Boys and Guns

After my brother returned from his first year of college a few weeks ago, one of the first things he did was buy a shotgun. My mom then decided that she wanted a shotgun for Mother's Day and Dad and us kids were more than happy to oblige her :). A couple weekends ago, my mom, two of my brothers, and I went out to a ranch and did some shooting. Although I must say, the boys primarily shot the guns while my mom and I primarily shot with the camera - hence the plentiful photos of my brothers shooting and none of my mom or me (I got off 16 shots and my mom fired 8, the boys shot over 100 between the two of them). Here are a few of my favorite photos from the day:

It was a beautiful day! This lake, which in my not-too-distant memory was once riddled with litter - oil cans, tires, old cars and the like - was looking quite pristine. The sky was beautiful, the sun was out, and there was a slight breeze to keep things cool.

My brother Joe and his shotgun. He and my mom got the same exact gun except my mom's is short-barrel.

Action shot of the empty shell being spewed from the chamber!

My brother Nano looked totally legit with his surplus store pants and black shirt.

A Few Hours in the Country

A few weeks ago, I went home for a few hours and went on a walk with my mom. Abba (my younger sister) was up at one of the neighbors training horses so we decided to walk there and watch her. Here are some photos from our little trek:

Three Years of Happily Ever After

Three years ago I married my best friend. It was the best decision of my life.

It seems crazy to think that I could be more in love today than I was three years ago. And yet, as much as I thought I loved him then, it is nothing for the depth of love I now feel.

I think sometimes we think love is an emotional high, and sometimes it is. But I think a lot of love is being there to live through life's ups and downs together. When you see each other at your lowest and most vulnerable, but don't back away. When they see you at your ugliest and most unlovable, but love you through it.

And that togetherness, that unit, helps you to become better than you ever were alone.

I love you so much, babe. And I'm so glad that I get to spend the rest of my life with you, as we learn to love each other better.

Happy Anniversary, my Love!

Puppies!

Is there anything cuter than a pile of sleeping puppies? Me thinks not :)

My parents just had a litter of 7 goldendoodle (half poodle, half golden retriever = a sweet tempered, family dog that won't shed) pups. Seriously, they are such sweeties! I mean look at those ears:

Waking up and groggily looking for mama. Their mom is so good too. She was outside and one of her pups yelped and she flew to the door to be let in so she could check on them. I'm amazed she heard that one little yip from so far away.

These guys have the sweetest faces, and they grow up to be such loving companions. Makes me wish I had a bigger place so I could have one too.

Looking at these pictures just makes me want to snuggle with a puppy :)

Musings on My Desire to Have Children

Monday morning on my way to work, I was thinking about a conversation I had with friends the other day about how many kids I want to have someday (after I'm married, of course). For the past 7 years or so, I've thought that 4-10 kids would be the ideal number of children for me.

Although I've always said that I would be happy with "however many kids God gives me," on Monday morning I realized that wasn't really true. While I was thinking about this conversation, it was as though God asked me, "Adri, would you be happy with 2 children?" Yes, I thought, I would be...well, maybe not happy, but I could be content. But then God asked me, "What if I don't give you any children, Adri, would be you content then? You say you'll be happy with whatever I give you...what if I give you no children at all?"

And I realized that I could not even be content with not having any children...even now, typing this, I am nearly brought to tears - not the good kind, but the ones of bitterness and anger - at the thought of never having children. It's something I've always wanted, but if that's not God's will for my life, what am I supposed to do? What will that mean for my relationship with him?

Obviously, this is something I still need to work out. This is an area of my life that I only just realized is not surrendered to God...and I'm not sure that I want to surrender it. This is a time of testing for me. Will I surrender my deepest desires to him? Or will I hold onto them and let them come between us? The easy answer is that I will surrender it, but that's not necessarily an honest answer. And I think it's important to be honest, with God, with myself, and with others.

Backpacking in Hetch Hetchy: Or, Why Fallen Logs Are Nice For Sitting, Not Sleeping

Last week in the Pinterest Challenge post, I teased the story of why we have a black bear ornament on our tree. I thought today would be a good day to share that tale, so pour a cup of coffee and enjoy :)

Last year for the Hub's birthday he asked to go on a backpacking trip to celebrate. Of course I was thrilled to say yes! We love spending time backpacking and don't get to do enough of it - sadly we've averaged only one backpacking trip per year since we were married. But when we do it, it's amazing. The scenery, being away from all concept of time and techonology....walking to the point of exhaustion and beyond...we love it.

