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!

lunar eclipse

yet another thing to love about our wonderful city

...the midweek, just after work, lunar eclipse from the back porch!


there won't be another total lunar eclipse until 2010,
but there are partial and prenumbral eclipses upcoming.
in case you're determined not to miss the next one!

a surprise romantic getaway

joel took the initiative to plan a needed weekend getaway
from our incredibly busy days in portland!
i packed prepared and pretty much just showed up.
he did a fabulous job
with the help of one super travel elf named arlene!

our trip began with a glorious drive along highway 101...

we stayed in some sweet cabins along the big sur river...

and had some magnificent sunset meals,

breath-taking hikes,

fun in the sand and sun...

... and even took the time to stop and smell the succulent flowers!!!