The Real McCoy

I LOVE BERRIES! It’s true! So yesterday when I tasted Oregon grown Mt. Hood Strawberries....I almost fainted. Dave sent me an email teliing, come up to his desk. He had just bought 12 cases of strawberries! I went up there, not expecting too much...but after my first bite...I could not believe what I was tasting. I kept saying over and over...I CAN NOT BELIEVE THIS. HOW CAN THIS BE. THESE ARE AMAZING.. I HAVE TO CALL MY MOM...WE HAVE TO TELL SOMEONE! These babies are deep cherry red from top to bottom, inside and out! When you bite into them, its like biting into a softened cube of butter! They are so smooth! You can literally suck them through your teeth! And the flavor, oh my, the flavor is unreal. Let me try to describe it.....they are so sweet, sweeter than the sweetest strawberry you have ever had, when you take your first bite and you let the sweetness hit your tounge and you take in all the flavor and you think it can't get any better there is this radical second burst of sweetness that covers each and every one of your favorite taste buds! Think about what the fruit off the tree of life would taste like...(ya this is that!) I wish so bad that I could send some of these to every one I know! I actually tried to ship a pint to my mom last night!! I wanted her to be able to have some of these so bad... but I was told that it would be $50 dollars to over night them and if I tired to do anything cheaper than that they would end up getting to her with mold on them.:(

breakfast, lunch, and dinner!!


So just to clarify for all of you who are not Oregonians ...these are not your normal Strawberries... You can only get these in Oregon, and not even in the grocery stores. Dave bought these from a guy at work whose dad owns a farm by Mount Hood or something like that....and FYI if you live in Oregon and want me to get you some I think I can next week (Mon or Tues) but let me know ASAP cus people are going crazy here at work over these (6 pints $12 or 12 pints $20). You know what I have decided?...These must be magical berries....because everything about them is magnificent and different than a normal strawberry. The taste, the texture, the look, the feel, the color, everything. They even have little handles on the top for you to grip on to so you don't end up eating the green leafy part! Does it get any better than that? Wanna know what I ate yesterday? I'll tell ya...Uh Strawberries, a salad, strawberries, strawberries and more strawberries..that's right...they were so good that I stuffed my face so full of them I could not eat any more of anything else! I probably ate 3 or 4 pints. I spend a good part of my day at work thinking about them and then last night I had them on my mind when I went to sleep, and this morning while I was running I thought about them some more...its weird, I just can't get over how amazing they are.

The four of us...Dave, me, turt..and the fruit of the tree of good and evil..

Here is a "magical" strawberry cut in half laying next to a normal strawberry cut in half....notice the difference in color?...


I know it sounds crazy, but these are out of this world good! I am so sad that I can not share them with everyone! So I hope posting these pictures and blogging about them does them some sort of justice. It really is a mystery that more people do not know about them and that this is my first experience with them!!! I wish you could reach through the computer and sample!....Come to think of it...i have a really bad stomach ache right now, maybe i ate too many...ouch!

I love these

For the past couple weeks I have been drinking orange spiced herbal (just thought I'd bold that) tea accompanied with oyster crackers as a "early morning snack"(6am)...breakfast of champions let me tell ya!(when I buy them they are 5cents and come in a little bag like saltines would at a restaurant) This morning as I was paying the cashier at the cafeteria she asked me if I dipped the crackers in the tea...ha ha I know she has been wondering this everyday for the past couple weeks, and today was the day she decided to ask! I laughed and told her no, I did not dip my crackers in my tea...I just really love the crackers. I explained to her that they are like saltines but much better and that she should try them! I think I might have gotten through to her...Maybe tomorrow I'll buy an extra bag and give them to her...?? Either way...I just wanted to say that I am really loving these crackers!! mmmm mmm mmm yummy in my tummy!

Summer Nights

The weather is starting to warm up...not enough for me to be outside at night without a jacket though...but it was still a lovely night! We chilled outside while dave played the guitar and we did some reading...I love the summer! It just feels good! Here is a pic of my blonde hair for those of you that asked :)I know its not straight on shot, but you get the idea!...I also took this cute picture of turtle watching us from the window, she wanted to hang out with us too!




honey...did I mention how sexy you are?? whaoooeeyy baby!! you are one sexy boy!

