Summer Fun

We've had a few adventures since I last posted. I went with my friends from the math department- Brie, Wil, and others,- to Oneonta Gorge and Eagle Creek for some hiking and wading. Those pictures are on facebook, but I did not take them.

A week or two later I took CJ to Oneonta Gorge but we did not take a camera since I was worried about getting it wet. We went swimming and climbed the rocks up behind the waterfall.

The next week I took my sister, Anna, to Oneonta again, and for a hike around the area.

There were too many people and it was very dark, so pictures were hard for me. But it was quite amazing.

The hike up the hill was beautiful, and it was wonderful spending such quality time with my sister. I think she really enjoyed the hike too.

She's such an amazing woman!

This weekend, CJ's uncle Tim had us all up at his farm in Redmond. We were going up to help him pick his corn, but it wasn't ready. We might go back next weekend! His house was so comfy and has such a great view.

The horse's name is Shadow. He loves me <3.

Besides the corn, Tim has potatoes, carrots, all kinds of squash, cucumber, and more that I can't remember. We spent the whole weekend harvesting, weeding, mowing, cleaning, etc.

We all worked so hard that by sundown we were in bed, and up as soon as the sun came up. Tim's wife was out of town, so Marie and I took over all the cooking and cleaning, and fed the four hungry men 3 times a day! It was a role I enjoyed.

We made pickles from the garden's cucumbers.

I did not want to come home. I loved riding tractors, cooking for grateful hungry men, and spending time outside in the sunshine with family. I hope we can go back soon! Once we got home, I made some tasty food with tomatoes from my garden. Maybe my corn will be ready next week. For now, its store bought ;) But at least it was all from scratch!

Summer is finally here!

It took forever to get here, but its summer! I've already gotten a pretty nasty burn by accident. Mostly though, I've spent alot of time in my yard doing my grading and lesson planning, and CJ and I have spent some fun times out of the house together.Last week we used our coupon that I found on LivingSocial for a buy-one-get-one cruise on the Portland Spirit. Neither of us had ever been although we've always wanted to. So I bought the tickets and didn't tell CJ, and quietly waited for him to have a slow day at work on a Friday and come home early. Lucky me, he found out Thursday that he didn't have to go to work, so we spent the whole day shopping together. Bought him new shoes and tools and such. Went to Dairy Queen. THEN... Surprise trip to Portland for a cruise!

It was so much fun. We both felt like we were on a real cruise ship like our Alaska cruise last year! Made us both really crave another cruise. Nothing like sitting around, being served drinks, nowhere to go, constant live entertainment, constant changing scenery... ahhhh. It made us both feel all cute and romantic.

We then went for tofu at SuperBowl. We used to eat there on his lunch breaks back when he worked at Saturn when we were dating. Brought back so many happy memories! To finish off a wonderful day, we went and saw Despicable Me. It was very cute and funny. Predictable and definitely for children, but I loved it. This will be one of those dates I'll remember when I'm old.

Today, CJ had another surprise day off. I love this! We went to Beaverton Farmer's Market and got some cherries, strawberries, apple butter, and fresh baked bread.

I know I would get sick of it eventually, but right now I wish it was summer all the time!

Quick Weekday Trip to Margaritaville

Yesterday after I made my last post, it did warm up considerably! So I went to the garden and took some pictures of my cute little plants' progress :) I felt inspired after a lovely blended tropical rum cocktail!

These are my green onions I planted from seeds. They are already quite tasty!

I have a mini corn field too!

I'm hoping these little yellow flowers turn into cherry tomatoes soon.

These are my peas. There are a few flowers which I think means the beginning of pods.

I have three strawberry plants. This plant has yielded two strawberries, and none from the others yet.

Now is where the margaritas come in. CJ came home from work (which is going great, by the way,) and I started on dinner. Shish kabobs!

I skewered the chicken after letting it soak in Sweet Maui Teriyaki Sauce, and skewered pearl onions that had already boiled for a few minutes, red orange and green peppers, and fresh cut pineapple. Yes, the one in Chilly Summer Day. I then grilled them outside in the sunshine.

I made the margaritas myself. I put about 4 shots of tequila in a shaker (with ice) about 1 shot each of limeade and lemonade, a dribble of cointreau, and a squeeze of real lime. I then strained it into salted rim glasses. They were so tasty that we went back for a few more...

Complete meal with a rice bed for the skewers and salad! The rice was Jasmine Basmati rice. It really added to the flavor of the skewers.

This morning CJ and I felt a bit of jet-lag from our quick return from Margaritaville. But it was worth it!