More island flavor

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Love writing

Lately, B has been hooking us up with a lot of new music.  Some I like, some I think is whiney, some I'm pretty much indifferent about, but most of it I love.  (We both have the same silly habit with music we end up liking-- we burn a cd so we can listen in the car and then only play that cd for about two weeks straight.  Non-stop.  Then, the cd gets shelved for couple of weeks, months maybe, until it resurfaces for another two weeks of fame.)  My current obsession?  Greg Laswell.

He mostly writes really, really sad songs--sometimes he'll play a lonely guitar riff and it's as if you can actually hear his heart breaking.  But it's his lyrics that get me and I think he's still writing love songs underneath.  Here is a sample of my favorites from his newest album:

if i could write out my own dream / for the next time that i sleep / you'd be the first one that i'd see / and i'd be the last one you keep

there's a song that i've waited / oh, to write with you / think i'll finish it instead / i got enough from you love / that it finishes itself / i regret

and if the plane lifts off / i'll write you a letter / to say goodbye / and i will make it long / and lie just a little / tell you that i'm doing fine

so go ahead and bang a gong / nothing / could drown out the sound of the whispers of my love

Masters of all trades

About a month ago, B moved into a office of his very own.  Well, his very own, plus four other guys, but an office nonetheless.  He is sharing a space in Lake Oswego with a marketing specialist, a videographer, a graphic designer and a web designer.  The trifecta plus two, so a five-fecta if you will.

It's great for oh, so many reasons:  a) B can keep normal office hours and has a place to meet clients, b) he can get out of the house to go to work which helps him keep normal working hours and c) all of the guys in the office have the chance to bounce ideas back and forth off one another, not to mention handing off clients to one another.

So far, it has been a great experience for everyone involved and they are just starting to get the ball rolling.  Last week, a writer for the local Lake O paper did a feature story on them for the front page of the Style section.  (I'm having trouble finding the link online so I think it might have just been in print.)  Here is a shot of what the page looked like:

Just a proud wife gushing a little bit over her hubby.

Doubleday Designs

A great big, huge shout out to my friend Erin and her new Etsy site: 

www.doubledaydesigns.etsy.com

She makes gorgeous jewelry, take a look around her shop!  Oh, and buy some of it too.

Liquid Aloha

So, it's time to explain the blog post drought around these parts.  B and I were on Kauai for a week.  Go ahead, take a moment.......

Yep, we just spent six fabulous days with the Incredi-Lodges on Hawaii's "Garden Isle."  We (in no particular order) hiked, drove around the island, drank, beach walked, combed the beach in the rain, golfed, snorkeled, laid out, surfed, boogie-boarded, kayaked up a river, ate ridiculous amounts of seafood and had a blast.  

Kauai is a fascinating place because the island has so many different landscapes.  We drove up the Waimea Canyon, the Grand Canyon of Hawaii, and saw rocks off the side of the road that could have been plucked right out of Utah and then, at the top of the canyon, we hiked through the muddiest jungle.  Even the beaches were different wherever we went-- rocks, steep cliffs, sand.  The weather was unpredictable too-- the island greeted us with two days of torrential rain, but we soon figured out that if we went to the south side, we'd have sunny skies all day. 

In order to save you all from a day-by-day, play-by-play of our trip, I'll just post a whole truck load of photos.  The Lodges are actually STILL in Hawaii so I'll add the link to Julia's photos once they get home.

Waimea Canyon

The start of the hike out to Pehia Vista.  Muddy!
Julia and I try to navigate a drier route through the muck puddle.
Pehia Vista, where we were supposed to see "grand views of the amazing and spectacular Na Pali coast" behind us.  Yeah, not so much.
B in one of our very classy $3 rain trench coats at the Hanalei Farmer's Market.  (Lesson learned?  Always pack a raincoat for any destination.  Always.)
Hibiscus.Geoff and B and their surfboards on Wailua beach.
B gets ready to tackle the waves.
B at Wailua beach after a tiring session.

Julia and me pose outside of our lunch spot in Hanalei.  Finally, the sun was out!  Just minutes after this, we find out that the bridge back to the rest of the island is closed.  Closed.  Oh well, guess we'll have to go shopping. :)

Kayaking up the Wailua river.

Sun + palm trees = "do we have to go home?"

Snorkels are sexy.
An aquatic friend comes ashore for a sun bath.
Sunrise outside our condo in Kapa'a.
On a beach in Po'ipu on the sunny south shore.

Light it up!

I think we have day and night for a reason.  Day is for activity, night is for sleep.  It's really just that simple.  I'm sure there are those that will definitely disagree with me-- the whole city of Las Vegas for one-- but seriously, it's the reason behind that rule every mother in every small town has:  "Come home when the street lights turn on."  In other words, it's getting dark, it's time to rest.

