Oregon Summer
I had every intention of blogging more when school got out for summer. But, here we are, nearly a month later and very little has been said. To be honest, it's primarily because life has been rather uneventful... in the best possible way. The fourth of July FINALLY ushered in summer weather. In case you can't tell just exactly how excited we were, here is OSU's facebook post last week:
Locals will tell you that summer officially starts on July 5th, but we were lucky this year and had nearly perfect weather for fireworks and celebrating our nation's birthday. Over the years, I have been out of town a few times for Independence Day and, simply put, small towns just do it better. It's difficult to pinpoint exactly which part I like the most--the parade that anyone (walkers, bikers, families, dogs and the like) can join, the little Red, White, and Blues festival down by the riverfront, or the fact that everyone in your town is in nearly the same place once the sun goes down, because it's the ONLY fireworks show. With good food, good friends, and fantastic weather, we really could not have asked for a better fourth.
This past weekend, we headed south to Klamath Falls to visit with my parents. Jake had 5 days off, and we just couldn't pass up the opportunity to get away for a few days. A visit to my parents' house always promises to be full of rest, relaxation, good food and good alcohol--and this was no different. We did bear the overwhelming heat to help my mom weed their corn bed and pinch and stake her tomatoes.
And my mom managed to find time in her busy Suzy-homemaker schedule to help me with a pillow re-covering project. Side note: I'm really trying to build my practical skill-set; writing research papers and grants and giving presentations are all certainly valuable skills, but they don't translate quite so seamlessly to the wife/mommy world (not that we're quite there, yet, but soon). With the help of our Garden Manager (AND Master Gardener) at work and with my mom's know-how, my fledgling gardening knowledge is slowly starting to take root. I reallllyyy want to learn how to sew, but that may have to wait until later. Once school starts, everything changes. I recently started working full-time and I cannot believe how much more time I have (as opposed to when I'm in school full-time and working part-time). It's crazy! Last Monday, I got off work at 5, came home and hung out with the pups, went for a run, took a shower, got dinner started AND a load of laundry going all before The Bachelorette started at 8. It was amazing! While I really appreciate the always changing school schedule and the flexibility that it brings, I loooove leaving work at work. The grass is always greener, right?? Clearly, I've digressed way off course. All of that to say, we had a really wonderful time at my parents' house, and are looking forward to another visit at the end of the month to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary.
As for work, we are currently gearing up for summer garden camps in August. We have 6 wonderful OSU students helping us with camp, and their intern training started yesterday. Today, we made fruit and vegetable portraits, had a My Plate scavenger hunt, and dug up worms in the garden! Obviously, we're testing activities before the kids arrive next month, and it's pretty dang fun. Between intern training, summer camps, celebrating my parents' anniversary, and then our anniversary, it's pretty much going to be a sprint until the end of August. But we wouldn't have it any other way. I love how much time I've been spending outside and in the garden, Jake has a new supervisor and that has made his work environment exponentially better, we continue to develop and deepen our friendships here, and summer weather has meant fabulous summer produce (we've been going through it like crazy!) and it means more opportunities to take day trips to explore local hiking trails. Anyone want to come for a visit?? Summer is a wonderful time in the Willamette Valley ;)
Locals will tell you that summer officially starts on July 5th, but we were lucky this year and had nearly perfect weather for fireworks and celebrating our nation's birthday. Over the years, I have been out of town a few times for Independence Day and, simply put, small towns just do it better. It's difficult to pinpoint exactly which part I like the most--the parade that anyone (walkers, bikers, families, dogs and the like) can join, the little Red, White, and Blues festival down by the riverfront, or the fact that everyone in your town is in nearly the same place once the sun goes down, because it's the ONLY fireworks show. With good food, good friends, and fantastic weather, we really could not have asked for a better fourth.
This past weekend, we headed south to Klamath Falls to visit with my parents. Jake had 5 days off, and we just couldn't pass up the opportunity to get away for a few days. A visit to my parents' house always promises to be full of rest, relaxation, good food and good alcohol--and this was no different. We did bear the overwhelming heat to help my mom weed their corn bed and pinch and stake her tomatoes.
And my mom managed to find time in her busy Suzy-homemaker schedule to help me with a pillow re-covering project. Side note: I'm really trying to build my practical skill-set; writing research papers and grants and giving presentations are all certainly valuable skills, but they don't translate quite so seamlessly to the wife/mommy world (not that we're quite there, yet, but soon). With the help of our Garden Manager (AND Master Gardener) at work and with my mom's know-how, my fledgling gardening knowledge is slowly starting to take root. I reallllyyy want to learn how to sew, but that may have to wait until later. Once school starts, everything changes. I recently started working full-time and I cannot believe how much more time I have (as opposed to when I'm in school full-time and working part-time). It's crazy! Last Monday, I got off work at 5, came home and hung out with the pups, went for a run, took a shower, got dinner started AND a load of laundry going all before The Bachelorette started at 8. It was amazing! While I really appreciate the always changing school schedule and the flexibility that it brings, I loooove leaving work at work. The grass is always greener, right?? Clearly, I've digressed way off course. All of that to say, we had a really wonderful time at my parents' house, and are looking forward to another visit at the end of the month to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary.
As for work, we are currently gearing up for summer garden camps in August. We have 6 wonderful OSU students helping us with camp, and their intern training started yesterday. Today, we made fruit and vegetable portraits, had a My Plate scavenger hunt, and dug up worms in the garden! Obviously, we're testing activities before the kids arrive next month, and it's pretty dang fun. Between intern training, summer camps, celebrating my parents' anniversary, and then our anniversary, it's pretty much going to be a sprint until the end of August. But we wouldn't have it any other way. I love how much time I've been spending outside and in the garden, Jake has a new supervisor and that has made his work environment exponentially better, we continue to develop and deepen our friendships here, and summer weather has meant fabulous summer produce (we've been going through it like crazy!) and it means more opportunities to take day trips to explore local hiking trails. Anyone want to come for a visit?? Summer is a wonderful time in the Willamette Valley ;)
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