unreal

...It's the only way to describe our life lately.

For example, yesterday started out as any normal day. Landon and I both went to work, came home, and ate dinner together. After dinner, we hopped in “our” airplane (it feels like ours because we have a key to the plane, but it’s really not ours…) and flew to the coast.

I love how in the landing you can see the ocean still. That's how close the airport was. And holy moly was it WINDY! I don't even know how Landon was able to land it so well with the plane bouncing EVERYWHERE!

The airport was 1/4 of a mile away from the beach...

It was amazing and I'm completely obsessed with the ocean. We watched the waves and the sunset as we walked along the shore.

Oregon's beaches are so cool because there's always a dense forest that opens up to the ocean. So beautiful!

UNREAL.

I love flying. I love where I get to go and what I get to see because of flying. I love that Landon has HOURS AND HOURS of flight time he needs to build, which means we have plenty more adventures ahead of us! :)

The northwest is absolutely beautiful and I can’t wait to see it all!

Ultimate Teaching Job

Out of all of the districts in the Portland-metro area... these are THE ONLY job postings...And out of these 6 postings, I would only be able to apply to ONE of them.

I wasn't kidding when I said there are absolutely NO teaching jobs up here in Oregon...

Sometimes it gets me down when I think about it, so I really just try hard not to think about it at all. It's so hard though seeing all of my friends from Utah getting jobs teaching Kindergarten or first grade.

It's my passion. It's the only thing I'm really good at... Some people are good at sports, or play an instrument, or are really crafty... well I'm not any of those things. But I am a great teacher and I love kids. I've always known I was MEANT to work with children and change their lives for the better.

...I guess I'll have to wait to do that until I'm a mom. And you bet I'm going to teach my kids every single day! I'll teach them how to be a good person, how to read, how to be honest, how to write, how to be polite, how to ride a bike, how to be silly, how to be proud of themselves, how to tie their shoes, how to be kind, and most importantly I'm going to teach them about the gospel and how they are a child of our loving Heavenly Father.

I'd say that's the best teaching job in the world so for now I'll just be patient and wait for my "ultimate" teaching job of being a momma.

I can hardly wait.

Our Song

Some people were confused when I told them that our wedding song was "Green Eyes" by Coldplay. The obvious response from people was, “but you don't have green eyes!” My response, was always... so?

Okay, so my eyes barely have any green in them, but the rest of the words from this song just fit PERFECTLY.

Honey you are a rock

Upon which I stand

And I come here to talk

I hope you understand

That green eyes, yeah the spotlight, shines upon you

And how could, anybody, deny you?

I came here with a load

And it feels so much lighter, now I’ve met you

And honey you should know, that I could never go on without you

Green eyes

Honey you are the sea

Upon which I float

And I came here to talk

I think you should know

That green eyes, you’re the one that I wanted to find

And anyone who, tried to deny you must be out of their mind

Cause I came here with a load

And it feels so much lighter, since I met you

Honey you should know, that I could never go on without you

Green eyes

Green eyes

Honey you are a rock

Upon which I stand

I’ve always said that Landon is my rock. He keeps me grounded and calm when I feel out of control, stressed, upset… I really “could never go on without [him]”

I also love the part “I came here with a load and it feels so much lighter, now I’ve met you.” That hits the nail right on the head! I have trials, burdens, and just plain crappy things that happen to me (who doesn’t?!) but the thing is, it just doesn’t seem as bad now that I have Landon. I can have the worst day ever, but when I come home it’s like all of those things don’t even matter! Or if I am lonely & missing my family/friends (which happens pretty frequently actually) all he has to do is hug me and let me cry on his shoulder for a minute and then I’m as good as new.

Basically I love this song because it just sums up how life isn’t perfect, but with love in your life those bad days don’t even matter.

The best part about this song though, is hearing Landon sing it to me. Holy cow… there’s not a better sound in the world! As we danced to this at our wedding and Landon sang in my ear, I don’t even know how I stayed standing. I felt like I was going to melt away…or maybe float away… either way, I was the happiest girl in the world.

Reason # 48 Why I'm a Dork

I was talking to my sister on the phone last night and was telling her about my “glasses.” Of course she asked for a picture… so has my mom, mother in law, and a friend. I told my sister that the glasses were just too embarrassing and dorky to ever show anyone a picture, let alone publish on my blog for the world to see. She proceeded to tell me how my blog is just one big embarrassment anyway, so I might as well just post the picture… Thanks Em :)

But seriously, this blog is an honest reflection of who I am.

Mushy? Heck yes I am. Cheesy? You know it. Overly happy it’s sickening to some people? Most of the time. Dorky beyond belief? Of course.

So without further ado… may I present, the dorkiest glasses you have ever seen.

Yes, they are yellow. Allow me to explain.

