Weekend with HEATHER!!

Look who came to visit this weekend!

Heather is one of my very BEST friends from high school. I love that we're still so close after so long!

We had two and a half days together and wanted to make THE MOST out of it, since we only see each other like once a year. 

And man, there was A LOT to do. Not only did I need help getting situated in my NEW HOME, but we had a lot of exploring to do. 

Friday night we made delicious teriakki chicken in a crock-pot from Pinterest. The house smelled heavenly, and after Heather drove 4+ hours (from Rexburg) she was in need of a yummy treat. Mmmm. 

After chatting and letting our tummies become less stuffed Krystal was nice enough to take us on a guided tour of the BYU campus! Wow, is it beautiful. This picture does not do it justice, so you'll have to take my word for it:)

The next morning Heather and I got up early to take a big hike: we walked up to the Y on a mountainside near the edge of the valley

The views were breathtaking. The altitude and incline were, too ;)

It felt soooo good to get to the top. There were a lot of other people on the trails too, givng encouragement and assuring each other that we had to be close. It was a fun place to be on a weekend morning :) 

We made it!

Back at home we rested up and  hung out. Heather found ways to be helpful, and anyone who knows her will understand why this is so funny:

 

Heather has a wonderful intolerance for things that are less clean than they could be. It is soo funny :) Thanks Pookie!

Next stop: lunch...

Then we explored around town.

In the evening we found an outdoor concert in a beautiful shopping center. There was good music, excellent people watching, and THIS PUPPY: 

Its owner let me hold it. It felt like a warm fluff ball!!!

Eventually Heather confiscated my camera because I think I took 12 pictures of it. But I wasn't the only one who was enjoying it... isn't this little girl precious??

We loved sitting in the shade on a perfect evening, surrounded by happy people, listening to music and continuing to catch up. Turns out, there's a lot you miss when you live so far away from someone. 

This is a local band called VanLadyLove. They were really, really good

It was a perfect way to spend the evening. The concert ended as the sun was setting and turning those mountains all pink and purple. The dry air was nice and warm, even after dark. It all made hanging out with such a good friend even better. 

On Sunday Heather came to church with us and we met my NEW WARD. It felt a little like the first day of school, but I was amazed by my ward member's friendliness. I'm so glad Krystal was there to introduce me to {almost} everyone. 

In the afternoon Heather met Jake over Skype as she and I made disgustingly delicious treats to snack on {thanks again Pinterest!} It was super fun to have two people, who are both SO SO important to me, get to know each other :D

And then it was time for Heather to go! The weekend ended way too soon. 

Tomorrow it's back to job-hunting, but for now, I'm enjoying soaking up what a WONDERFUL weekend it's been. 

How does one girl get so lucky?

Wonder Wall

Isn't getting mail great? Especially when it’s something FUN like invitations, announcements, or post cards... they’re so bright and happy that I have a REALLY hard time throwing them away.

So I  put them on my wall.

...all of them.

I’m actually getting proud of my wall of announcements :) I’ve been working on it all school year, and it’s inspiring to see all the exciting things that friends and family are doing. And plus, it’s hard not to feel happy when there are like 100 faces smiling back at you :)

Do you see yourself? If not, send me something of you, and I’ll put it up :) Fun mail is ALWAYS welcome! 

The best part is that it’s always changing. Even since taking this picture a few days ago there are already things to be added. And that means I get to be all creative and move things around :)

So now the question is, how to take this masterpiece across state lines and onto a NEW wall..? :)


And pretty soon my OWN graduation announcement could go up there.  Can you believe it??

Graduation / Early Birthday / Goodbye BRUNCH!

On Saturday I met up with friends for a graduation / early birthday / goodbye  brunch! 

Our plan was to go to The Broken Yolk - the most popular breakfast spot in Corvallis - but on a Saturday morning it was totally crowded. 

So we improvised and got pastries from Great Harvest! They have delicious pasteries and bread. And it's hard to resist their endless samples... especially when they're given away by a 9-year-old :)

We took our pasteries across the street to the Willamette River waterfront. It runs right past downtown so it was perfect :)

The parade of dog-walkers, bikers, and Farmers' Market goers made for fun sightseeing as we enjoyed cinnamon rolls, muffins, and good conversation.

A little later we followed the crowd to the market and took in the colors, smells, and... samples :) Hah

Can't you just smell these fresh veggies?? Loved it

These cute girls were selling poetry - you give the topic, they write the poem!

Even though we wanted to take everything home, we headed out with just one thing: a gorgeous RHUBARB pie. But it needs a little explanation. Growing up, a lot of years I would ask for a rhubarb upside-down cake for my birthday cake (different, right? It's because my mom's are sooo good) So, we got a mini one to continue the tradition!

Here's a close-up of that baby:

On the way back the guys even got to help this family push their stalled-out car to the side of the road. Look at them go! :):)

Moving Away

In just over a week, I'm moving to Utah. I have been planning this for a little while and I am really EXCITED! 

Except for one thing... 

it means I have to leave Oregon. And even though I’m excited, I’m going to miss Oregon.  A LOT.

I’m going to miss sunsets like THIS, taken recently while hiking with a best friend:

I’ll miss those wintertime frozen-solid mornings when all the rain that falls the rest of the year turns into gorgeous frost:

I’ll miss being less than an hour from the beautiful Oregon coast:

(that's me!)

And of course I will never stop missing the Portland LDS Temple. It feels like home to me. 

{not my picture. Thanks Google!}

But I'm ESPECIALLY going to miss this:

and everyone else I’ve known and loved here. I will REALLY miss you!

My heart hurts just thinking about leaving all of this behind. 

Surprises

Know what are great? Surprises :)

For example:

I loved getting THESE beauties from Jake the other day...

...and getting THIS gorgeous clippy from Janae a few Sundays ago. Don't unexpected gifts just make you smile?? :)

{Jake caught me on the phone for this picture, hah}

I love getting surprises in the mail, especially when it's one of THESE:

{more about this later!}

But happy surprises are definitely not always material things.

Don't you LOVE when the sun hits your view just right when you're waiting at a stop sign...

...or being surprised by how perfectly plans can turn out; or having a prayer answered in a way that could never have been predicted; or unexpectedly running into friends on campus, or at the grocery store, or wherever? Surprises are great.

It's so good to be loved, and random acts of AWESOME like these keep me reminded that I am. People around me set SUCH good examples of this that I really, truly hope I can copy them and surprise someone else... maybe it'll be YOU :)

Five million journals and counting

If I don’t write things down, I forget them pretty quickly.

Which is why I keep journals.

I mean, I REALLY keep journals. These are just the ones I’ve worked on in the last two years. It’s becoming a total habit! It started out as a fun thing to do now and then, and grew from there. 

Then I upgraded to a the BIG journals because I flew through the smaller ones so fast. That big one that says ‘JOURNAL’ is the one I’m working on now. It's lasting a little longer : )

But it’s GREAT because writing things down helps me think them through, and it’s so FUN to go back and read about what I’ve done.

This drive to record my life is one reason I started a blog! Another reason is to be able to share my fun experiences with YOU! And to update far-away friends and family (...and the ones who aren’t so far away!). I hope you enjoy it :)

Now to go fill up that journal a little more... I’d be so sad to forget even the small, happy moments.