Utah= Family...Family= FUN!!

I was so excited on the car ride to the airport I could hardly stand it. I said ..."I've been waiting for this day for.....and then i paused and thought for a second ..... and continued with.....for as long as I've know about it...!!" HA! the truth is, I had only know about it for 10 days...so I had not been waiting that long. It felt like I had been waiting forever, but really it had just been 10 days since I had found out that we got to go on a mini vacation to visit the family! I could not think of anything more fun than a four day weekend hanging out with my entire family! And seriously....it was all I had anticipated and more! We did nothing but play, play, and more playing...we did a lot of laughing talking, eating, swimming, movie watching, more laughing, story telling, picture taking, eating, relaxing, shopping, and anything that has to do with fun, fun, and more fun!! It was so great and I feel incredibly sad that I am back at work in my cubical doing my daily bla bla bla thing. :(
I love my family more than I can even explain! They are so cool.... I mean, seriously they are the coolest people I know. Every single one of them! How did that happen? How is it possible that my sisters are my best friends...and that my brother is the coolest person I know, and that my parents are just as great...? I don’t know how it worked out like that...but I love it! How did I luck out? They are so fun to be around, so funny, so sweet and kind, and seriously just so stinking cool! They are all my best friends and hanging out with them is more fun to me than anything! To sum up the weekends activities in a nutshell we...... had bbq's, swam at the pool, went to an all you can eat crap buffet, went to a Saturdays Warriors Reunion play(YES!)(fun to watch but a bit long, just a warning), The boys went golfing twice, the girls went shopping and got pedicures, we enjoyed the beautiful weather which stayed right around 85-90 degrees the entire weekend (so lovely)! We had incredible dinners, watched fun movies, and just enjoyed each others company!



We played with the kiddies and loved watching them laugh and play together! Sophie and Kamryn had a blast together. They call each other sister cousins and were so sweet and cute playing like little princesses and talking so cute and sweet to each other..they had a blast playing with bugs and swimming and trying to write notes to the family and just playing so cute together...that is until Sophie had a break down when kam tried to put her little slug friend back in the ground on Sunday afternoon. Kam didn’t want him to die and Sophie was a little tired and it was probably time for a nap anyhow!....Kamryn was a bit confused by this melt down but it ended up ok in the end!
Hanging out with everyone was so much fun I almost didn't know what to do with myself! I wanted to be at all places all at once and almost felt spread thin...there was just so much going on and so many people to be with! And to top it off all of our cousins came over with all of their kids on Saturday for BBQ swim party which was so great! We got to catch up and see all their cute kids and that was so fun!
Can I just say that my mom and dad are so incredible! They let us all stay at their house and let us raid their fridge and cupboards, they let us use their cars, invade their home and use any and everything....they basically let us take over their home like it was ours! On top of that they took us to a wonderful buffet and Saturdays Warriors Play and just as always they welcome us all with fun pillow gifts on the beds when we arrive! YOU GUYS ARE INCREDIBLE!! You are such wonderful parents and grandparents! We are so lucky to have you! And WOW do they know how to through a great vacation....! Geeze who needs a cruise, Hawaii, or an all inclusive when you can go to Gaga and Grandpa Mikes with the entire family for vacation....with a pool, hot tub, movies, games, family, fun,never ending supply of Chocolate chip, toffee cookies, fresh strawberries, blueberries...., home made rolls, never ending seedless watermelon, hagaan das ice cream, creamies .... Steak dinners....and I'm not kidding or exaggerating....you name it we had it..... WE WERE PAMPERED AND SPOILED to the EXTREME!! Dad and Mom, thank you so so much!! We had a WONDERFUL time!



