Summer Highlights: The Dirty Dash

One of the most fun things I did this summer was a run. You are probably asking yourself if this is really Andrea talking, but yes, I assure you that it is. But it wasn't just any old boring run for charity. This was a MUD RUN! AND IT WAS SO FUN!!!! I've never gotten so dirty in my entire life! The only thing that would have made that day better is if Greg was there, but alas, he had to work. 

This run was down in Eugene, and it is called The Dirty Dash. Not only were there mud pits to run, and belly crawl through, it was a certifiable obstacle course! Pits to crawl under, walls to climb over, haystacks to get over, monkey bars to get across, rope ladders, tunnels, pits, slides, running, beer (or root beer) chugging, and a lot of fun and laughs along the way.

 Here we are still fresh and clean the morning of the fun run! 

Morgan, Stefanie, ME!, and Michelle

And here is the entire gang after the run! We had to rinse our hands and pull out our phones to get pictures!

Morgan, ME, Stef, Dustin, Michelle, Liz and Steve 

We were literally covered from head to toe with MUD! 

I had some big globs stuck in my hair too! 

 Michelle and I trying to get some pics of ourselves...

CLOSE  UP! (is that a booger coming out of my nose? Nope, just mud- Whew!)

Me and Stef. You can't imagine exactly how caked we were with mud. Well, maybe you can!

Raarr

This is one I will definitely be doing next year - with Greg in tow - he isn't allowed to miss any more Saturday fun like this!!! 

That one day we got yelled at

Want to hear a funny story? It happened a few months ago, just as the weather was finally starting to turn nice in June. Greg and I took a bike ride through our neighborhood. I actually brought my phone along to take some pictures of some of the buildings that I love so much.

This one is the side of an antique store. I love this building. 

It makes me happy every time I go past it. 

This is the building where the incident happened. It's an old train station, doc, something. Currently it has been housing "Blackberry Junction", you know, one of those things where a whole bunch of antique selling, country crafting, 50 vendors in the house type deals that only last a weekend at a time.

But, I love this building too. It has so much visual interest. The ivy creeping on the walls. The different colors of paint everywhere. Trees coming out of the roof in the middle of the building. The windows and doors , broken and fixed, and so random. I love it! So on this day I told Greg I wanted to stop and finally take some pictures there. And so we did. I got pretty much all I wanted and as we were getting ready to leave Greg found this door in the ground. A hatch if you will. So, naturally, he is curious and lifts it up to find a huge space underneath, filled with water and pipes and other "cool things". And he starts calling to me to come and take a look because it is cool or something. And as he is calling my name to come over, I see a man round the corner of the building. He looks mad. And then he starts yelling at us! As if we are teenagers about to tag, or homeless and think we just found a home in this hole in the ground.

"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING???!!" "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!???"

"Uh, we were just taking some pictures, we'll be on our way now."

"YOU GET OUT OF HERE! THIS IS PRIVATE PROPERTY! THIS IS A BUSINESS! NO TRESPASSING!"

"Really? I didn't know this housed anything right now. Sorry,we're leaving!"

It's funny how even as an adult, when an old man comes and starts yelling at you, for no reason (ok, well, ya maybe Greg shouldn't have opened the hatch), how it suddenly makes you feel like you are 9 years old again. I mean, I have to say, there is not a single, not one, no trespassing, or private property sign on or around the place. It isn't fenced. It actually looks welcoming for picture taking bike riders such as ourselves. All very innocent. But there it is. We got kicked off the property. But NOT before I got a few good shots. :) 

Gathering Together

After one of my favorite holidays, the 4th of July, some of my very favorite people came to visit. Really, I never thought I would see the day!! And they were in and out and it was all over before I could really believe my eyes that, yes, they were in fact here, in Oregon!  My aunt Lynn, and uncle Pat did a tour of the Pacific Northwest and ended their trip in Portland. And so, somehow, we got my Mom to come out, and of course she couldn't come without my beloved sister and my newest nephew Jett. OH-MY-GOODNESS, that BOY is ADORABLE! I mean really, those cheeks, that smile, how he is so chill and cuddly. Geeze. I only wish they could have stayed longer than two days! But I'll take what I can get!

To start out their time here, Justin drove my mom and sis (along with Kaitlin of course) all the way down to my house. Once Greg got off of work, we headed out to Gathering Together Farms for dinner. If ever you have the chance to eat there, DO IT! But make sure you make a reservation. The food was Ah-Mazing! Its literally on the farm, and most of what you eat was grown there. It was my Mom's favorite meal of the trip, other than eating on another farm, which I'll get to.

