Lori's Wedding

I left the family vacation a day early so I could head back to Tri-Cities and go to a wedding. The wedding was for my friend Lori who I went through the x-ray program with. I was very excited to go because people from school were going to be there and a lot of them I hadn't seen since we had graduated a year ago.

Since I was on the Oregon coast, I was able to get a ride back with my friend Chelsie who lives in the Portland area. We got into town pretty early and had lunch with Leah and Jesse and then met up with another friend at the mall. Then we headed back to Chelsie's parents house to get dressed. You should have seen four girls all trying to get ready at the same time!

I think one of the funniest things that happened was the thunderstorm we got caught in. Right when we got there, we heard this huge clap of thunder. Not soon after we sat down, it started raining and then pouring huge elephant sized drops. They passed out umbrellas and people went running for cover. All of us from school huddled together under the umbrellas and waited out the storm. Mind you this was no normal storm with the amount of water that fell from the sky and the thunder that shook the ground. All of us were pretty much soaked and every time someone turned slightly, water would go down someones back! We had a great time laughing and finally not caring how wet we were. They announced that they would wait 20 min to see if the storm would pass otherwise they would go ahead with the wedding, rain or shine!! Thankfully it did stop and ended up turning out beautiful.

It was so great to see everyone from class. About half of the class made it, which was about 14 people. Lori was so excited to see all of us and gave us all hugs over and over again. We were able to catch up to see if everyone had jobs, did they like where they worked and where they were living. We all called it an early night, but not without promising to keep in touch. Chelsie, Jesse and I headed back to Chelsie's parents and ended up playing Rockband and having a blast! Haha!Leah, Chelsie and Cecelia blowing bubbles

Chelsea and Leah

Chelsie and I

Jesse and I

Who needs a wedding ring!

Cannon Beach

This year my family was able to rent a beach house for the first time. Cannon Beach is our favorite place and it didn't let us down this year. The week wasn't even over with and my dad was already planning for the next year and saying that we needed to schedule 10 days instead of only 7! The week started out great for me because Brad was able to come for the first couple of days and spend time with me and my family. My parents came and picked me up in Hermiston and then we met Brad in Portland for lunch. I rode with Brad the rest of the way to the beach. Jenny arrived about an hour after us. Our friends from church, Dick and Jeanne were also at the beach and we all decided to go to dinner that night. Then we built a bonfire down on the beach so Brad could experience it. The next morning Brad and I went for a walk/jog down to Haystack Rock. It was low tide and we were able to walk around and see the starfish and rock close up. A couple of hours later we decided to rent beach bikes and had a great time. Wow! What a leg workout you get. After returning them and telling the guy where we went, he informed us that we had just biked a total of 7 miles! Oh my! Now I know why I was hurting so much. Then it was downtown for some shopping. Before Brad left we had to go down to the beach one more time. Jenny and mom sat watching while Brad, Dad and I threw around a frisbee. It was sad to see Brad go, but I know he had a great time. The next day, the temperature got up to 80 degrees and we spent 3 hours down on the beach. Dad and I got a little toasty but it was well worth it. The rest of the time was spent shopping, eating ice cream, reading books, eating s'mores, playing games, going antiquing, building bonfires and just relaxing. Sounds like heaven, don't you think!! I had to leave Friday, a day early to attend a wedding in Tri-Cities. Brad came up with a plan for us to spend some more time together as well as get me to Portland to ride home with my friend Chelsie. He came and picked me up Thursday after getting off work and we spent the day together just relaxing and watching movies. Then Chelsie and I left early Friday morning for Tri-Cities. Vacation was wonderful this year and I'm so glad I was able to get time off and go.

Boat Races

This year I decided that I wanted to go to the boat races. I had been to them before, but never the whole weekend. Rachelle, a friend from work had never been and so we decided to go all out and experience it. We bought tickets with special seating and had a blast. Some guys from the surgery department at the hospital where I work had tickets in the same area as us. It was fun to hang out with them and I learned a lot about the races and the boats from them too. Of course one of my favorite parts is the airshow with the jets that fly over! The temperature was fairly nice and wasn't as extremely hot as it has been in the past. We did still get burned because apparently I think I am too cool for sunblock! Haha! Sunday was a pretty warm day and we were even able to dunk in the river once. All in all the weekend was a winner!

Boat races, the beach, a wedding...

Ok, I know that there hasn't been any recent blogs lately and I apologize. I have had one great event after another and so there hasn't been much time. I need to get the pictures off my camera and then you can read all about it. I went to the boat races in Tri-Cities with a friend at the end of July. Then the first week in August I joined my family in Cannon Beach. Then I ended that great week with attending a wedding in Tri-Cities. So, aren't you excited to see what is in store for you soon!

Clean Car

I have been meaning to clean my car, but had to wait until I was at my parents so I had an available driveway and hose. It looked like I drove through a dust storm and the windows were awful. So bad in fact that when Brad and I were at Multnomah Falls, he made a comment about how you could hardly see out of them. Then before I left he got a water bottle and cleaned all my windows for me for safety reasons. How sweet was that!

