaska, though...





Just as we were leaving the sun decided to come out...all the yellow turned to gold. Ahhh.
I layed down on the ground to take a picture, forgetting that we were on our way to a sing. Oops... a little muddy for the appearance, but luckily clothes are washable. I'm still learning...

Happy Birthday Dad!

Hope you have an awesome day! I can't wait to see you guys tomorrow. I love you so much! Thanks for always being such a wonderful example to us kids. Love your # 3 Daughter

Cows, crops and Kansas

Summer merges into fall gracefully down here in the land of the Wy-homies. It's the beginning of October already, and the leaves are starting to turn. The weather has still been beautiful, but starting to cool off at night. We still haven't had a hard frost, but then again, I forget how far south we actually are!

The other week we stayed with some friends out in the country, and I had fun trap shooting with the kids! Those poor clays didn't stand a chance...

It's getting closer and closer to sunflower harvest! This picture was taken about a month ago... now the heads are really heavy and drooping straight to the ground. The leaves are drying out, and the petals are brown and shriveled. There's only a short window of time when the fields actually look appealing!


Last week Glenn, Justin, Carolyn and I went to Bird City, Kansas for convention. It was my first time to Kansas. I guess in my stereotypical mind I pictured a long, flat, straight highway through miles and miles of cornfields on both sides. I was sorely dissappointed. There was corn, alright, but in crop circles that were never across the road from eachother. Oh well, there was corn across from the convention grounds, so I spent several mornings wandering through the fields waiting for the sun to come up!

Bird City, Kansas - Convention grounds at dawn from the edge of the cornfield.
Sunrise over the cornfield:

After convention, Carolyn and I spent a night with Ted and Amy Busse. We had so much fun! They took us out to their farm, and I "witched" for water... then we saw the cows, crops and the Kansas countryside. It was a blast.