Oregon trip... finally!

I'm not sure that this post will even capture how much fun we had on our trip to Oregon, but I will give it a try! So we took a couple of days to actually get to Oregon. We left the HOT HOT valley on a Thursday and stayed the night in Bakersfield, CA and got up early and spent the second day driving through not-so-pretty California and made it to Redding, CA. The third day we began our journey again, and it was so weird because we went from kind of desert landscape to beautiful green roads lined with trees and green everywhere! You know when you're in Oregon!

That day we got to tour around Medford/Central Point, Oregon. We obviously didn't get to tour Jaron's mission areas in order, that would have been kind of tough, but I did get to see all of them but one! It was a neat experience to get to re-live some of the things Jaron went through as a missionary with him. We got to visit a couple of the families Jaron served with in Cave Junction and then stayed the night in Brookings. We stayed in this awesome little cabin right on the coast, it was absolutely amazing! It was really foggy so we couldn't see the ocean very well, but it was still awesome. I am in love with the ocean!

(still working on loving seafood...)

Our room with this view...sweet!

Nothing better than to watch your husband return to a place he has talked about and loved... a pretty sweet memory to be a part of.

The next day we were able to take the Highway 101 all the way up the Oregon Coast, again it was a little foggy, but that is the best scenic drive I think that you can ever take. We ended up that day in Coos Bay. Jaron's last area of his mission. I think he would tell you that one of his favorite parts about this area was seeing a whale jump out of the water right in front of him. So lucky!

I guess it must have been really sunny.. bad squinty pics!

There is this sweet place called Shore Acres right there on the coast that has a BEAUTIFUL landscape that a guy built for his family... I will just let the pictures tell that story. While we were in Coos Bay, I think I found a new love.. Dutch Brothers German Chocolate Hot Chocolate! Wow its good!

We left the coast for a couple days and spent three in Eugene. The reason we actually went to Oregon in the first place is because our friends moved up there and so we drove their car up to them, so we got to hang out with them and we had an absolute blast! Jaron took me to 2 of his areas that were near Eugene, Lebanon and Corvalis. We again got to meet up with some sweet families that Jaron served with and even got to eat at his favorite place in Corvalis, Local Boys! Yummy!

Some pretty waterfalls outside Lebanon

Eatin' at "Hole in the Wall BBQ" love that name!

We then went back to the coast and stayed in Newport. Jaron's favorite lighthouse is there, Yaquina Head Lighthouse. It was the first one I have ever seen and I fell in love with it too!

We also got to visit the Oregon Coast Aquarium, which Jaron says is where the orca in Free Willy lived! We topped all that fun off at Mo's which is a pretty renowned place in Oregon. Jaron decided we should be brave and eat something we both never had before, so he ordered oysters... can I just say gross! I don't know who got hungry enough that they decided those would be good, but wow those are disgusting! of course since Jaron ordered them, we each had to down about five of them. I dipped them in every sauce that was on the table, but it certainly didn't help! We will never do that again.

After our fun stay in Newport, we headed up to Portland to meet up with the our friends the Klein's. They were so awesome and gave us a great tour of Portland. We got to go up and see The Gorge as well as some breathtaking waterfalls up in the mountains there. My words would probably be cheesy in trying to explain how pretty it is there, so again, we will let the pics do the talking.

The Gorge

I would say our favorite waterfall--- Montanumah Falls

We got to go to Saturday's market in Portland, and oh my gosh that was fun! There are some crazy people in this world! We played a game to see who could find the weirdest dressed/acting person in the crowd and I won! The "guy in pink" did it for me. We, of course, also had to get some goods from VooDoo donuts, we had just seen them on TV, its a pretty sweet place. The line was pretty dang long! We got the VooDoo doll donut of course and a maple bacon donut. They have some pretty crazy stuff there.

Thanks to Kevin's parents for letting us stay with them while we were in Portland, we had such a good time with them, and had some pretty sweet card games going!

