Summa Time...

I have been putting off posting anything for a while because I was sure that I hadn't done anything this summer. But looking back on some of the pictures that I have taken and posted on Facebook, I realized that this has been one of the best summers I have had in a long time. I didn't really go anywhere or do anything unbelievable, but I still had an amazing summer!

One of the really special things that happened this summer, is that my parents came to visit me. Most of you know that my family lives in New Mexico and that I only get to see them and spend time with them for about six days right around Christmas. My mom and step dad George decided to make the trip to Oregon this summer and they spent a few days with Stu and me.

We have always been a "coast" family, spending a lot of time living near the ocean, so one of the days they were in Eugene, we made a trip to Oregon City (where George grew up.) It was quite the road trip with me missing the exit I intended to take and going a very long route which included the Tualatin/Sherwood Highway and later a really shady, random winding country road. But we made it!

The end result was us finding our way to the beach at Ocean City (and me discovering that was where the Pelican Brewery was.) George told us all kinds of stories about how he and his dad used to build Dory Boats and we found the little building his mom built where she used to can fish. After leaving Ocean City we ended up going to Lincoln City to get a late lunch of fresh clam chowder and saltwater taffy! Yum!

The next day was my mom's birthday! I haven't been around my mom on her birthday since I was in junior high so it was really nice to be able to help her have a special day. We ended up going to see the livestock at the fair (my family raises horses and other animals) and then coming home for a yummy bbq. We got my mom her favorite type of cake from Sweet Life and then headed out to the fair at dusk to go on some rides!

It was really nice to have someone who isn't a wienie (...Stu...) and who wants to go on rides with me.

It is always a little nerve racking and tiring to spend time with your family. Especially when they are staying in your home (and you wake up to old country music blaring from your tv speakers at 7 in the morning...every morning...); but I was really sad to see them go. You never realize how much you miss the people you can't be around until those first few quiet, boring hours after they leave your house.