the final countdown

it's true - after 3.5 months of not putting in a nine-to-fiver, i'll be returning to the world of fica-paying citizens. only this time, i'm excited about it. it's not going to be a drag-myself-out-of-bed kind of thing (well, maybe the first few days will be since we've gotten out of our early-to-bed, early-to-rise habit). it's going to be exciting and interesting and explorative and collaborative and invigorating. i'm really looking forward to it. stay tuned for more about my adventures back into the working world.

things have been going really well for us. we've done a lot of fun things - minnesota went to her first "art as business" class and feels confident it's going to help guide her through the tumultuous waters of the art world, we went to the coast, we hiked to the top of multnomah falls, we went to an arcade filled with video games from the 80s (i was in heaven, flashing back to my childhood days when i would play galaga for hours on a single quarter, only taking breaks to roller skate) and we went to breakfast at one of portland's best breakfast places. some of these things we've done with our new pals liz, gloria and wendy. it's wonderful to have found such great friends here - we really enjoy getting to know each of them and sharing our views of the crazy world in which we live.

the weather's begun to turn a bit colder here and the gray days are a little more frequent. although we really have nothing to complain about because it's been fairly mild and manageable. there'll be five or six days of bright sunshine and one day that's a little gloomy, but overall ms. sun has made her presence known more days than not. the weather is just another part of the experience of a new place and life is basically all about experiences and perspective, when you get right down to it. seeing different places, different things; seeing how you react to different places, different things; growing as an individual and learning how to be a better person based on what you learned through these experiences. we're always trying to be better people: to be more polite, more aware, more compassionate, simply because at the end of the day if we make one person happier just because of something we've done or said, our lives will be better because of our actions. being good people isn't difficult. you take a little more time to let someone go in front of you in line, you help someone pick up something they've dropped, you smile at the homeless person who's down on their luck, you reach out to someone just because you can. kindness goes much further than any of us could ever imagine...so everyone please play nice.

ok, i'll step down off my soapbox for now. i know my ramblings can get to be a bit much - thank goodness my girlie is so understanding about my going on and on.

here are a few shots of our latest adventures and experiences. please know we think of y'all every day and we miss and love you very much.

the beauty of nature


view from the top


aren't we the cutest girls ever


hey, look - i'm balancing a rock on my head


kandinsky made a "home" in some plastic we had lying around