St. Helens

Our Annual 4th of July trip was a success! Well kind of. We had a trip filled with laughter, delicious backpacking food, lots of old growth forest, a couple lucky 4 leaf clovers and some varying temperatures. In fact, there were several times on this trip when we were reminded of our close proximity to a mountain by the cold mountain winds! Despite our occasional teeth chatters, we survived and look forward to climbing Mt. St. Helens when the time is right- hopefully this summer!

Here are some pics from our lil' trip:


We drove North after work on Friday. Our late arrival meant sleeping in the Subaru. We didn't mind though. The stars were awesome!

Had I known that this would be the last time we would catch a glimpse of the mountain, I would have taken more pics. It was clear for 30 minutes when we started our hike in.

The first part of the hike was through a large landslide. Not sure if it was from the big blast in 1980 or not.

We encountered several fascinating types of foliage on this trip...... and yeah... that is snow.

We also had one of those goose bump experiences where Betty said, "wouldn't that be great if we found a 4 leaf clover right now"? As she said that, my eyes made contact with a very healthy 4 leaf clover that was promptly picked and put in my book. We decided that it might be time to turn some of our wacky money making ideas into a lucky business??? The clover will be our mascot??

This was our campsite. We slept on a cliff and it was awesome! We also had a view of a raging waterfall that sounded like a relaxation CD.

We nestled in for the night and celebrated all things outdoors.

Of course we had to entertain ourselves with a few cheesy pics... There were more, but not everyone is as shameless as I am!

Betty had to pull out coat #2 as darkness approached. It was chilly!

Gotta love the sunset picture.

It was a blast as always-

Annual 4th of July trip

The weather this year has been very wet.
This combined with working... a ....lot.... has made it difficult to get our summer started with weekend trips. Luckily, our backpacking drought is ending today! We started our 4th of July trips two years ago when it occurred to us both that we dislike crowds and we dislike fireworks, so why not get the heck out of dodge? Here is a recap of the last two trips:

2009: Indian Heaven. Lots of mosquitos, a few too many people, but amazing scenic views. This hike during non mosquito times would be fantastic! Luckily for us, we had repellent!




2008: the gorge
Have I ever mentioned how lucky I am to live in the NW? It is so beautiful and there are so many options for outdoorsy people! in 2008 we managed to find this tiny lake that was full of large trout. I will leave that tiny lake unnamed just because we like to think of it as spot to go back to when we want complete seclusion. If you really want more info on this dream place...email me, but I don't feel like adding it to the sea of keywords on the internet. Anyways, it was a stellar, no... monumental trip. Loved every minute of it. Here are a few pics:





A few endnotes-
*I was not expecting to actually catch fish. I had no frying pan for the big one in the picture so Betty and I actually cooked it on a hot rock in the fire. We felt bad ass.
*On one of our day trips we came across some fresh bear poo. Very cool and a bit creepy too!
*and the best endnote.... waking up to the sounds of elk communicating at 4:30 in the morning. They were close too. It was amazing.
Alright. I'm sufficiently excited now. Hope to post pics soon of our 2010 trip to the Mt. St. Helens area!
Did I also mention that my 1 week vacation starts tonight at 5pm? Backpacking, then surfing and atv-ing at the beach with my family?

Life is good.

=( Heather's going away party )=

Heather is one of my besties.... We were roomates in good ol' Milwaukie before I bought my house and she moved to Colorado. These are pictures from a little 'going away' shin-dig we had for her at my house. Right now she is pretty much not sleeping and instead she is frantically studying her nursing textbooks in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I really want to visit her there!


Erica and Heather

Nurse Betty was there to celebrate Heather's transition to nurseyhood!

Erica again radiantly smiling for the photo!



Turns out my new place is great for gatherings! The living room and kitchen are one and it is a great space to socialize, eat and drink! Love it!

I gave Heather a stethoscope for her going away present. Dave (my ex-boyfriend) immediately took the opportunity to give my roomie a check-up. **no he is a nice guy... really**

My friends are silly just like me. We had a fun photo session on my couch.

Silly girls....

scary girls.....

cutesy girls....

When all was said and done, the party was a success. Heather has started her new chapter and I'm so excited for her!

Necia and Bubba

Here are some photos from Necia and Bubba's beautiful wedding!

The first couple of pics are from the rehearsal and dinner.

Necia and her uncle.

Bubba is a funny guy. He grew a mustache and thankfully shaved it off after the rehearsal.



My good friend and I....

Necia gets ready for her big day!!

Beautiful couple!

This might be my favorite pic. I love Necia, and I also love her family. This is her Grandma and her Mother. Honestly, I spent a lot of time with these ladies when we all lived in the Meridian Valley Country Club. They are like family!
It was a great event!

Trip from the past!

Here are some pics from a trip Mom and I took to Pacific city this past winter. They are old now, but not forgotten! I'm excited because it was this trip that we decided to plan and reserve a house that the family is actually going to in 2 WEEKS!!! Woo hoo do I need a vacay!

Pacific City is up there with my favorite places on the planet!

love bug...

Sorry to say these pictures are outdated because I have not blogged in ages... But they are worth a look! Meet Braya! My newest pumpkin! and my last pumpkin for a very very long time!