Sunday, we had to head back home, but were able to stop by the Portland, Oregon temple on our way to Eugene to catch our flight. :( it was pretty hard to come back to the desert after being in a little piece of paradise! That trip is definitely one I will never forget! Sorry for the long post, if you made it this far, I am very proud of you!

My cute husband-- on his Oregon Eugene Mission

WE LOVE YOU OREGON!

countdown...

I don't think i mentioned this, but Jaron and I are counting down the days to our Oregon vacation! Jaron served his mission in the Oregon Eugene Mission, and some friends of ours are moving back there, so we are "helping them move" by driving their car up there for them! ( I think we are getting the best end of the deal!) We will be driving up through California and then get to spend some time going to Jaron's mission areas! Can't wait!

Lots to catch up on...

Wow its been a busy few months, we have been working, playing, and putting lots of work into this new house.. We love it! I am gonna update what's been going on the last couple months, but I don't have new pics of the house yet, cause there are a few things I still want to do before I take pics. So to go back a month ago... we will start there, Jaron had a birthday! We went to Greer a week or so before his actual birthday and spent a couple days up there (Thanks to the swweet Groupon deal we got!) We had fun relaxing and skipping rocks on the lake, we ate a delicious dinner at Molly Butler's, watched movies, and had a great time in our "Log

Motel"!

The Man finally got his grillin' machine! He can cook a steak that will rock your socks!

We also made a trip into Springerville cause we love the Western drug there.. it seems so old fashioned and has awesome stuff! On our way back to Greer, we stopped at SouthFork, one of our other favorite places, and went on a little hike. Jaron decided he was going t

o go out in the creek and move some logs and play Boy Scout, but he got a little

cocky and ended up in the stream... Gotta love that man!

Before:

After:

The end of May Jaron's parents came and stayed with us for a week. We had a great time with them! I must not have had my camera handy cause I didn't get any pictures, but we got pedicures, saw a horrible wreck happen right before our eyes (had to get out and play nurse on that one- weird how that instinct kicks in...), made Japanese food, Amber got engaged!, Derek (Amber's Fiancee) and I got new jobs, and Jaron got called as the ward clerk in o

ur new ward! It was quite a week for them to be here! We even went dress shopping and Amber found a dress!

The next week was my birthday- the big 2-5! I'm old! I got spoiled for a good full week! Jaron and I moved our schedules around for memorial day weekend so we both had five days off and we had tons of fun spending time together. Monday, Jaron surprised me with an overnight stay at the Scottsdale Hyatt Resort! That place is seriously so cool. We swam a lot (pools were awesome!), ate dinner at one of the restaurants there and I even got my own gondola birthday cake! It was an italian place so we got a free gondola ride after dinner. I didn't want to leave the place! I got some sweet birthday presents like some pictures I wanted, a timed crock pot, hobby lobby gift card, money and lots of pretty decorations for the house.

The weekend of my birthday I rode up with my mom to Utah for the baby blessing of this beautiful new addition to our family:

Meet Taylin Makelle McLemore! She is a little angel- we have all fallen in love with that hair and this little girl! I love being an auntie over and over again! I can't believe how fast they all grow though. I got taken to dinner for my birthday and thanks to Jen for the birthday cake and presents! It was an amazing birthday. I wish I had pictures of another new addition- I will have to put them on here if I get some- but Parker, Jaron's brother, and his wife Cali also just had a baby girl named DALLY REY FOY- Congrats you guys!

Like I mentioned earlier, I got a new job! I am still working at North Mountain Medical and Rehab but I am now the Director of Case Management! It has been fun so far and I am learning a ton! And now I am on a regular Monday thru Friday schedule which has been a nice bonus...

Jaron starts his MBA at the end of June, so we are getting ready for another 18 months of school... can't say that we are too excited for that, but we are blessed to have his school paid for and we certainly count our blessings there!

I think I am getting a hand cramp so we will have to stop there- plus I th

ink that about wraps it up! TA TA!

