July is always eventful

I don’t know why, but July always has a lot going on - and I always have a bunch of pictures to choose from.

I finished 7th quarter at chiropractic school, and decided to take the summer off for a much needed break. Teresa was rocking it at the bank, and I was looking for work here and there.

I went down to Utah for a week to help the Faveros move to their new home (old place now called “house” & new place: “home”). Unfortunately, Teresa still had to work, so she kicked it at home and watched scary movies all alone.

 

 

I couldn’t pass up the chance to go up to the Ranch with the my family, and I enjoyed the spectacular views from a new path that had been formed to reach the top of the plateau (“the bench”). I just had never realized the vastness of the area up above the Ranch! And it was fun to look down on the Ranch from a new angle.

But my Dad got a tick on his leg! Luckily it attached to the scar he had earned from some crazy driving up at the Ranch a while ago.  

Teresa’s parents drove up to visit and for her Dad to ride in the Seattle to Portland (STP) bike race – a 206 mile bicycle ride! Here he is before and after. What an animal!  

Then, on the very last day of July, we had the chance to adventure through the Ape Caves in Washington. Our good friend, Chris Bentley, was working up here for the summer and it was his last weekend.

 

The Ape Cave is a huge lava tube (12,810 ft – the longest lava tube known in North America) just south of Mount St. Helens that was discovered in 1947 and must be traversed with flashlights or lanterns. It was kind of freaky.

Funny thing about this picture is that before the flash I could only see Chris holding a flashlight to light up his face!

Jan – June 2010

Okay, now that I’m taking the summer off from school (Jeff), it is time for some catching up. Not much happened in January & in February we celebrated our 7 year anniversary!

In March, we got to go home to Utah. But first I visited the Ranch for a couple days!

 

 

Since my family, the Faveros, were going to be moving to a new home, I gathered some of my artwork from my childhood. Here is an awesome poem I wrote, and the accompanying drawing – I remember that the knight’s head was so big that I had to draw him standing next to the horse (I guess he’s there to pick up the sword!). That is my painting of the Ranch (gee, I must like that place) and then evidence of my colorblindness in the purple sky and flag.

In Utah, I was able to arrive in time for my sister Rachel’s birthday party. That is her adorable daughter, Fia.

May, back in Portland, I captured a gorgeous rainbow and then turned around to see this sunset – all right at our apartments!

And here, in June, is one of Teresa’s creepy pets! She enjoys collecting freaky spiders in mason jars so she can look at them and feed them ants and stuff.

October – December 2009

 

  

Justin stopped by Portland on his way back from Hawaii and we took some pictures in the Columbia River Gorge (Multnomah Falls above, and below is the stream flowing from Wahkeena Falls).

 

I took in a lot of the beauties of fall from campus. I spend most of my time at school – Western State Chiropractic College (though now the school is officially the University of Western States).

 

Teresa was quite a rocker for Halloween, wasn’t she?

 

In November, when we found out that Teresa got a new job for a nearby bank (Columbia State Bank) we decided to celebrate that – and my birthday – by heading to Astoria for a few days! Here we are on the top of the Astoria Column.

 

We stayed at an awesome bed & breakfast there called Clementine’s and had a whole suite to ourselves. The specific building, called the Moose Temple, was a Mormon church at one point!

     

In December, we enjoyed a formal Christmas Gala for my school, bought a 10 foot tall tree from the scouts, and as you can see Teresa still has her cute short hair!

 

September 2009 - finally

 

Started the month with Teresa’s birthday!

 

Dad & Joe came to visit (on their way to Hawaii to see Kaytie & Christian!) and we followed the Lewis and Clark Trail to Astoria, OR.

 

We climbed the 164 stairs of the 125 foot tall Astoria Column to see the panoramic view of the Columbia River meeting the Pacific Ocean. Gorgeous!

 

The Astoria-Megler Bridge is the longest continuous truss bridge in North America (over 4 miles) – and it’s cool looking.

  

We also visited the Fort Clatsop National Memorial (Lewis & Clark National Historical Park) and then drove south to Cannon Beach, where Dad & Joe really got into the photographing.

  

saw some pretty flowers the next couple of days…

   

We even went downtown and saw Teresa at her job in the Fox Tower (in the heart of downtown Portland). This turned out to be her last full day! The next day the company had to “let go” 5 temps - so she came home early and we went on a hike!

 

That weekend Mom, Becca, and Ben stopped by on their way to Hawaii, so we saw some of the gorgeous waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge with them.