CJ and I have been intense gardeners in the last few weeks. We have totally redone our yard, beds, pathways, etc. We live on two acres and it takes a lot of time to get our front yard and backyard in presentable shape. For the last five years I have planted some flowers but we haven't spent a lot of time/money on the yard. Well, this year is different! We have a 15x20 organic vegetable and fruit garden which I am very excited about! I bought so many starts/seeds that I had to plant my lettuce, basil, cilantro, and jalapeno peppers in containers because there wasn't enough room. Ooops! We bought a "yard" {which is a dump truck full} of nice dark bark dust and have been spreading that around which makes the whole place really look amazing. To top it off my mom and I have gone to some of our favorite nurseries and have bought quite a few perennials for my beds. Al's and Smith Berry Barn didn't know what hit them when we came in :) Last Saturday my parents came out and the four of us went to the Hillsboro Farmer's Market. We bought some great plants but CJ surprised me and bought me a very nice handmade cedar potting bench. It has gotten a lot of use in its first week! I feel so excited about our yard. We definitely have a lot still to do but we are chipping away at it bit by bit. It has been so fun working with CJ on this project. He and I are really enjoying our weekend gardening time together. With the nice weather we are looking forward to having people over and barbecuing. {Pictures to come on the next post, I have to upload them!}
We spent Memorial Day weekend at the Prineville Reservoir with some great friends. My sister Emily and her boyfriend {who I really like!} were also able to make it over for the weekend. The spot we camped was awesome, but the weather was so-so. We were able to take our boat out a few times but it definitely wasn't hot like it has been in the past. The only downfall of the weekend is I got a bad sunburn on my hands. "Hands?" you ask. Well, let me tell you! If your doctor tells you that antibiotics will make your skin more sensitive to the sun you should listen. It wasn't even 9 am on Saturday morning and my hands got burnt! The rest of my skin was covered so I was fine elsewhere. I could not believe how painful my hands were. They hurt for a solid 5 days. For some reason the picture below does not show how red they were but it was the best I could get. We liked the spot so much we will be going back for the 4th of July!
CJ has also competed in two big "sporting" races. He did "Reach the Beach" which is a 104 mile bike ride from Beaverton to Pacific City. He completed it in 6 hours and 40 mins. Yes, his rear was sore afterwards but he was a trooper. He and our friend Jeff Lee trained for it together. Jeff is engaged to my sweet friend Karen! Karen and I were in Grad school together and we absolutely adore Jeff and Karen. Then last weekend CJ did an Olympic Triathlon at Blue Lake. That is a whopping 1 mile open water swim, 26 mile bike ride, 6.2 mile run. He completed it 2 hours and 45 minutes which was 15 minutes faster than he was hoping for. He also did this in the pouring rain. Portland received 1.5 inches of rain that day. It felt like a monsoon to me {yes, I was in my nice warm house while he was out competing!}
Finally, we have been busy with coed kickball, birthday parties, engagement parties, baby showers, baptisms, walking the dogs, hiking, spending time with our families, and celebrating how awesome life is everyday! We feel totally blessed and are excited for the upcoming summer season!