So, with that in mind, why do we go skiing at night?  And why, if it is so against what the natural turn of the earth wants us to do, is it soooooo awesome?

The Oregon Cascades saw a ridiculous 3 foot dump last week and we just couldn't stay off the mountain.  B and I hit the powdery slopes at Ski Bowl on Friday afternoon and skied our legs off.  

Night skiing is fun, but I'll be honest, it's weird.  Think about it:  they put up lights on the side of the mountain so you can do something that should be a daytime activity at night.  Oh, and you have to pay for it.  I think my big brother should think about adding some lights to his golf course.  Can you say "Cha-ching."  Hello?  Night is the new day.

The Hoybooks

Our friend Alyson was awesome enough to take some portraits of B for his website and I snuck in for a few frames.  This is one of our favorites.

Our punishment

This is my sixth winter in Oregon and I think we have never had it this good.  Sure, we have had our share of gloomy weather-- the two week snowstorm in December and about three days of a Pineapple Express at the beginning of January-- but other than that, it has been a very dry, very sunny winter.  Normally, we have about a week of rain, one day of sun and then two weeks of rain.  Two winters ago, we had precipitation on 32 consecutive days.  Yikes.  

Anyway, this winter, it has been more of a pattern like this:  couple days of sun, one day of rain in the morning with clearing skies in the afternoon and then a couple more days of sun.  It hasn't done much for our snowpack-- we're at about 82% of normal-- but it has done wonders for my soul.  I've had three events up at Mt. Hood this winter and had great weather for all of them.  My last event, this past Saturday, was the Romp to Stomp snowshoe race and it was another bluebird day.  It was still chilly (yes, I was still wearing seven layers of clothing), but I suburned my cheeks.  In February!  In Oregon!  Unheard of.  B and I even toured around on our bikes last week on a 60 degree morning.  Gorgeous!

My only concern is how we are going to make up for this.  Since it isn't raining in January and February when it is supposed to, does that mean it will rain in July and August when everyone knows that it's strictly forbidden to rain?  I feel like Mother Nature will drop the hammer sometime this summer.   That, my friends, will be real punishment.

29 seems fine....

I turned 29 today.  And so far, it seems to be going OK.  (I don't hear any clocks ticking, which is really what I was worried about.)

B and I celebrated with a drive out to the coast.  We both really love old stuff and love antique stores and there is a great one in the tiny coast town of Wheeler.  After we wasted away an hour of two, we headed down the 101 to Pacific City to climb around on the Cape Kiwanda Dune.  It turned into a gorgeous day, proving once again, you never know what you will get at the beach. 

Simple math

What do you get when take 21 4th-7th grade girls

and add

21 pairs of snowshoes

plus

8 inches of fresh snow

plus

a school bus with a driver who doesn't know how to drive in snow

plus

the Trillium Lake trailhead?

Well, it's a simple equation.  The answer is chaos.  But, chaos with an emphasis in wet clothes, lots of smiles and 21 happy girls.

Here's me driving up to the mountain with 40 pairs of snowshoes.  I was the "expert snowshoe guide" for the Girl's Inc. snowshoeing trip yesterday.  REI donated the snowshoe rentals and I donated my "expertise."  All I did was show them how to put them on and how to find fresh, untracked snow.

Each adult was assigned 5 girls to "keep track of."  Those are my five girls, running ahead of everyone.  4 out of the 5 wiped out, face first, just seconds after I took this. 

Isn't she the cutest?

The girls stop moving long enough for us to snap a group shot.

Bitter, party of one.

I worked all day yesterday.  B did this:

I am so loved.

Last weekend was my First Annual 29th Birthday Party.  I wanted to have friends over for my birthday this year and since my birthday falls so close to Valentine's Day, I decided this past weekend was best and I could just start the merriment early.  So I created an Evite and just started inviting people, not really sure who would be able to make it or who would really even want to come.  And then?  Well, then the RSVPs started rolling in and before I knew it, I had 30 people signed for the party.  Three of those included my best girls-- Jen, Mindy and Lisa.  All three flew in for the weekend from St. Louis and Omaha respectfully.  

I realized this weekend how much I love my friends and just how blessed I am to be so loved.  I wouldn't have wanted to spend the evening with anyone else and I think we all had a good time.  Well, at least I did. :)

So, I didn't take very many photos during the party.  I was busy being celebrated.  But here are some quick shots of the birthday revelers.  (I really just wanted proof that we fit that many people in the apartment.)

B and I take a moment to pose.  His food was of-course, the hit of the evening.  

Me, Lisa and Mindy at the airport before they head back to Omaha on Sunday.  I've spent so many birthdays with these two, it was only natural that they be here for this one too.
Jen and I snuggle up at brunch on Sunday.  If Valentine's Day was a hamburger, we'd be the bun.  Her b-day is the 13th.  Insta-friends reunited!

