survey says...

Our blog (why do I even say "our"...some distant hope that Matt would one day post something himself?) says "welcome to our newlywed life...etc" and I got to thinking...are we still newlyweds? How long are you a newlywed? -not that it matters, just curiosity about that weird term.

So I asked Matt this question: "do you think we are still newlyweds?" and his first response was, "I don't know, why?" in true Matt fashion. Then I told him where my thought process started and asked him the question again.

[long pause]

"Whatever you say, dear. Whatever makes you happy."

I busted up laughing because his answer was so ridiculous. Basically, that was the easy way out because he didn't care :)

Then I was thinking...okay...now that sounds like an old married couple of like 50 years, where the husband just always answers, "whatever you say dear" to make things easy. I can live with that. I like the sounds of "whatever you say, dear" although I would rather have honest opinions, unless of course it is something I really want to call the shot on :)

my verdict...not newlyweds. But that's okay by me. We might be considered newlyweds by other standards. I knew Matt very well when we got married, but there is something to be said for time spent in the daily grind known as real life. You know each other so much deeper and love them so much more, despite the things they do that drive you crazy.

I am married to my best friend and sure hope I feel the same in 48 more years and beyond. And I'll leave our little saying on the blog until I am creatively inspired by something new.

sunset and silhouettes

get down low?

i was reading an awesome blog called confessions of a pioneer woman (you should really check it out), and noting some tips in her photography section. One of them was to get down low to mix it up a little. Needless to say I marched to the park the next free afternoon I had, with my two furry subjects in tow, to try out this technique. who am i kidding...have you walked my dogs? let me rephrase...they walked me to the park.

i like the prideful look about zoe here, and the sky and trees is a nice change rather than a regular ol' background. still learning. [i don't think zoe would love this picture considering it is showcasing her ever-graying mug and missing 2 front bottom teeth! what an old lady!! she is the cutest ever to me]


zoe studies things and is very aware. i was laying in the grass so i could be at her level. still learning.



a playful and fun shot of bud rolling...this turned out way better than a shot standing up looking down at him rolling.


haha, oops! i was working on my aperture priority setting, but i guess i got my numbers mixed up...my subject is blurry but don't worry the trees about a thousand feet away are perfectly clear. ha.


i don't love this picture, but i do love that i got my aperture right...or close enough for now. buddy is in focus and zoe, only a couple feet behind him, is not in focus. aaaah. progress.


thanks for letting me share my novice photography mishaps and triumphs with you. i'm having fun. and i love that i have some time freed up to do this kind of thing!

finally!

december 26-28, we headed to lincoln city, oregon...a fabulous beach town, to celebrate derek's (well, his name is actually 'Roo' according to me) birthday. we have made a little tradition out of heading to the coast for a couple days when we are up. it was storming like crazy...sideways rain. we had the 6 of us (i must admit, we are all pretty fun people), our 5 dogs, games, books, and a roaring fireplace.

the happy couple pre-engagement

5 dogs waiting for a treat

kels and roo in the cabin the morning of their engagement!

snuggling couch kids

perfectly cheesy, yet somehow adorable picture of sister and brother-in-law. scary part is, i am pretty sure they didn't know the other was making the same expression.

roo bought himself a 'game' on his phone for his birthday...the oregon trail. he proceeded to play for about the next 24 hours. by the time he got to oregon, kels and i had been killed off from like 18 broken limbs combined and cholera...meanwhile only matt and derek made it all the way there! haha.

now THIS was hilarious to witness. not sure what started the rough-housing with matt and my mom.




when the weather broke, we bolted down to the beach. dogs. dogs. and more dogs.



some engagement photos...



random fun on the beach...



attempted family photo. oops, denali had other plans!

after walking down the beach a ways, we realized the tide was coming in...large waves were hitting the wall! run...

after a wonderful trip to the beach, the dogs were ready to head back...first ones in the car!

balance...0

i couldn't be more excited to blog about a zero balance.......on our credit card that is!!!!!! we have been working our arses off since our wedding to rid ourselves of the debt we wish we never accumulated for our wedding. we ended up having to place about 8,000 dollars on a credit card for our wedding extravaganza. while we weren't thrilled about that, we LOVED our wedding so it was worth it :) Now, a little less than 2 years later, the debt is GONE! yay us :)

now...does anyone want to buy a condo for way over market value?

i'm in love...

