Oregon

Mt. Shasta (so not technically Or. but we did see drive right through on the way up)

At breakfast with Gram

Lake near the town where Gram lives

fun at the Scandinavian Festival

self explanatory

dinner with my aunt & uncle

I spent last week in Oregon visiting my grandma, and aunt & uncle. My mom, brother, brothers girlfriend, and I road tripped it and saw some gorgeous scenery along the way (mainly once you hit NorCal and Or.). It had been about 4 years since we'd been up there, and I really had forgotten just how gorgeous Oregon is. It's amazing, and I just forget since I really do live in a concrete jungle. We did lots of visiting, around-the-house chores for my grandma, LOTS of eating. Good grief, I never thought I would be so happy to get home and resume a normal eating schedule again. It was a last minute trip & unfortunately Ted and my dad couldn't make it. This was the first trip one of us has made without the other since we've been married. We've only been married about 7 months, but it was still weird. Ted just kept saying "I did live on my own before, you know." haha. We all survived, and I'm so glad we were able to make this trip. It's nice to get away and remember that things aren't all "go, go, go, & get out of my way" everywhere.

Just as a side note - we did stop in Redding, CA to spend the night on Monday and then hit the road early on Tuesday for the last 4-5 hours until we reached our destination. Well somehow my brother remembered this diner that we ate at on another trip up there that was like at least 13 years ago. I have NO idea how he remembered it, but he did and he was obsessed with stopping there for breakfast on Tuesday morning. We were driving through Shasta and saw the sign for it, it's called Black Bear Diner, and after checking out their website I realize they have LOTS of locations. The food was seriously amazing, great service, friendly people. If you're ever in the area I would highly recommend stopping. You won't be sorry.

havasu weekend

As I mentioned last week, we spent the weekend in Lake Havasu this past weekend. It was so fun, so relaxing, so needed. Our friends/neighbors ended up coming with us, and it was really fun having them there. I mentioned to them that I really appreciate and value these short trips now that we're married, on our own, & own a house. The time & money to do things like this just isn't there all the time, or even half the time we would like it to be. The weather was GREAT. It felt like the temperature only hit about 90, which is awesome. Not too windy at all. If anything, the water was a little chilly still since it's only May. Regardless of that chilly water, we all had a great time hanging out in the water, relaxing, enjoying a beer (or two, or three, or...). I got one of our neighbors to go tubing with me. She didn't like it that much, but she tried! Her husband also went tubing & he seemed really like it. It all depends on what you want - a smooth ride, or a crazy ride.

There was some delicious food had for... everyone.

Ted smoked up a pork shoulder so we could have pulled pork sandwiches (SO GOOD). We ended up making way too much pulled pork, so the neighboring campers had pulled pork sandwiches with the rest of us. I wish I had gotten a picture of it all! It was a nice spread. Homemade barbeque sauce & homemade coleslaw to go with it all. That's always what I envision camping to be like - relaxing, and sharing with those around you. Getting to know your "neighbors" if you will. Great times had by ALL.

Now it's back to reality time. I was actually really happy to be back in my own bed (always the thing I miss the most) and see the puppies. Those dogs were so happy to see us! It makes their annoying moments worth it.

I'll finish this one off with a picture of Ted manning the grill. This time with carne asada. Mmmm... those carne asada burritos were delicious. One of Ted's goals is to own a big truck with a big trailer to haul around a big grill & smoker to camping trips like this. The man has a dream... :) I can back it up, he does know his way around a grill. So much so that I would be willing to give him all the cooking responsibilities at home. What can I say? I'm a giver.

I love.... Mondays??

You read that right! I love Mondays. Or, Monday - as in today. Why? Because today is one day closer to a weekend in Havasu. My family is into boating (brother wakeboards, dad ski's, I spectate) & this will be our first boating trip of the "season". It will probably be the only one Ted & I can go to, and given the shit state of the economy it may be the only one of the season anyways. And just to make this trip even better, our fun/awesome neighbors are coming, along with one of Ted's coworkers & her boyfriend. So it should be really fun! I haven't met this coworker of Ted's, but from what he's told me about her she sounds really awesome, so I'm stoked for some R&R.

The only thing I don't really like about going to the river is that I am so obscenely and ghostly white I actually reflect light. It's pretty bad. I can tan, but I don't. Dad's had two melanomas so I don't mess around with tanning anymore. It's just not worth it to me after seeing what he's gone through. I know many people are like "Yeah, skin cancer is no big deal." But it is a big deal. It's a BIG, SCARY deal. Aren't ya'll glad you jumped into the Debbie Downer post today? Enough on that. The point is I am ghostly white and people look at me as such.

I am really looking forward to Friday rolling around and getting out of town! I just can't believe how quickly the year is flying by. It's already May. The problem is that once I realize it's May, it's almost June, and so on. Speaking of June... I have to brainstorm a good birthday present for my brother who will be turning 24. Twenty-four. When the hell did that happen? I'm pretty sure last year he was 12 & annoying.

Come on Week, go by faster!