We decided on Hetch Hetchy because it would be more secluded than Yosemite but still have great views. We finally arrived at about 3pm and chose a trail - one so rarely used and secluded that it's "free camping" which means you can set up your tent anywhere there is a clearing (as long as you are 100 yards from any water sources). It was a free weekend, so all we had to pay for was $15 to rent a bear cannister. We crammed all our food into it and headed down the trail. Which very quickly became UP the trail. Up and up and up. And up some more. Since we were getting such a late start and wanted to make 8-9 miles before setting up camp, we were hoofing it. But the trail continued to get steeper and steeper as we hiked toward the crest of the ridge which surrounds the reservoir - trust me, it's much farther away than you would guess. We rarely rested as time was not on our side. Finally about an hour after we reached a point of physical exhaustion I've never been to before or since, we saw hikers descending. We asked how much longer until we reached the hidden lake (our - or really my - goal) and they reassured us it was only a 1.5 miles ahead. At this point the sun was setting and dusk was already upon us. We hiked another 15 minutes and came to a relatively flat clearing. There was a large boulder with four or five fallen logs strewn about. We decided to camp there - we could sit and rest on one of the logs and eat, and get our tent up before it was pitch dark. And that's what we did. We carried our bear canister 200 feet away from where we were sleeping and left it in the open so it could roll freely (if you wedge it against anything the bears will use that as leverage to pry it open - sneaky buggers). We each pulled out our knives so they would be accessible just in case. I've read too many Reader's Digest "Bear/Cougar/Shark/Alligator Mauls Girl - But She Lived to Tell the Tale" to not come prepared with our longest blade - which is only 4 inches, but it made me feel better. Then the Hubs pulled out his knife...or should I say letter opener. Seriously, it was a mere inch long blade IF THAT. I'm not sure what he was planning to do with it if we were attacked by a man-eating bear, but to each his own. Perhaps I should have prepped him by making him read some of those articles.

We fell asleep. But within hours were awakened by a snuffling sound. Then more snuffling sounds. Then a ripping and pawing sound. Because what is in fallen logs that bears absolutely love? Fat juicy grubs. Yes. We had inadvertently set up our camp right in the middle of a bear feeding ground. We could hear more and more bears arriving. It seemed like there were at least three or four of them pawing and scraping, sometimes yipping at each other. We lay very still for hours. Occasionally a bear would meander toward our tent and sniff it. Finally I was so exhausted I fell into a fitful sleep. But each time I would adjust my position on the hard ground, my sleeping bag (made from that super noisy material all backpacking bags are made from) would rustle noisily. Which got the bears attention - I imagine I sounded suspiciously like a rodent in the grass. Immediately a bear or two would lumber over and begin nosing at the tent. This repeated itself innumerable times throughout the night as the Hubs lay there wide awake. I imagine that, Readers Digest or no, several of those mauling scenarios were running through his mind. I however slept on, completely unaware.

Finally the sun began to peak over the ridge at 4:30am. I was awake by now, listening to the last remaining bears disinterestedly pawing at the logs. We heard two bears pad over to our tent. Suddenly, as the first ray of sun hit the top of our tent, the outline of a bear standing on its rear legs became visible, as if it was trying to peer into the top of our tent. Never have we been so still or held our breath for so long. After what felt like hours, the bears left. When all was quiet for a good ten minutes, we warily peeked out. They were gone.

All in all, it was a glorious trip. And as all ended well, it left us with quite the story and a valuable life lesson: Camp far away from fallen logs.

:)

My Brother's College

As you may remember, I went to Prescott, Arizona a few weeks ago to keep my mom and brother company during the second half of orientation week. My brother is attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) and I was really impressed with with the campus, town, and above all, the intelligence and character of the students I met. Here are some pictures from that trip:

I love the high desert! It is so beautiful!

This is a plane that just stays here all the time. I think there's something special about it, but I don't remember what it is!

Mom and Joe in one of the campus outdoor areas.

Pathway along the side of the library.

View of the student center from the university library.

The hallway in the library mimics the look of a runway at night.

The library also has to-scale replicas of nearly every plane ever created. It was cool to see them all next to each other!

Even the dumpster-hiding-walls look good at this university!

My brother and me during our last errand together, which involved a trip to Costco to purchase a rain jacket. Rain comes sudden and heavy in the high desert, something us Nor Cal'ers are not used to! We didn't even think to pack a raincoat for him.

Sunset behind the dorms.

Path leading from the dorms to the student center.

ERAU is very supportive of the military. This tree is a memorial to all the fallen service men and women who are ERAU alums. The Army and Air Force cadets stop every time they pass this statue and salute in their honor.

Birthday Party Ideas: Sesame Street and The Very Hungry Caterpillar

My nephew is turning 2 in a little over a month, and this has me thinking about party themes :)

The little guy is obsessed with Cookie Monster - it's by far his favorite Sesame Street character. So I thought these cupcakes would be perfect! These make me smile every time I see them.

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So....why not keep the theme going and make it all about Sesame Street? This would be an easy game to play with the little kids - especially since toddlers are always trying to get in the trash anyway ;)

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(The blog this image is from has other great game ideas too)

Aren't these favor bags cute? They would be fun to make too! Then each kid could take home their favorite character.