...isn't it beautiful?

when i got the go-ahead from matt to buy a camera (i actually researched cameras for a while before Christmas, and that is verrry unlike me to research anything. i am an impulse buyer.) i ran to the camera shop and picked this baby up. and a 2nd lens. a really cool zoomy one.

i can't wait to share my photography with you. i've been learning things here and there. i've been inspired by other people's photography blogs and such. i've been taking hundreds of photos. of everything. but mostly my furry four-legged friends. i think they might be getting annoyed.

the surprise and the snow

I failed to mention that Matt and I surprised my parents...they didn't know we were coming up for Christmas! We timed it right to arrive into town right about the time everyone was getting off work. Our family friends and my sister and Derek planned a casual dinner at the fave little spot a few blocks from my parents house. We literally got out of the car from our 17 hour drive and walked into the restaurant where my family has just been seated. I was too excited to remember to take any pictures! But the first couple below are us walking back to my parents from the restaurant (well, I was technically getting a piggyback ride from Curran and Kels was driving :) In the restaurant, Kels asked to see my rings and tried them on (oops! they were a little tight and we laughed our you know what's off going to the bathroom so she could soap them off! Hard to tell but her finger was turning purple) *Ironic how a week later she got her own ring! :)




It snowed like nobody's business while we were there! (16 inches or so...record snowfall for more than a few decades) Once again, we were thankful in the timing of our drive being perfect to avoid the worst part of the storm! But let me tell you, it made for some awesome sledding! We walked a few blocks down to the park where there is a HILL that I'm sure God created for kids and adults alike to enjoy some serious sledding fun.








We had little discs, a couple snow skates, and my mom's radio flyer wooden sled that she had when she was a kid! Great fun had by all :)
*I would have loved to play with my new camera with snow pictures (white balance, etc), but it was snowing so hard, I didn't want it to get all wet. I would have needed an entourage to follow with umbrellas, etc. No one volunteered. Plus, I wanted to bomb the hill and easily placed my digital point and shoot in my jacket pocket :)
**stay tuned. one more post to come with the lincoln city beach edition of Christmas 2008, and more importantly my sister's engagement!!

Christmas 2008

The drive up to Oregon in December can be summed up by snowplows, mountain passes, and sleeping dogs [please note zoe resting her chin on our chain set-haha]



The 2 weeks in Oregon can't quite be summed up so easily. It was a fantastic, wonderful, beautiful, fun-filled while utterly relaxing, quality time spent with family. joy. love. lots of laughs. lots of snow. sledding. games. sitting around the fire in the living room. standing around the fire in the yard. traveling dog park everywhere we went with all our pups. the oregon coast. kelsey and derek's engagement! seeing old friends. the list goes on.





















**things to note in the photos above: matt scraping snow off the car with a spatula, matt drying his shoe in front of the wood stove with the fire tool, how matt is kelsey's long lost brother (-in-law) and how they play, wrestle, pick on each other non-stop, how adorable our dogs are and how much they love each other and snuggle, how much my 2 nephews are growing, the unfortunate tree falling on car situation dented my parent's bronco, how my orange game piece was kicking ass in balderdash[not sure who was green], it snowed so much we lost power for a few hours, the butcher the baker the candlestick maker and my mom busted out alternate lighting, and LASTLY...how crisp and clear the photo is of the 'Welcome to Oregon' sign as we were driving full speed past. yesssssssss for the new camera!