Bag'em and Tag'em

We finally tracked down the "one". After several forays up Portland way the moment we entered our future home I think we knew. Maybe it was the dump we had just seen a half hour before but the apartment was the right one for us. Plenty of space and benefits to boot (storage up down the place, around the corner, in the laundry room). It settles one thing, now the next step is school, work and the sort but at least we will have somewhere to live.

Ended up in a pretty good location because of the retail options around, the number 12 running up and down Barbur will make our commute to Portland a short jaunt every time and PCC is right down the road.

All in all a relief.

Things and such

Well the gauntlet is over. Two talks, one priesthood lesson, and I think I am done for the year. No more talks… right? Not likely but there is always hope.

On the job front went to a camp up in Portland hosted by the SoccerTots program that i’m going to be working for. What a gorgeous area it was in. Immediately after the class I started looking for places to live because it was filled with classic homes with the big porch out front and seemingly all of them had been turned into duplexes.

Salem apparently was having another fiesta this weekend with their “Summer in the City” wine and music festival. It featured four pavilions that were in the street with each following a certain theme. We took the time to try out gelato from Napoleon's only to come away vastly disappointed. I would put it at a cross between ice cream and frozen yogurt but after going to a field trip to Coldstones this week with my YMCA kids this couldn’t hold a candle (btw… the waffle cones at Coldstones are the worst, in my opinion. Not worth the extra investment).

Perfect

Another Timbers game, another Canadian Team, another 1-0 win. Add to that our motley crew got the chance to see our boys in green and white life the Cascadia Cup, a fan based derby involving Seattle (who now play in Major League Soccer), Vancouver, and our Portland Timbers. This is the first time since it's inception (six years ago) that we have lifted the trophy. Funniest/Saddest thing was when one of our fans standing with the Timbers Army in the North End threw his drink in digust on the field, only problem (aside from being a jerk) was that he ended up hitting one of the ball boys. For the next five minutes or so he ended being jeered by all the fans in the North End until he took the hint and finally left. A few pictures from the game.

Salem First Wednesday

Wandering the streets of Salem tonight for downtown's monthly First Wednesday celebration we learned a few things.

1. Art is crazy expensive... making us appreciators instead of owners.
2. Why buy it when you can make it yourself. In one of the stores they were selling fruit bowls made out of magazines, a short search on the Google Machina and we have the instructions to make our own set.
3. The hip hop gangsters need to get their act together when it comes to public performances. When you have a laptop, a soundboard, and some mikes you shouldn't spend an eternity setting up. We had time to stand and watch, peruse Borders, and complain as they weren't ready to go by the time we got kicked out of the mall (which closes at 8... what is the deal with that?)

The river that runs

A picture from a few weeks back when I went on the Willamette Queen for a fieldtrip with the kids. We rushed downtown with only a half hour to catch the boat... we made it on time (aka i'm a cruel taskmaster). Pretty ride all in all, with the kids all getting a chance to pilot the boat up and down the river. It took about an hour and with all the river traffic due to the recent heatwave we got to show our stuff as the belle of the ball. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.

Farmers we are not...

Well it is official. Gazing into our crystal ball we have forseen a future in which the smell of cow poop is not part of our life... besides after cliff's in the bathroom.
We went to our friends pool party right next to a dairy... enough said.
I now teach the 5 and 6 year olds at our church in Sunday School. It went well besides the one kid wearing cowboy boots who was kicking the other teacher and eating people with his toy dinosaur. I've found in life that there are always the same kids in almost every group. There are the annoying ones, the quiet ones, the mean ones, the smart ones. As a whole the class went pretty well after we got the kicking kid calmed down. We learned about being accountable for our actions. At this age, they are kind of willing to listen to a lesson although snack is a must. So it was actually quite enjoyable. We also played a fishing game and a matching game which the kids loved.
Last Saturday we went to the Temple. Afterwards we went to eat at a place called The Montage. Its a cool, off beat little cajun restaurant in a random part of town. Clifford got alligator linguini which actually wasnt too bad.. it kind of tasted like shrimp! I got the old mac' which was delicious. Also, instead of giving you a box for your leftovers, they rap them in tinfoil and make crazy creations. Clifford got a swan and I got a flower!!
My mom and I went to a new cafe called The French Press. They serve coffee, smoothies, and crepes. I had no idea there were meat crepes. We got a cordon blue crepe and it was delious!! We highly recommened this place. It is on commercial across from the strip mall with jamba juice and Verizon.
Our lives haven't been too exciting lately but we thought we would update you!!!