Fall is Approaching

Crisp Air, bright colors, football, apple cider, leaves, pumpkins...

all the things that remind me of fall. As I was driving home from work I couldn't help but notice that fall is approaching. A little early, but I am not complaining one bit. The leaves are changing colors. It was very cool this morning. Football has begun.

I love the fall. It is by far my favorite time of year. I remember fall last year. Going on walks with Ryan through the leaves counting down the days until our wedding. Watching all the colors change. Going to the pumpkin patch, and the corn maze. Drinking Caramel Apple Cider instead of my normal Chai. Crisp air with blue skies. Nothing beats an Oregon fall day....

I am so glad that the fall is finally arriving!!

*the photo is from last fall, the leaves haven't changed that much yet! :)

Anniversary Recap

Here are a few reasons why I love Ryan.

1. He made our "dating" anniversary so special.
2. A dozen gorgeous white with pink tipped roses
3. Lunch from PF Changs
4. Dinner at the Melting Pot
5. My favorite Champagne.

I am so blessed.

Two Years!

Two years ago I was at Young Life camp. We were driving home and listening to Mark Wagner, who was the musician at camp. My mentor and long time friend was asking me all kinds of questions about this man that I had been talking about all week. She couldn’t help but notice the grin on my face. She wanted to know everything. I remember her saying something like “this could be the one”. I remember thinking that myself. Could I really be with this man I have never met? Then it hit me..hard. I was going to meet him in just a few short days. The butterflies start going. What if he doesn’t like me? What if I don’t like him?

But deep down I knew that wasn’t possible. My heart was already captivated by this man. I still remember him walking up the porch and me telling my room-mate to answer the door. She said no, I had too. He was so sweet and such a gentleman. The quick side hug. The warm smile. The easy conversation. The bugs in our wine. The desire to hold his hand the entire date. The excitement to see him again. I will never forget that night. The night that I met my best friend, my soul mate my other half.

Today marks two years of us being together. Two years since that first date. While now we have a wedding anniversary to look forward to, I will always look forward to this day. The day I met my husband.

Mt. Hood

Sunday on our way home from the Hawes Family Annual camping trip, Ryan and I stopped at Timberline lodge for lunch. As we were leaving and admiring the view we saw the sign for the "Magic Mile Skyride". We had to do it. So we did. I was a bit freaked out at first because we didn't put the bar down...but then we did and it was better.

Nothing can describe the view. The closeness to the top of the mountain. I am just going to show some pictures instead.

My Little Joy

I love that every day when I get home and open the front door, Meow comes running to see me. He stops at my feet and looks up at me like "are you going to pick me up now?". It's so sweet. It makes getting home that much better.

My Nephew

This is Jackson. My nephew. I know, it's not the best picture, but is all we have at this point. He is due January 1, 2010. I cannot wait to meet him!!!

Just some thoughts...

1. While I don't love the rain year around, I love the occasional rainy day after a bunch of hot days, there is something about that summer shower...something refreshing. That and the smell, I love the smell.

2. We found out yesterday that Ryan's sister (my Sis in law) and her husband are having a baby boy. We are going to have a nephew in December/January...can't wait to meet him.

3. I am thankful for my neighbors. We have this great German couple who live across the way from us. It is so fun to talk about Germany and german food, traditions and everything with them. It is also wonderful to have neighbors we trust and watch out for us. I spent Saturday night for about 4.5 hours talking with them and another woman in our complex...it was actually a blast.

4. I am surprised by the niceness of some people. Ryan and I were at Ikea this weekend and we saw a man with a baby in his arms needing a cart and another guy was returning it and instead gave it to the man with the baby. It warmed both of our hearts to see people do simple acts of kindness.

5. I went on a baking frenzy this weekend. Ryan had to work Saturday so I played. I made this amazing cake truffles, they are so fun. It took me a while to get the hang of dipping them, but they are so cute. I found them at this blog: http://www.bakerella.blogspot.com/ I also made chocolate chip cookies and snicker doodles. Then I gave them to my neighbors!

6. Betty Crocker has released some Gluten Free cake, cookie and brownie mixes. Awesome. Can't wait to try them!

7. Meow truly lives up to his name. Neither of us slept well last night because Meow sat outside our door crying...all night long. Other than that, he is so much fun. He has this particular love for my necklace. I was sitting on the couch when he came running across the room, jumped up on me and went straight for the necklace, how did he know where it was? Crazy cat.

8. I am looking forward to this weekend. It has been a long week...and well we didn't get much of a weekend last weekend. So, we are excited. My parents are coming so we can go to The Bite of Oregon. Then Sunday is the first pre-season football game, we are so excited. It makes me feel like it's fall. I love the fall. LOVE IT.

9. Did I mention that I love fall, and that I cannot believe it's approaching! WOOHOO!

10. My MIL got me these great pants back in June, somehow between the fitting room and my house they shrunk. Seriously. :) Well I decided that today I will make them fit...and they do...mostly. They are so cute. I love it when I like my outfit and feel good in it. :)

11. Ryan is incredible. He is just great. I love him. We are near two years of being together..time flies!!

Friendly People

I answer a multi-line phone all day. Currently I am the only one at my desk, we usually have two of us. Well, when I have several calls at once I usually ask the person to hold so I can put everyone else on hold too...it gets crazy.

Most of the time people just say yes, or quickly say, "service". But yesterday I had a lady say "NO! I NEED service NOW!". I transferred her.

So friendly. I am glad that all my phone calls aren't that way.