Here are a few messages to give your social-distancing days a little more peace, love, and positivity as we all go through this together. ❤️
It takes grace to remain kind in cruel situations. Rupi Kaur
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It’s a beautiful thing to have lungs that allow you to breathe air and legs that allow you to climb mountains, and it’s a shame that sometimes we don’t realize that that’s enough. Unknown
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In every crisis, confusion and doubt, take the higher path — the path of patience, alertness, courage, understandings and love. Fears and uncertainties are temporary. Amit Ray
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You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength. Marcus Aurelius
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Home is where love resides, memories are created, friends always belong, and laughter never ends. Unknown
In spring of 2017, Michael and I were visiting Portland because he was visiting his new workplace and I was interviewing at OHSU. We talked to a stranger about local recommendations and they suggested this hike.
We didn’t read about.
We didn’t look it up.
We just… went and did it.
It ended up being one of the hardest hikes we’ve both ever been on. The elevation gain was so difficult. I’m almost thankful we didn’t know what to expect, because we wouln’t have done it otherwise. We even got cheers once we got to the top by the people that passed us because we told them we were struggling haha 😅.
In May last summer, we decided to do it again to see the sunset at the top and to hike down at night. We can definitely report that the hike is still very difficult! However, the sunset made it so. worth. it. It was like we were seeing a live painting because the color changes were unreal. And we finally saw all of the wildflowers!! 💛
When we made it to the first clearing and saw this view!Michael waiting for me.It’s impossible to not stop a million times and take in this view… or to take a breather. 😅
The last two at the top!! The two guys we met took this picture before they hiked back down. We got to enjoy this place with just us… and some double stuffed Oreos.
We can officially say that we were so freaking exhausted after this hike.
As much as I would love and wish to go outdoors on my days off, it’s not a time to be selfish. What better time than to work on house projects and do some spring cleaning!
Psst! We are going to let you in on a little secret of ours…
When we have friends or family visit us from out of town, we have probably taken almost all of them (if the weather behaved) to these easy-to-visit-but-absolutely-stunning sights along the Columbia River Gorge. I mean.. how could we not?! The drive is less than an hour away from Portland. Even after visiting several times, we still aren’t tired of these views.
Michael and I both grew up in Texas, so we used to joke around about how when we would see a small stream on a hike back then, we would be so excited. Nowadays, we are constantly blown away by the mountains, the waterfalls, the rivers, the trees and everything else we get to see in the pacific northwest.
Here’s our little tour. 😊
Latourell Falls
We loveeeee how moody the pnw can be. Look at all of the beautiful fog hugging the trees.This waterfall is gorgeous with the columnar basalt rock formations behind. It is amazing.It’s a big plus when you get to stand behind the falls!Latourell from afar.
Columbia River Gorge
The drive along the gorge that separates Washington state and Oregon is breathtaking.
Bridal Veil Falls
Michael climbed that big ol’ rock to get a close up view of these falls!
Multnomah Falls
If you visit Portland and don’t visit these falls, did you even come visit?!
Yes – it gets crowded. Probably the busiest tourist spot in Oregon, but worth a visit. She’s just so picturesque.
Rowena Crest Viewpoint
Driving further east along the gorge, you can stop aside to see this winding road!
Hood River, Oregon
You have to stop in Hood River, Oregon for mountain views, local beer or wine, and delicious food. It’s a must! Also… if you see salmon on the menu, order it.
I’ve posted this quote before, but it’s a personal favorite. 💙
Here in the corner attic of America, two hours’ drive from a rain forest, a desert, a foreign country, an empty island, a hidden fjord, a raging river, a glacier, and a volcano is a place where the inhabitants sense they can do no better, nor do they want to. Timothy Egan
Can you believe 2020 is right around the corner? How is there only two more days of this year left?
As it typically does, another year has flown by without us realizing it. And of course, so much has happened. We were driving home the other day and we just went back and forth about what was most memorable and what wasn’t.
We aren’t going to write about what wasn’t so great, but in no particular order, here are a few of our favorites from 2019. 😊
This was our first christmas without family, but Ashley and Byron ended up coming over and it was such a lovely day.
And guess what – we all decided on a Tex-Mex taco theme for lunch and it was soooo good!! When tacos are involved, what can go wrong?!
Ashley is vegan, so it’s also a lot of fun to adjust recipes to be conscious of that. That way she can enjoy everything with all of us instead of having a totally separate meal!
In the summer of 2017, I did my first solo road trip from Dallas, TX to Portland, OR. It included the Grand Canyon National Park.
I drove over over 3000 miles in twelve days. I slept in a tent for four days, stayed in a hostel, booked three different Airbnbs (I needed to shower), and slept in my car all of the other days. I’ve never traveled alone, so the idea of doing so for almost two weeks was slightly terrifying. But… it was one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself and I had an absolute blast! I learned how to be resourceful, self-aware, flexible, and most importantly, I learned how to trust myself. I slept in super sketchy areas, but I’m happy I did. Sometimes traveling isn’t always so glamorous, but it still can be a great experience. I know I wouldn’t trade it for anything else. 💛
Michael also had to do his road trip alone because he left for Portland one month before I did, and his road trip was totally different from mine (our maps below!).
Here’s the route of most of the places I visited. ☺️
My general route!
And this is Michael’s general road trip route below.
Sharing Michael’s parents first time visiting Hawaii! It made our hearts so happy to hear about their adventures and see their photos. We couldn’t help but share some of them. I seriously cannot get over all of the shades of blue coming off of the sky and the ocean water. It is just something else.
With Michael’s dad, Nick, having stage IV kidney cancer, seeing them take this bucket-list trip is heartwarming. They have gone on so many incredible trips in the last two years. Nick has a huge interest in war history, and he just came back from France visiting WWII sites. So having him get the chance to visit Pearl Harbor with his wife, Kim, was a pretty surreal moment. This trip to Hawaii may have been unexpected, but it turned out to be perfect timing.
I know they’re still exploring Hawaii, but we are so thankful they are still having a romantic trip together. These two have really taught us the value of making every moment count and making the best of any situation. Pretty sure Hawaii is on our travel list next year!
There is just something mysteriously magical about the ocean. Maybe it’s all of the brilliant shades of blues it can be, or maybe it’s the unpredictability of its storms, or even all of the life that is teeming underneath the surface. Whatever it is, whenever we visit the coast, there’s a sense of awe that just takes over us.
Lets cue this ~feel good song~ because we just got our wedding photos back!!
On April 20th, we had some of our closest friends and family around us, incredible weather, a beautiful four string quartet, lovely flowers done by A&L, & one badass, amazing photographer, Lily Hayes.
Here are a few of our favorite moments, our vows, and photos below. ☺