Friday night Greg and I (plus Napoleon) drove up to Portland and spent the night at Justin and Kaitlin's. Boy was that a full house! Family sleepover! haha. Saturday morning we all met up with Lynn and Pat, and toured Portland's downtown Saturday Market. That place is incredibly crowded. And it was hot. And it was perfect! We all took our picks at the food carts for lunch afterwords and chilled (literally) out at Lynn & Pat's hotel room while we waited for confirmation of our next move- to Sauvie Island Organics Farm- to meet up with Mom and Lynn's cousin, Danny.  (my 3rd cousin or something like that). His wife, Shari, owns Sauvie Island Organics farm, and their place on Sauvie Island was a real treat to visit. Not only was it so fun to meet extended family, cause their two kids were also so sweet and adorable, but their property, house, back porch with the huge table, all of it, such a great experience. And then, to top off family, great company, and a great day- THE FOOD!

Kaitlin and Kristi enjoying the appetizers.

 

The FEAST! I find this picture beautiful and it makes my mouth water! You can't imagine how good it was. Grilled salmon, ginger pickled cabbage, curry marinated (pickled?) onion, fresh salad greens and veggies, and an abundance of fresh fruit and berries. 

 

Mom makin funny faces at me.

I think this was Kristi's plate. Grilled salmon, red quinoa, brown rice, ginger picked cabbage, the curried onions, salad, and that fresh fruit and berries. YUM!

Grandma time! 

Lynn showing Shari all of her and Pat's travels. They started in Vancouver, BC, then down to Seattle, WA, to Astoria, OR, and landed in Portland to fly home. 

Do you like my hat? :) hi Pat!

Mr. Milkdrunk here, just thought I'd look over cause I noticed you're taking my picture, and uh, that's cool. I'm pretty cute ain't I? 
Yes, Jett. Yes you are cute! 

 

This is truly a table for a gathering.

Greg/me/Napoleon/Kristi/Jett/Mom-Grandma/Justin/Kaitlin/Lynn/Pat.

Mom/Grandma/Danny/Shari/Lynn

Uncle Justin 

whew, what a day! Sweetie pie Jett. :)

I can't wait for all of them to come back here! Come again soon, won't you?

Catch-Up

I've attempted to start this post a bunch of times....always coming up blank. It's awkward for me, to be away for so long, and just pop right back into regular posting. I feel weird about it for some reason, like I have to have some really good explanation as to why I haven't been posting. But I honestly don't have a good reason except that, I didn't know where to start! 

So now I'm here and I'm typing and I could tell you about ALL of the happenings this summer, and there are a good plenty of them, but that might get really long and wordy- even for my taste. Starting back in May, I did join Instagram, and quickly fell in love... (find me @andiepantsphoto) and so I thought I would start with some of those photos, and over the course of many posts, fill you in! 

So back in May, I got really sick. Bronchitis and a cough that lasted a month! I literally could not breath and had to get an inhaler. After my second doc appt, the good doc explained that we are living (here in the Willamette Valley) in an ocean of pollen. He suggested, in addition to the prescribed inhaler and nasal spray, that I go to the coast to get some relief. Now THAT is a treatment I can handle!

 Greg (pre-summer haircut! Look at those locks!) & me enjoying the view.

 We were at Otter Rock in Newport, OR. I love it there!!!

You should know by now that I really enjoy taking pictures of nature...which is um, EVERYWHERE here!  So below are a couple of those. Summers here are glorious! There are leafy trees and wildflowers everywhere you look. Lavender has never smelled so sweet. The big apple tree (of which you saw a picture of in bloom, in my last post here) hanging over our driveway has been dropping apples for a few weeks now. The summer farmer's markets are bountiful, and tomatoes are like candy. Sunsets are beautiful, and it's light out until almost 10- which is awesome! If only we hadn't been so stinkin busy with work and other obligations this summer....we would have enjoyed even MORE bike rides, and backyard BBQ. Not to say we haven't done any of that, we certainly have. Just wishing for more...always more!

Moonrise over our garage. The speck of light you see in between the trees, ya- that's the moon!

Pretty sunset over the river (I realize the river isn't visible, but it was taken by the river- promise!)

I'm going to end it here for now. But now that I broke the ice so to speak, I'll keep coming back to give you more little pieces of our lives. :)