On Monday Landon and & I went to the eye doctor. Secretly I was hoping that I needed glasses. I’ve always wanted glasses. I used to wear other peoples’ glasses TRYING to make my eyes bad… so dumb, I know. But I just think glasses are SO cute! Anyway, turns out I still have perfect vision (dang!)… but the doctor did notice that my eyes do strain while I’m reading. I also told her how after work especially I have a hard time reading and that I sit at a computer for 8 hours a day. She had the perfect solution… they are called gunnars! They have a slight reading prescription and they are tinted yellow to block all of the “rays” that are emitting from computers. So silly, I know. But they actually work! My poor little wimpy eyes couldn’t handle staring at a computer screen all day, and now they are doing much better :)

So go ahead, make fun of my dorky-ness

I am who I am.. and I'm not ashamed... okay, maybe just a little bit :)

P.S. Just so you know, I ONLY wear these glasses at work. And ONLY when I am staring at my computer. They come off the minute I turn my head... which includes if someone has to ask me a quick question :)

Irreplaceable

I've also been SO lucky to have my three best girl friends--Trina, Jenna, & Toni--for over ten years now. We've been best friends since good ole Edgemont Elementary & Eastmont Middle School.

It's so hard being away from them. We still talk almost every day, but I just miss having girls nights and knowing that if I ever needed them, they would be over in a heartbeat. A friendship like theirs is not something you can replace...

I just know I could never find anyone else up here that could even compare to them. No one can make me laugh like they can or has the crazy history that we have. No one will understand the inside jokes of "the cannibals are coming!" or "mysterious phone calls from Olive Garden" or think it's funny to dress up crazy, make up silly dances, prank call for hours, and go to the grocery store to buy a single grape.

We've been in Oregon for two months and in two months I haven't managed to make a single friend. And really, I don't have much of a desire to... I just want MY people. The ones that know me inside and out.

I miss my crazy friends.

Beard Today....

...Gone Tomorrow

The funny thing about Landon's beard is that it was so NORMAL here in Oregon. If he would've had that thing when we lived in Utah... oh boy, I can only imagine the looks he would've gotten...

Landon pretty much wanted to grow a beard just because for the first time in five years he actually could.

But eventually it was a little outta control and it just had to go. Although, I do think Landon can pull a beard off pretty well! :)

If You Visit Me in Oregon...

My parents came to visit us this past weekend and we had SO much fun! I miss them already!

I've decided to turn their visit into an advertisement to entice YOU to come visit us up here! I'm telling ya, you won't regret it! (Especially if you come this time of year... it hasn't rained all week and there's absolutely no rain in the forecast)

Okay, I guess I already advertised the weather for this time of year in Oregon, but lemme just reiterate... IT'S BEAUTIFUL! Mid 70's, sunny, PERFECT. Think about that next time you are melting your face off next fourth of July. Just come to OREGON and sit in the sun all day without any melting whatsoever! Okay?

Next, do you like the beach? Because Oregon has BEACH (about an hour from my house in fact). And I never thought of it as a beach where you can lay in the sun all day because of the clouds and rain... but trust me, this time of year is PERFECT beach weather. We laid out, took naps, watched the waves, and even flew a kite. I didn't even know that Oregon beaches could be so WARM! I'm completely OBSESSED with beaches... and very happy that there are so many airports right on the beach that we can fly to in less than 30 min... I know how I'm going to be spending my summer! :)

Okay, so you're not much of a beach person...well do you like mountains? Forest? Snow? Waterfalls? Hiking? Okay, perfect because we've got all of that too!

Beach, forest, mountains... what else do you need? Well how about an amazing downtown city right on the river? Full of the best people watching in America (guaranteed) live music everywhere you turn, and never ending malls, food, and entertainment.

Sounds like a perfect place for a little vaca eh? :)

But really we had so much fun with my cutie parents this weekend. We ate out five times, literally. We watched movies, pigged out on junk food, went on lots of walks, talked, and played guitar hero.

We also took a tour of the Tillamook cheese factory. Oh my, I was in HEAVEN. CHEESE factory. C'mon people. What could be better??

We went through the sample line twice :)

Why yes, I would love a BLOCK of cheese thank you!

Mama didn't want to be a boy...she'd rather be a COW than a BOY :)

Another fun part of our trip was going to Voodoo Doughnuts. Check it out here. So Portland! ...the atmosphere, the crazy crazy crazy doughnuts (like doughnuts covered in fruit loops and bacon)... But really, I've had much better doughnuts at Smith's. Glad we went for the experience, but that was my first and last time visiting. Well, unless we get some visitors up here who want to check it out...hint hint!

My doughnut was covered with a layer of Oreos

Oh, what a perfect weekend. I miss my parents already!!! Please come back again SOON okay?

And everyone else who HASN'T visited us yet... I will say that on top of all the fun things mentioned above, Landon will for sure take you up in his airplane too :)

That should be incentive enough. See you soon!