You guys are the best parents and do so much for us!!! We do not deserve you! Thank you for making our weekend so incredibly fun and jam packed with excitement and most of all wonderful company! It was so fun to see everyone! Thanks TT and Erin for coming up and spending the entire weekend at mom and dads...that was so fun! And thanks Craig family for all coming too! Thanks jac and jer-bear and car and Jordan for hanging out with us and for taking the whole weekend to be with everyone and for making it so much fun!! It was so fun to all be there together! I loved waking up and feeling like we all lived at the same house...that was so fun! HEY I have a great idea...how about we build a huge gigantic house...and all the family can live in it. Or we can just all live next to each other and all share a pool house and common area! ya that would be even better! fun fun fun! soon enough right!! :)




Family... I LOVE YOU! I know court has a ton more pictures of all the fam and since I didn’t bring a camera with me to Utah I begged her to send me a few pics that she had taken via email that I could use for my blog while I am stranded here at work bored out of my mind ...so this is what she sent for now...I'm sure she will post some on her blog as well...so for more family pics check her blog soon... cus there are tons and tons of cute ones! Sorry if you didn't make the cut on my post! Thank you all family for such a fun weekend! I am the luckiest wife, sister, aunt, and daughter alive!! You guys are the best! I am so blessed to have all of you and am so thankful to KNOW that I will be with you all forever! I am so thankful for the plan of salvation and for our savior and the opportunity that he gives us to live together as a family forever! We love you and miss you already!
ps....all these pics were all taken before my hair was dyed...I’ll post some blonde pics on here as soon as I get some :)

New.......Old

So…. while I was in Utah I dyed my hair back to the "normal" color that I had most my life.....(blonde) and its weird because its like an new….old hair do! I dyed my hair dark March of last year and Dave loved it…I liked it Ok but, did not like it as much as he did. I wanted to go back blonde since then, but didn’t want my hair to fall out so I have slowly been trying to go back blonde since then. In the process of going lighter I began to like being dark and kinda chilled for a while and then by the time my hair was ready to be blonde, I was not sure I wanted to go through with it, I liked being a brunette. But then I decided to go through with it, I was ready and did want to go blonde. So my hair was finally ready and I did it…..and now I am not really sure what I think….at least not yet. I don’t remember myself with this light color! I have been blonde my entire life but it has been interesting getting used to it the past couple of days! I have only been dark for about a year and a half and it is almost like the dark hair became the picture I had of myself in my mind. Isn't it weird that in just over a year I forgot what I looked like as a blonde, when I have been a blonde my entire life…ha ha? Maybe because the past year and a half has been the best year and a half of my life so since I had dark hair in that year my mind took an image of that dark hair and froze it…did that even make sense????!??I keep looking in the mirror and thinking…wo wo wo light, yellow, light, blonde…wo!! Is blonde yellow? I never thought that until now…but its kinda yellow…is that ugly? Oh no…ha ha
I am not sure if I made the right choice by going back! But I am sure I’ll adjust! And if not, I can always just dye it back…right?? Dave says he really likes it, which is good…I like it when he likes it! My family doesn't even seem to notice that something changed! I If you think about it since I live away from them and they only saw me a handful of times with dark hair, the blonde is only normal for them.....I really think it will just take a few more days of getting used to it...it makes me feel better to remember that I did have these exact feelings when I went dark, so I am sure I will get used to the change! GOOD NEWS though, my hair handled the bleach really well, so no split ends or gross breaks! I did the lightening so gradually that it didn't damage it at all halleluiah!!
Anyhow....I have some fun things to post about my weekend in Utah, so I’ll get on that....we had such an amazing weekend! HAPPY MONDAY....I am so glad to be back to work! NOT!!

Bea 'UTAH 'ful

I went for a run this morning and was reminded of yet another reason why I LOVE this place!! It is so beautiful! I literally felt engulfed by the mountains...you feel like you are so close and they are all around you. On top of that, in the summer they are so green and absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately these pictures do not do them justice! Now that I live in Portland and am not surrounded by mountains, I notice that when I am in Utah I really appreciate the size and beauty of these amazing things! I love looking and them....they do not "blend in" to me anymore like they use to....how could I have even thought that??...now when I look at the mountains in Utah I think..."WO" those are HUGE and AMAZING...its weird though, cus I remember when I lived here the Mountains were just a part of the scenery like a tree or another house..... anyhow.....here are some pics of the lovely mountains that I have now come to appreciate and love!

