Spring Break!

So after 3 months of an insane schedule from school leaving me really no time to do anything I was looking forward to spring break. I had my finals on Monday so that left me with almost 2 weeks off of school. Ryan and I left Monday night after he got off work and headed for Bend. We were really lucky with our drive over and didn't have any snow or ice in the pass. The weather there was beautiful and it was such a nice and relaxing time. We really had a pretty low key week there not doing to much of anything. I did alot of knitting and movie watching. We ate some amazing food and just enjoyed each others company.

This picture is taken at the park a couple blocks away from our house. I know that every time I go to Bend I say the same thing, but I am always blown away by how amazingly beautiful Bend is. I really wish that the economy there would turn around so we could move there for a few years.

We came home from Bend on Thursday and I spent most of that evening and Friday crafting (I will post those pictures in another blog post). I worked Saturday and Sunday. Ryan's mom threw a baby shower for her nice Lisa who is having a baby girl. I stopped by after work to see everyone and give Lisa my gift. This last week wasn't quite as great. I'm still having alot of issues with my back which have left me on the couch alot. I really can not wait to be better. The worst part is that I will feel like I'm making progress and am on my way to being healthy again and BAM! My back is all flaired up again. I'm really hoping that the procedure that I had done this week really will help and start allowing me get better. But on the bright side I did get some more knitting in. I just have to find time to make it up to Julie for not getting to hang out this week.

Painted House

So this last week Ryan and I took a quick trip to Bend to finish painting the house. The majority of the work was done, but we needed to paint the chimney. While we were painting the house my parents had some masonry work done and it needed 30 days to cure. We the 30 days were up and we were running out of nice weather days.

This house has been quite the project. Some day I should post before and after pics of the inside remodel. The majority of our time has been spent on the inside of the house and this summer we started working on the outside. Just painting the house made a HUGE difference! It's difficult to get alot of work done commuting back and forth from Bend to Portland. But we are making progress. We still need to replace the fence (which is a major eye sore) and do some landscaping. I am very happy with the progress made thus far. Ryan and I love going to Bend. It has become such a special place to us.

Before:

After:

July Part 1

So after promises of being a better blogger I have gone yet again with a major lapse in my entries. Now that we are well into August I think that I will back track to July with a recap of the month.

The month started with Ryan and I taking a trip to Bend. If you read this blog you will know how much we love this place. Every time we visit we long to move there. Maybe someday if the economy ever turns we can find jobs there.... Anywho got a well deserved mini vacation and traveled around Central Oregon. Our first full day there was spent driving around the High Lakes. We started out driving to Fall River. I have special memories of going here with my parents and my Grandpa D.

It truly is a beautiful place, see all those fish!!


Next we drove to South Twin. Another place special to me. I spent alot of summers here as a kid with my Grandma and Grandpa Erickson. It was crazy going back after all these years. It was exactly as I remembered it, only smaller. It's funny how that works to me. Everything is so big when you are a child.

We made a loop around all the lakes and I have tons more pictures of it, if you really want to see them check out facebook.

The next day we went to Smith Rock. While most people visit this shear mass of rock to climb its walls, we decided to hike it.

We spent the rest of our time there exploring the town on foot and eating good food. If you ever make it there I HIGHLY recomend Flatbread in the Old Mill. It's one of Ryan's and my favorite restourants.

Bend

Ryan and I got back tonight from a trip to Bend. We were there for 5 days. The trip was amazing, but still felt to short. We really enjoyed being able to just relax and have fun. Which we really don't get to do to often these days. Between school, work, and just plain life an extended period of time with nothing to do is few and far between.

We got into Bend on Monday afternoon because Ryan got to get off work early (woo hoo!) We unpacked at the house and then walked over to the Old Mill for dinner. We ate at Flatbread, which is fastly becoming one of our favorite places to eat there. By the way if you are ever there you must go there for Monday night flights. It's a great deal for dinner and sampling great local wine.

Tuesday was probably my favorite day of the whole trip. We went to Shevlin Park for a hike. This place is so amazing. I remember going ice skating here in the winters when I was young.

After our hike we went the the Deschutes Brewery for sampling and a tour. This was surprisingly our first time there. We have never found time in the past to go. Since I'm not a big beer fan Ryan had a great time drinking all of my pours along with his. He was feeling pretty dang good by the the time the tour rolled around. I found the tour very interesting. Who knew that brewing was such a fine science.

As always, Ryan and I found ourselves walking around Bend talking about moving there. I don't know what it is, but that city is pure magic. I love how laid back it is and that from our house you can walk everywhere. That is something that you just can't do around here. Well... you can in downtown Portland, but I would never want to live there. So to make matters worse there is a house that is 2 blocks away from my family's house that Ryan and I have always lusted after. And its for sale. It's right in the heart of downtown Bend in the historical neighborhood. It's actually the first stone house built in Bend. The house is enormous for the area and has quite a big lot. This was bad because it got Ryan and I thinking even more about moving to Bend and if we could afford this house. Since the job market sucks, even for health care professionals like us, I don't think that it would be very smart to give up the jobs we have. Plus I'm still finishing up school. Ugh!! All I can say is that I hope the housing market stays this way for awhile and they drop the price on this house some more and a job opens up at St. Charles. Because who wouldn't want to see a view like this every night from your house?

Oh Bend, why do you have to be so perfect? Oddly enough I have found that almost every one who grew up there can't wait to move out to the Valley. Well, more room for me :-)