All the pretty ladies

Back in October, my mom called with a tempting proposition.  Would I like to meet her and my aunt and my cousin for a girl's weekend in Denver in January?  Well, heck yes, of-course I would!

I remember family vacations as a kid and it was always the WHOLE family-- Dad, Mom, Scott, Gayle, Craig.  And since there were boys on the trip, we usually had to do some boy things like go to baseball games or eat at the ESPN zone.  Well, this was a girl's trip so we got to do girl stuff.  Like go to the art museum and the historic home of Molly Brown and go down to the hotel happy hour each night for a glass of wine and eat dinner at a gorgeous (and delicious) french restaurant.  We also went to the US Mint which I was really, really looking forward to (my inner dork needed some love) and let me just say what a disappointment that was.  At least it was free.

It was a fantastic trip and the girl time was much needed and oh so fun.  Why haven't done something like this before?

A view from the Colorado State Capitol.

I'm sure there are families out there where no one looks alike and you can't really tell who belongs together.  Um, my family is not one of those....
What is that horse doing upon that chair?  You mean they call this art?
Moms and daughters, daughters and moms.

Who is that guy?

There is a guy that stands at the freeway exit I take almost everyday from work.  No, he's not homeless or someone pleading for money-- he's the Mattress World sign holder.

I just don't get it.  This seems to be a new trend in the past year or two-- you have a business, you want people to come to your business so you make someone stand out by the curb holding a sign and waving at the passersby.  I think it makes sense for a business like Jiffy Lube to hold a sign that says, "Open Bay!" so you can get a quick oil change or maybe Domino's Pizza whose sign reads, "Fresh Pizza $5.99".  But Mattress World?  Who drives by on a Tuesday morning and sees the sign and all of sudden realizes they need a mattress?  I'm sure it has plenty to do with name recognition and all that (yes, I was an advertising major, I know why they do this), but I guess what I don't get is the guy himself.  Who is that guy?  Who wants to stand by the freeway, all day, everyday and hold a sign?  It's always the same guy and sometimes, they even make him wear a mattress costume.

To get some insight, I called Mattress World.  They "accept applications for that position but currently don't have any openings."  They wouldn't tell me how much the position pays.  

Ok, ok, I know I shouldn't judge.  I know the economy is looking bleak right now and it's work and he probably needs it.  But there are a lot of jobs out there.  I think what I don't get is that it just seems like a lazy job to me.  There are so many people out there working so hard to make a go of it and this guy is choosing to do this.  He applied to do this.  What does this say about us?

And there it is.

$5 at the Goodwill.  How should we recover it?  

Please, talk amongst yourselves.

Good people to know

I have a lot of friends.  And, it seems that we are all friends for different reasons which fill different aspects of our lives.  You know what I'm talking about.  When you want to go to a movie or go shopping, there is that one friend you always call.  Well, if you want to have an adventure, you can call the Hoybooks.  I'm just going to throw that one out there folks.

Case in point:  we climbed Mt. St. Helens on Monday.  It was a day off and my friend Adam had emailed us on Thursday asking if we wanted to go, so we said yes.  Simple as that.  We're good people to know.

Our trip sponsors on the trail on the way up to the tree line-- Sarah, Nate and Adam.  Adam and I went to UNL together-- Sarah is his Northwest wife-- Nate, we just met on Monday morning after he crashed on our floor Sunday night.  More good people to know.  They are always good for an adventure.

Julia tries out her alpine touring skis for the first time.  She is super hard core to take that trail on as her first time.  She's a good person to know too.  
B and Geoff have time for a self-portrait while they wait for the snowshoers to catch up.  Oh, Geoff is definitely a good guy to know.
Me and B pose with the summit looming behind us.  Mt. St. Helens is a beast, she really is.  The trail to the top is around 10 miles round trip and while the grade isn't particularly steep, it's relentless.
I love this photo of me, I'm bummed there is water spot on the lens right in front of my face. Anyway, I think I have this pose like, "Oh, I'm just taking a break, don't worry about me, I do this everyday."  Don't I look positively relaxed?  I do?  Well, ha!  I have you all fooled!
Nate in the red coat and Adam in the green sitting on the edge of the crater at the summit.  Mt. Adams in the background to the right.  
Looking down into the crater at the lava dome that is still building by little eruptions all the time.  Mt. Rainier is on the horizon and Spirit Lake is on the other side.  Spirit Lake is still choked with dead trees from the eruption 29 years ago.
Hubby gets a self-portrait on the summit.  
B gets ready to take another run down another gully on the way back down, trying to beat the sun.
A shot looking south from lower on the mountain as the sun sets.  

So, who has an adventure on the books?  We're available next week.  Just let us know.  We can have our packs ready in 30 minutes.  Seriously.