tryon creek

i can honestly think of few better ways to spend a beautiful day then walking through the woods...
karin and i were on a mission to pick nettle and take some needed time to appreciate the glory of spring!

new life

stinging nettle... you can see the stinging hairs here.

flowering oregon grape

a friend in the woods

how blessed i am to have such beautiful women, like this one, in my life!
here is karin, with her sweet, gentle spirit sharing a wealth of botanic knowledge.
we gracefully harvested two big bags of nettle, its wonderful medicinal
properties saturating my soul as i write.

unfurl

one of my favorite qualities of living in the northwest.

how perfect nature truly is

opening to the world.

running into some of my favorite people... kaya and raf

those eyes say it all... gosh i love this girl!

...and this is just waking from an almost-nap!

salmon berry bloom

a taste of mom's glorious yard

mount fuji cherry

tulips soaking up the afternoon sun

don't know yet...

lovely smelling hyacinth

bluebell

my new screen saver!

a night with the cirque

joel's surprise evening evoked an anticipation i could hardly contain...
tickets to corteo - cirque de soleil [this video gives you but a taste].

i sat in awe, feet away from the phenomenal performers, with sweaty palms from the anxious excitement of human beauty and capability, so thankful for the opportunity and for this man i get to call my husband.

recycled tub water

i have my first morning in who knows how long that i linger in bed
and then take a long hot bath while joel makes blueberry pancakes;
that afternoon he gets back sweaty from a ride and the by now cold water
actually sounds good to him; and later there's kianna

...though of course, she doesn't enjoy it as much as we do!

my creative husband

avid cyclists of the world may not be impressed...

but i am!

[lara bar wrapper fix on the flat that got him home]

kids and ice cream

...two of our very favorite things!!

merin

nathan

these two beautiful kids belong to friends matt and rachel!

she has the keys!

despite the packed car, mom didn't want to have the first
family supper in her new digs without kianna...
who was lucky enough to get a first class seat on the way over to the new place!

joel made one of his homemade pizzas... mmm.

i confess, i was incredibly impressed that the ladies moved with but
four suitcases of clothes, pillows, and spices!

kianna especially likes the eco-friendly and durable cork flooring!

a move to portland

mom being between jobs offered a perfect segway to the proposal
that joel and i made over the holidays...
that mom and mamaw make a move to portland!

mom was going to "get an idea of the market"
and instead bought a fantastic house!!!

smiles at the portland international airport!

kianna with her welcoming licks and hugs!

tilly jane

for the last five years colleen has done the fabulous job
of organizing an annual tilly jane snowshoe trip!

finally, joel and i were able to make it this year!!!

day one was the hike up to tilly jane,
wood burning warmth,
some of my favorite company,
wonderful conversations
and watching snowflakes fall
[i honestly had no idea they were so beautiful]!

balu

a short respite from the climb.

... and another. this was no walk in the park!

joel. alisha. erica. steve. colleen. leah. becky.
kianna licking my hand. balu. cyrus. brett.

jen. jeff. allyson. tim. and lollie met us up there.

for those of you lucky enough to experience the glory of the pacific northwest,
you too have met the furry old men!

this is the man responsible for the 8 mugshots with mustaches.
the fame only seems fitting!

though this isn't the clearest picture, i wanted to give you a sense
of the sweet little cabin we had just to the 12 of us.
[it's free for all, colleen and brett have been accompanied by as many as 30 people and 10 dogs]

there was a LOT of snow!!! you are looking at the second story of the cabin!!!

tim. allyson. erica.

day two.
a short jaunt up to the ridge for a view of eliot glacier and the pacific northwest peaks!

is there anyone who doesn't love being in old growth forest?

a playground of mountain hemlock and pacific silver fir
is what we got to enjoy here on the north side of mt. hood.

brett skating down the mountain.
there are about 5 shots to this series... totally brings the fun back to view them in sequence!

frosty staghorn moss.

colleen. allyson. erica.
... and despite the open playground, the dogs wrestled on erica's lap!

this view of my favorite nearby playground, mt. adams,
made my worsening blisters worth the further ascent!