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When I was a toddler I loved the Very Hungry Caterpillar. My nephew loves to read (including this book), so I thought he might like this theme too.

I thought these invites were super cute! Although it could be a bit time intensive to hand deliver all the invites :)

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Instead of a cake, these tiny cupcakes are kid-friendly and easy to make

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For appetizers, an assortment of fruits is healthy and delicious (as well as pretty low maintenance and easy to prepare)

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These cookies were too cute to pass up - and anyway, you can't only have cake at a party - the more sweets the better! These would be a bit more time intensive if you wanted to get the cool shading affect.

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Whatever the theme ends up being, I know it will be fun to get to celebrate with him - since it will only be a year or two more before he is too cool to have his Aunties and Uncles at his parties ;)

Facebook Unplugged

Monday night I did something I thought I would never do: I shut down my facebook account. I have been a steadfast proponent of facebook since my college days (my school was one of the earliest schools to join). It has been life changing in so many positive ways: connecting with distant family and friends, taking new friendships to a deeper and more jovial level, cataloging pictures, and keeping in touch with family. Unfortunately there is a negative side to social networking, and after quite a bit of reflection, I decided to disable my account for the following reasons:

1. I was checking my account an obsessive amount (20-30 times per day)

2. Sometimes I was planning my life around how it would look as a status update

3. I had stopped checking news sites, and had no desire to become informed about current events, except for what I saw on my news feed. I could literally feel my brain atrophying.

4. Occasionally I would embroil myself in some sort of drama either of my own making or someone else's

So it's been only a few days, and this is what I've discovered so far:

During the first 24 hours, I thought about checking facebook at least 30 times, how I would word a clever status update 8 times, and had the urge to stop by the profiles of different friends 5 times.

The second day I started missing the positive side of these social interactions: The friend who drops by your page with a random comment, the feeling of shared camaraderie when you and others you know post on the same picture or comment thread. The ease of planning events, finding out about exciting news (like births and engagements), and storing photos and sharing them with others.

Despite that, I have been much more at ease since I quit. I didn't realize how much facebook controlled my thoughts and actions until I started down this path. Today I spent an hour reading the Wall Street Journal, something I never would have done if facebook was accessible. I have been more present (mentally and emotionally) in every conversation I've had the last two days - it's much easier for me to concentrate on what the person I'm with is saying, without worrying about the pull of social networking.

Overall, I'm much happier now! Will I ever return to facebook (or its equivalent)? Perhaps. If I can overcome my addictive tendencies, and use it in a balanced way, it could enrich my life and my interactions with others. But until I am sure that I can do that, I am going to stay unplugged, as inconvenient and hard as that may be.

I will let you know how it works out :)

A Vacation of B's

A week and a half ago, my four younger siblings and I, along with three friends, went to Bend, Oregon for the Cascade Cycling Classic, an annual stage race that takes place across three days (for the non-pros). This was definitely a vacation full of things that start with the letter "B":

- Bend (obviously!)
- Bicycling
- Burgers
- Beer

And some things that do not start with the letter "B":

- Shopping
- Music
- Movie watching
- Sleeping

The first day we were there we just got to relax. The racers (Nano, Jason, Andrew, and Jon) went on a ride to loosen up their legs for the next day while the rest of us slept in. It was so nice to have a break from getting up to go to work!

The road race took place on Friday. It was a difficult course with a LOT of climbing packed into the first and last few miles of a 71-mile route. Joe, Abba, our friend Kate, and I drove to the feedzone at mile 50 to hand off water bottles to our racers. Joe took the above picture of us girls while we waited for the cyclists to come by. I'm sporting the scarf I picked up from AE the day before - I love that scarf!

There was a great little spot by the road overlooking a creek. Joe and Abba took advantage the opportunity to sit in the shade and relax.

Here's Joe preparing for a water bottle hand-off. The day couldn't have been more beautiful, it was sunny and warm without being too warm - a little miracle considering we were on/near Mt. Bachelor. In fact, the race ended at the Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort but it was so warm that no one need any layers even though there was still snow on the ground. I think I just don't understand how Oregonian weather works.

Here are some other pictures from the day:

My youngest brother, Jon, was in the Category 3 group. The rest of the racers were in Cat 2, so after the 3s went by and we had given Jon his bottle, we followed the pack to the finish.

 

This was the view for a good portion of the course. Jon did great and held a good position in the peloton until 10K to go, when he was dropped on a hill.

This is my post-race "paparazzi" shot of Nano - doesn't he have a great look on his face? I think it says "Get those annoying cameras out of my face" perfectly!

Nano and Jason (teammate from Down Under!) debriefing after the race.

Waiting for Jon to come into the finish. We had passed him on the road but he arrived only about 20 minutes after we did.

And there he is!

Stay tuned for Thursday when I'll be reviewing the brewery we ate at on Saturday, along with the beers I purchased!