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!!!

'Gator

Last night we went to the Portland Temple and it was great. We often create barriers that are non existent and I was happy to see how really easy it was set aside a few hours and enjoy the blessings of the Lord's House.
Afterward we went to the Montage located under the Morrison Bridge which is a nice little joint which serves a cuisine focusing on Cajun food. I discovered a while back with some friends when I was living from Portland and it has long since been a favorite. Usually i'm a stickler for eating the Spold (spicy and old mac) but I was feeling adventurous and went with the Gator linguine. Not half bad. Not too spicy and really the Gator tasted something like shrimp but not to fishy. A little Portland Punch to wash it down (my only complaint is with the drink which aren't refillable) and a nice night was capped.

Missionary Work

It is said that if a mission is the spiritual high point of your life then something is wrong. There has been occasion where this has crossed my mind because of how splendid serving a mission is. I think the reason one often glosses over the work, trials and hardships is because of the great return you receive in exchange for your service. Your perception of the world changes often changes and you know, to a large extent, what will be required to stay upon the Lord's path. Which can give you cause to worry when seemingly you are not having the same spiritual experiences everyday. As we gave our talks today I was able to see what has happened in a little over a year. While nothing compares to serving the Lord it has been surpassed as I took those fateful step into the Lord's House and kneeled on the altar with my beautiful wife in front of me. These moments in our life help to give us a well rounded perspective into the Lord's plan and helps to sharpen our gaze toward our goal of eternal life. Since my mission, I have realized, again and again I have been put in the right place at the right time in order to learn new things and the stregthen the testimony that was forged over two years in Oklahoma. With the Lord's blessing I will enjoy this for many years to come.

Wooooooooooooooooooooo!

Our fifteenth post what an exciting event and to commemorate it we are giving away free passes to clean our home. I know, I know, we're so generous.

Harry Potter was great. Finally after sitting through the slog that was the summer movie season we finally found some people who could make a decent movie. The bad thing is now that we are going to have to watch two more movies to get through with the series. I don't want to wait.

Catered a wedding last night. It will be the last time hopefully... arrrgh. Must... repress... bad... experiences...

Giving the introduction talks in the ward this week the good thing is that Brynn will have to shoulder most of the introduction. I hate talking about myself, especially considering we won't be here in a month's time.

"The blossoms on the trees today were stunning as we walked down the moonlit path." ~Clifford
So... we are pretty horrible at writing on this thing. We thought we would recap on what has happened during the last month...

~Clifford had a major crash on his longboard. It was pretty hardcore and he was scabbed for like 2 weeks. He then proceeded to pick the scabs and now he will have some gnarly scars... just like Harry Potter.

~We saw some pretty dumb summer movies this year which was very disappointing. Terminator Salvation was pretty lame especially Christian Bale.. he was a pretty lame hero. Transformers was the biggest disappointment. The plot was convoluted and the characters were lame. The transformers themselves were pretty cool.. but it was a pretty boring movie overall. We are excited about HARRY POTTER which comes out this week. It better not let us down.

~T.V. shows we are into now... This American Life... it looks into the lives of random people in America.. Its the best reality show out there. The other show we are into is Pushing Daisies. Its pretty wacky and goofy... just a nice refreshing show that makes you feel good.

~We have been enjoying the summer and the first few months of being married. Its still pretty weird to think about but we are having a great time. We walked the new bridge that connects West Salem to downtown Salem.. it was a beautiful walk and cool because a lot of the community was out walking too.

~We are preparing to move to Portland in September!! Clifford has had a couple of people respond to his resume so it looks like he will be able to find a job easily. He is getting his classes straightened out for PCC and I am in the process of applying to PSU. He kinda ruined my whole BYU-I plan!!! We are just trying to figure out where to live and when to move and all that fun stuff.. I'm kinda scared to move to Portland but excited for a new adventure as well. Its going to give us a chance to make new friends (which is scary!) and really be on our own someplace totally new.

~I painted our coffee table and side table. I am trying to make our house more homey!