Even though it was 105 degrees outside, I put on my swimsuit and went out to wash the car. My parents neighbor Mark happened to stop by in the middle of it and wanted to help. He was so eager, how could I say "No!" Haha! He just went to town on my car. I did help in case you were wondering. I didn't just sit back in the shade and eat bonbons! We washed the car, scrubbed the tires, scrubbed the mats, vacuumed, degreased the engine, buffed my headlight covers and made the interior shine!

Wow! The car looks amazing! It sure doesn't look like its 11 years old. He said to let him know whenever I was wanting to sell it and we would do that whole deep clean thing again. That should help the resell value! So I know this was random, but I forgot how great it felt to have a clean car and plan on keeping it up as best I can.

Portland Again

When we all got into town, we headed straight for Chelsie's and dropped extra cars off. We hopped into Brad's car and ended up eating at Chipolte's! Yum! I love that place now. We sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Afterwards, Brad dropped us off at Chelsie's and headed on home. Chels and I just hung out at the apt and after getting into comfy clothes, we put a movie in.

I was able to get some good catch-up sleep that night after my weekend of working. The next day I just hung around the apt and Chelsie decided to come home for lunch. Then Brad came and picked me up to be with him while he had the oil changed in his car. After that was done, we drove back to his condo to pick up his Honda SUV. We then drove about 20 or so min to McMinnville to drop it off while it had some work done. On the way back we picked up some dinner and then I helped him at his condo to finish up paperwork for his new job.

Tuesday I was able to drive to where Chels works and meet her for lunch. After getting back to the apt I was only there for about an hour when Brad came to pick me up. We drove in my car to go pick up his Honda before they closed. After finally getting back to Chelsie's with some traffic delays, Anali came over and the three of us headed to the mall! It was good to see Anali again since I hadn't seen her since last Sept not too long after we graduated. We only made it to 4 stores, but I had much success that night! Both Chels and I were keyed up after getting home and so we hung up picture frames, put pics in them, tried on clothes and listened to music.

Wednesday morning was pretty laid back and I drove again to meet Chels for lunch. This time we had lunch with some of her friends from work and had a great time! When I got back to the apt, I packed up my stuff and put it in the car. Then I left to go meet Brad at Multnomah Falls. He couldn't believe that I had never been there yet. I guess I had just never made time and just kept driving by it looking at it from a distance. We were able to get some good pics and decided that next time we would hike up to the top.

Then it was time to head back to Hermiston and get ready for work. I had to do some grocery shopping and so my friend Andrea was able to go with me and make it a much better experience.

The second trip to Portland was great and I'm already thinking about the next time! Haha

My favorite holiday 4th of July!

This year when I found out that 4th of July was on a Friday, I was so excited! The 4th is my favorite holiday of the year and one of my really good friends was getting married on the 5th. So with both of those in the same weekend, that was cause enough to take the weekend off! I also couldn't wait because Jenny and Brad were coming for the weekend and we were throwing a big bbq!

I'm a sucker for certain traditions and 4th of July is one of those times. The whole fam got up and headed downtown to watch the parade. Every year we park and sit in the same spot with the same people. It's great to see how much the kids have grown and get caught up on the past year. The parade sure isn't like they used to be, but I have a blast waving and getting candy thrown at me. It actually seemed to last longer this year then in past years which was cool.

Since the bbq didn't start until 6pm I decided to take advantage of the extra time and was able to visit with two of my friends. I had lunch with Karen and got to check out her new patio. Then I was able to swing by Erin's and chat with her a bit. There was still plenty of time before the bbq and so I helped my mom finish with some of the food prep. Brad didn't get here until about 6:30 and he was able to meet friends and of course my "second moms"! Then the best part of the night, walking down to the river for the fireworks. With him being from England, he hadn't really done much on 4th of July in the past. He loved the fireworks and thought they were great!

Saturday was more of a laid back day which was nice. While Brad was here, he was staying at a friends house. His friend had just bought a new house in Pasco and Brad was also helping move some stuff in. I went over there for breakfast and hung out talking for a couple of hours. He washed his car and I went home to chill and get ready for my friends wedding. I had to be there early to help greet and take gifts. So he came and picked me up and sat reading a book until it was time to be seated. The wedding was beautiful and the weather was great since it was an outdoor wedding. Our table at the reception was so much fun and we had a great time talking and laughing. Then we got out on the dance floor and the rest was history. We were out there the rest of the night being goofy and having fun.

Brad came to pick me up on Sunday morning and we headed off to church. It was so great to be back and he really enjoyed it. Then we went to his friends house so he could pack up his things. We ended up at my parents house for a leftovers bbq and conversation. Brad and I took off for Hermiston so I could switch clothes out and he could see my apt. My friend Chelsie had been in Tri-Cities over the weekend too and met us at my apt. Then the three of us carpooled together to Portland. Yes, I know another trip so soon but I have such a great time when I am there!

All in all, it was such a great weekend with my sister and Brad and all the events that went on!