June

Well June sure got away from us... as did these last two weeks of July! We've been on the go for most of it, so that will be our excuse.
Nick has been doing a stellar job in his new career as a Real Estate Broker. The learning curve for the business is so steep, but he's definitely coming out on top--and it seems like Nick has finally found his knack. His Nick-knack, if you will. Ha!
I am still searching for work, both at the local colleges and all non-profits in town. No big bites yet, but I feel like I'm getting warmer. I have been very lucky to work for Nick's cousins part time, watching their kiddos. It has truly helped sustain me during these uncertain times!
Toby is still Toby. His favorite place is still the backyard. Nick and I were laughing today that every time we ask him if he wants to go outside, he still gets excited like it's such a new concept! At least we can say he's not taking his playground for granted.

Over the last several weeks, we have had many visitors and have done many things! I think it's safe to say that this has been the busiest we've been in the 1.5 years we've lived in Oregon. (One and a half years-- can you believe it? It feels like we just moved, and yet we also feel like we've been here forever. Guess that's the conundrum of finding your home :)

Here is a bit of what we have been up to:

 

In mid-June my dad and Courtney flew up for a visit. We packed the weekend with lots of good stuff, including a Garrison Keillor concert, a visit to our wedding venue, and of course VooDoo donuts. My dad surprised Nick and me with a beautiful barbecue as a gift for our engagement. We christened it with some delicious ribs and corn on the cob. We enjoyed some amazing food (and beer!) that weekend, including gourmet pizza and breadsticks (with a pitcher of Black Butte Porter alongside it), homemade Hawaiian Bread, homemade waffles, homebrewed BEER, and homemade peanut butter ice cream a la Courtney and Nick. I'm glad I was out of the kitchen when they were working on the ice cream-- I think their spoon-lickin' would have driven me crazy! The ice cream was incredible though, so they did a good job ;)

In late June, several of our college buddies came up to visit. We met up in Portland so I could give them the grand tour of the city. During the first day we grabbed lunch at the foodcarts and ate on the waterfront, took the bus & lightrail to the Japanese Gardens and Rose Garden, explored Powell's bookstore, and drank plenty of beer at a couple local breweries.

 We spent the night in Portland (at a posh hotel, might I add) and woke up to a good breakfast the next morning. That day we did more Portland sight-seeing, including hitting up an awesome arcade and enjoying tea at a little shop. We made a detour on our way down to Eugene so that I could show them the magnificent Multnomah Falls.

 Once in Eugene, we reverted to college mode... i.e., lots of beer drinking, Ramen, hot tea and hanging out. Daniel and Nick dominated at beer pong most of the night, while I barely got a ball in a single cup. I blame it on the 9% alc. beer I was drinking!

 On Saturday, we packed in a few solid hours of good old fashioned shooting. Unfortunately, Eugene showed its ugly side that day and it rained on and off throughout our "tournament." Luckily, Nick and I brought along our BEST purchase yet-- a pop-up tent canopy! We must be true Oregonians now, as not even rain can stop us from having a good time. If you must know who won the tournament, I suppose I'll share. It was me. By a hair. Nick was a close second, though!
On Sunday we had to say goodbye to Nathan, Daniel and Autumn as they started their long drive back to the Bay Area. The rest of us went on a nice big climb hike at Mt. Pisgah Arboretum (our venue). We rewarded ourselves afterwards with their first VooDoo donuts experience.
It was so nice to have all of our friends out to our neck of the woods. I'm glad I finally got to show them what this state is all about--and why it's worth sticking around, despite a little rain here and there ;)

 A couple days after our buddies left, Nick's parents flew into town for the Fourth of July weekend. Our week was jam-packed with them as well! We spend the 4th at Auntie Linda and Uncle Mike's cabin, where they had an archery contest, horseshoes tournament and a HUGE potluck. I think there were a good 10 dogs there, too! Toby got to see his girlfriend Bessie again, which is always great for both of them. We topped off the night by getting onto our roof from the guest bedroom and watching a 360 degree display of fireworks in the sky. What a great experience that was!
The next few days included house hunting for Rod and Vikki, another shooting tournament and a couple more big family dinners. They brought along their little pup, Lucy, who Toby has now taken a liking to (lookout, Bessie!).

Now that things are settling down a bit, we find ourselves in the middle of Summer! What greater activity to do than to go berry picking, right? I went along with cousins Brandy and Katie for some blueberry and raspberry picking, where they sell "U-pick" berries by the pound. I think this is my new favorite thing about Eugene. Just look at the size of those berries in my hand! (Also, note the freshly harvested herbs from my backyard garden.)

I have been doing a lot of reading on canning and Jams, so that was my next project. The process seemed SO intimidating at first, especially because there are a good 20 steps from start to finish. Once I began my first batch though, it felt easy. Perhaps that's due to my hours of research-- and The Joy of Cooking ;)
I started out by making Raspberry Jam on Friday afternoon. A couple hours later I already wanted to do it again... so I made Blueberry Jam. We had homemade waffles with sliced bananas and blueberry jam that night. On Saturday I still hadn't had enough so I ended with a large batch of Strawberry-Balsamic Jam. I think this means that I am officially hooked on canning. And berry picking. Also, judging by the spoonfuls of Jam that Nick eats at a time, I'm pretty sure he's okay with this new hobby!