P.S. Did I mention we have a dog? Meet Bella! The cutest ShitZu that ever lived! Jaron would say the first part of her breed fits her the best! ha ha we love her!

New Beginnings...

WE closed on our house February 25th and we are all moved in! WE LOVE IT! Not quite sure what to do with all the space though! My parents came down the first weekend of March and helped us move our load.. Don't know what we would have done without them, Thank YOU! (Also thank you to the elder's quorom- we appreciated the extra muscles!) The move has made for longer commutes for both of us, but we love Chandler and love our house! There are actually some open fields around us... Jaron grew up on a dairy farm so the manuer smells like home and the Chandler Airport is right by us so I get to hear the airplanes fly over, its perfect! These are pics of the house before we moved in obviously!

HOME SWEET HOME!

The Living RoomUpstairs LoftThe Kitchen "Half of the Master"- There is another little room off the master that is Jaron's "MAN CAVE"
Carson, this is for you, your mom said you had been asking about Aunt Sharla's pool, hurry up and come swim!Back Porch- It's gonna be awesome one day once it has a grill and some killer outdoor furniture..

Now if you wanna come visit, we have an extra bedroom or two, don't have furniture in there yet and there is still lots to do, but we sure love putting hard work and love into this new adventure, it has been a long time coming!

L-O-V-E!

Happy Valentine's Day! I love the day of love! This year, we kept it pretty low key, Jaron had to work and I spent the day preparing a delicious dinner (slaving over a hot stove...) I did receive these which ALWAYS makes a girl's day, whether its Valentines or not!

Isn't He Cute? Love you Sweetheart!

I was bad and didn't take pictures because I apparently I have forgotten how to use a camera.. We had dinner in the living room on the table I had set up and it was fun! We just hung out and enjoyed our day with each other, lucky for us we get to spend every day together!

So in other exciting news, and probably why this blog has been neglected, that sign down there is in front of a house... that after February 25th... is OURS! WE are so excited! I will post pictures when we have some!

Christmas Time...

I figure I better post about Christmas some time! I totally forgot my camera, so I have no pictures to show, but we went to St. Johns this year for Christmas and had a great time!

We got up there on Christmas Eve and took some much needed pictures to update our family picture... I think the last one was before Em got married... After that the guys all left us women to go see True Grit. However, they got about thirty minutes into the movie before a guy in the theatre had a heart attack or something and the movie had to be stopped! They ended up having to go back Christmas day and watch it. I think that was the highlight of their trip! Us women stayed behind and planned our traditional Christmas Eve program and chatted and cooked. Christmas Day was great, it's fun to watch the kids so excited for their gifts! We made an awesome haul and had a good time.

New Years this year consisted of me working all weekend, which meant I was not staying up til midnight when I had to get up at four the next morning, so we drank some apple cider at 9 and called it good! Hope all of you had a great 2010, and here's to an amazing 2011!

Thanksgiving~ Vegas Style!

This year for Thanksgiving we met Jaron's family in Vegas! I actually had to work Thanksgiving day, so we headed out for Vegas on Friday! We had a blast! We went up and down the strip taking it all in... last time I was there was when I was ten so it was cool to get to go back. We met Jaron's family for dinner at the Rio to kick things off and the buffet was huge...too many things to pick from! After that we walked the strip until our feet couldn't handle it anymore! The second day we got up and had breakfast at Sam's Town and then they had an awesome courtyard all decorated for Christmas, so we got a few family pictures in,and then headed to the Vegas Temple for some more!

That night I got my Christmas present, Jaron got us tickets to see Phantom of the Opera at the Venetian... AMAZING! I absolutely loved it! He tricked me too and told me we were sitting in the nosebleed section, but when we got there, we were only a few rows back from the stage. It was awesome! What a lucky girl I am! We also stayed at the Golden Nugget that night, which was really nice, and it was also cool because its right on Fremont Street, its a cool street!

We had a great time and thank you Foy's for everything!