Birthdays, Basketball, Boarding. and Breadsticks

It's been a busy past three weekends. Three weekends ago was Jon's 23rd birthday. We spared no festivities, let me tell you. Thursday evening we had one group of friends over and had chocolate cake and ice cream and hung out. Then Friday, the actual birthday, there was madness. Well not quite, but there was a lot going on. First, I got 23 balloons which I put in his room (well, I tied one to his bike while he was in class :) ) Then, I serenaded him as I sang and played "You and I" on the ukelele with much trepidation. Then time for food! We were both quite excited, because for lunch we made an awesome salad, garlic bread, sparkling cider, eggplant parmesan, and homemade peach/blueberry pie and ice cream! Some of our music friends came over and we enjoyed the goodness of cheese. Shortly after, Katelyn (Jon's sister), Jon, and I piled into Marco the Jetta and headed towards Auburn where they live.

We spent the night and next afternoon there, and had a lovely time at the dog park with their canine friends Nike and Tia. Shortly after, we departed the great state of Washington and headed south to see a Portland Trailblazers basketball game. They were playing the LA Lakers, who they had beaten the last nine times they had played at home. Thus, we were confident it was going to be a good game. Well, it was still fun, but we were on the very top row, and they lost horribly. So much for placing confidence in the Blazers. Nevertheless, we left in good spirits, especially since we had found such an amazing parking space. We met up with Candice and her friend for a dessert and coffee, were there about an hour, and quelle surprise, came out to find my car had been broken into, the front passenger window busted, and my bag with my wallet in it gone. Lovely. After calls to parents and police amidst trying to find Jon's friend's house where we were staying, we got the window taped up well and went to bed. We met up with Kenneth, Adam, Candice, and her roommate for breakfast before making the trip back. The ride from Portland to Walla Walla was long and loud. At one point I decided I'd had enough and masterfully taped two sweatshirts over the window. It helped. Came back to find my bike stolen. Quelle chance. Luckily, the police found it a few days later and all was well again.

The following weekend was snow frolic! (aka, President's Day). After finishing off the last of the Indian food which had lasted us a good two weeks, we headed to the car once more and soon reached my home. Friday night was lovely. Combined the things I loved to do on Friday nights when I was kid with some of my favorite people. We gathered around the piano and my dad played old hymns while Jon and I sang and my mom enjoyed. The harmonizations were lovely! And then, my parents use to say when I was a kid, it was family time! Games of Bible Blurt and Bible Pictionary took place, we showed off our amazing skills and drew amazing animals. I won't say who won, but I will say Jon and I make a great team :)

The next day we went to church and enjoyed more home cooking, before deciding that some fresh air and exercise were very much necessary. After claiming residency in Central Oregon for a good five years, I was finally going to Smith Rock! It was a lovely day for a hike, and Smith Rock is definitely all it's cracked up to be. We decided we must go back when it's warmer and actually climb. Headed home and tried out some new games my parents had gotten. Fluxx, Balderdash, and Catchphrase were all hits. And Jon and I once again proved how amazing of a team we make :) It was at this point in the weekend when the glorious Baskin Robbins ice cream cake made its appearance as we watched some Olympics before heading off to bed anticipating the day that awaited us. We were headed for snow at Mt. Bachelor! It was a bit foggy and chilly, but the snow was lovely! After a couple of runs, we were warmed up and good to go. We conquered the paths in the trees, and even, albeit a bit unintentionally, made attempts at some jumps and caught some air. It was so much fun to be strapped to my board again carving down the mountain with a certain boy. The only downside to the day was during the very last run sometime, my camera fell out of my pocket. I was crushed. Being the luckiest person in the world apparently, Mt. Bachelor called me a few days later and said they found it! Again I say, quelle chance. (what luck)


This weekened also provided prime photo opportunities. The food must be mentioned, first of all. Saturday was a tour of the Pacific Rim, beginning with Korean Kim Chi and Japanese Sushi, followed later that night by amazing Thai food. Oh how happy my stomach was. In the afternoon, we went out to Fort Walla Walla and walked around. We saw grown men playing with their toy planes (they'd probably cringe if they heard me say that), and then checked out the Planet Walk. They have all the planets lined up, spaced with the same proportions they are in space. It was pretty cool, so naturally we took a picture with Earth. (Jon also took a picture with Mars and I with Venus :) ) Later that night we had dinner with some friends before splitting up for some quality girl/guy time. The guys went out and had coffee and cheesecake and saw an action movie while the girls stayed in and had homemade chocolate cake and ice cream and watched a chic flic. The next day was Valentine's Day! And our four month anniversary! Ok, not really. It was actually a week ago, but with so much going on we put off celebrating for a week. So in the morning we were super productive before meeting up in the evening to make use of the Olive Garden gift card Jon had gotten for his birthday. We dressed to the nines, because we are that cool, and had the much acclaimed salad, breadsticks, pasta, and gelato we have come to love Olive Garden for. On the way there I opened Jon's present, a dehydrator for all the raw food we make, with sweet Valentines scattered throughout! Afterward, we did a scavenger hunt. Because we were in formal wear. It seemed only natural :) What a lovely life.