Happy Fathers Day

I think every daughter will argree that their dad is the best dad in the world... so even though I could try and tell you why my dad is truly the REAL best.... i'm not going to. The truth is, I don't have to! I KNOW without a shadow of a doubt that I have the best dad that I COULD HAVE EVER WANTED, NEEDED, OR EVER IMAGINED, and that HE IS INDEED THE WORLDS BEST DAD ! I do not know anyone like him! I feel like the luckiest girl alive to be his daughter! Since it's Fathers Day I thought i'd share a few fun/funny things that I love about my dad! He is so cute and just cracks me up! Happy fathers day dad! Thank you for being such an AMAZING dad! I love you so much!!

the little one

dave was playing guitar today and i managed to snap a couple shots...he just looked so cute i couldnt stand it!

somebody loves me

Check out what I found on my front porch after coming home from enrichment tonight......
Thanks so much little honey!!I love you so much!!

Vacation Withdrawls

I wrote this two days ago at work and forgot to post it...so here it is a few days late... i have come out of these withdrawls quite a bit since then but i might as well post my feelings.... :)
June 10th
i keep telling myself working everyday is what enables us to go on vacations....cus today i'm feeling a little vacation sick. My first day back to work was suprisingly great! I was not too tired, the day flew by and I felt great! Today on the other hand....well its 3:45 and it seems like it should be time for bed. I am not too happy to be here, and the day has dragged on forever! It just doesn't compare to maui.....but I guess nothing really compares to that right? So for now, I will just keep my chin up and keep chugging along. I know my everyday life of getting up at 5am and coming to this BLEEP hole will become more appealing and I'll get back to loving and enjoying everyday of my life just as I did before I left to Maui. Its just kinda hard to do at this very moment when my thoughts so easily drift to the feeling of the sun on my skin as I lay on a lawn chair by the pool drifiting away for my 10th nap of the day.......I'm sure soon enough I'll forget what it felt like to wake up with nothing to do but eat pancakes and pinapple and lay by the pool..... knowing that my biggest dilema of the day was picking where we would eat that night.... i never knew how hard it would be to recover from such luxory! ha ha But I must say, Maui aside...I do have a pretty amazing life...with NOTHING to complain about! It just might take me a day or two to get back into the swing of things!

Maui 2008

What a wonderful way to spend our one year anniversary! We had the best time ever! We snorkled with turtles and dolphins, swam at the pool, played in the waves, layed out in the sun, ate all you can eat crab, slept in, took naps, ate at wonderful restaraunts, went on a snorkel trip around Lahni, shopped, enjoyed the beautiful weather, ate yummy fruit, and did pretty much every other fun thing you can think of! We had a blast! It was so fun to be there over our anniversary, and re-live memories of our honeymoon...It was really fun to share it with my dad and mom too! We love hanging out with them and enjoyed their company so much! Thanks mom and dad for letting us sleep on the pull out and for making the vacation so much fun! We had such an amazing time, with perfect weather and more fun than we had imagined! Until next time.....

Happy One Year Anniversary...(7 days late)

Dave and I went to Maui for our one year anniversary and we had a blast! We stayed at the same resort as we stayed one year ago on our honeymoon! Being back in Maui brought back tons of fun memories and allowed us to make so many more! We went with my mom and dad, who made it that much more fun! We love hanging out with them and were so glad they were there! I will post pics of Hawaii later, but I wanted to post a picture of my wonderful anniversary gift that Dave made for me. It is so beautiful! He is so cute and decided to take up painting just to make me a thoughtful anniversary gift...(just something else to add to the list and list of things he is amazingly good at)...and what do you know, after his first time around ...wala...a masterpiece! Thank you honey for a wonderful vacation,a beautiful anniversary gift, an amazing anniversary, and a perfect life! I am so thankful for you! I never knew I could be so happy! Thanks for making my life so wonderful!