~For the 4th of July we went to the beach with Trent, Angela, Brittany, Trevor and Tyler. We hung out in Lincoln City and the weather was really nice, it was warm but very foggy which was a bummer. We were right next to where they were lighting off the fireworks but it was super foggy so we hard a hard time seeing them really well. It would then get smokey and almost impossible to see them so they would wait for the wind to blow the smoke away. It was an adventure but a really fun 4th of July. And gave me a chance to really think about and be grateful for those defending our country so faithfully.

So thats it for now! We will get better we pinky promise!! :) (Edit: She pinky promises, I promise you that between now and tomorrow I will eat... that's all you're getting from me)

Yikes!

It has been a while since we posted. Got back peachy and have been slaving away ever since. A few things...



* Got to see a Portland Timbers game this last Thursday. Got to stand next to our local rowdies known as the Timbers Army renowned for their salty language and fighting spirit. Surprisingly a crowd of 6,500 actually showed up after Oregon's fancy pants thunderstorms. Not too bad once we got up to Portland, just sprinkles but it was a mess in Salem as it took us fifty minutes to get across town because of flooding. Timbers came out ahead 1-0 in the ninetieth minute but not after Brynn had casually mentioned how much she would have loved to see Montreal score (Blaspheme!) just to have someone put it in. Hopefully that was good lesson about loyalty and faith in the home side.



* It won't be long (as soon as the sun shines) before our longboard gang will ride. We were able to snag a few boards off Ebay for cheap. Right now we are riding under the gang names of Turtle and Rat Bones. No broken bones yet though I can't say that Burger King's driveway posed much of danger.

* In other soccer news we were able to play a little coed soccer after a little peer pressure and lots of puppy eyes. Considering Brynn's reluctance to join she sure did show me up by playing quality defense (something that was missing from my game). By the end of the session it was apparent that her competiveness had kicked and she was going no holds barred. Have to say that she looked mighty in her new kit with flaming red shoes.

And so it begins....

Now it's time to get to the nitty gritty. This will be nothing like trying to get fast passes at Space Mountain. As it seems we will be tackling a mountain of things to do this week (name change, getting new phones, insurance... BORING!) We thought we would again thank those of you who expressed your well wishes and share a few more pictures from our wedding. Enjoy!

Clifford and Brynn

For all those who came....

And those we missed... Here are a few pictures from our sealing at the temple in Portland. We love you all.

Clifford

It all started with...

A giant hairball! Brynn found it in one of the hotel towels... talk about yuck. This was only the beginning of our ordeal through a major portion of southern California. That is what we get forsaking Disneyland today in search of other fun things to do. A few of our experiences...

The parts of California we saw all look the same; unremarkable and run down. It's hard to see why anyone would want to live here as it seems rundown and ghetto. In California's defense we did see some nice areas (Long Beach being the top) but overall... bleh. And somewhat brownish.

Nothing is worse that traveling all the way to Santa Monica to get let down by the pier and the city (Third Street Promenade which turns out to be a glorified mall), turn around to head to Laguna Beach and get lost for hours on end. Pile on top of that the fact that the recommendations of seemingly good people often led us to lame spots (including a "awesome" restaurant that happens to have another location mere blocks from our hotel), no slight on them but a real time waster for us.

LA is what GPS was made for. After asking some guy to point us in the right direction to get back to Anaheim after hours of driving around (and ending up on Anaheim Street) we had to take FOUR highways to get back! FOUR!

All of this was made tolerable because I had my sweetheart in the car with me. God bless her putting up with my now insane hatred for California. I shake my fist at it. Thank heavens for the happiest place on earth. I can at least count on that.

Clifford

Airport

Live from the airport it's the newlyweds! (Sorry for the state we are in... mind you that it's 6:30 in the morning...)

Too close to call

The big day fast approaches. Between shopping for new clothes to making sure all the last minute details are just right it's been busy, busy, busy. Hopefully we'll see you at the reception on Saturday from 5 to 7 in Dallas. Email us at brynn.clifford@gmail.com

The evil dentist

I guess the dentist would be really disappointed that we misrepresented a visit to his office with an excursion to Dairy Queen. When we took Connor to lunch we had the pleasure of learning that the fifth graders were starting puberty class today and of the oppressive recess policies of Lyle ES. Brynn eats cheese.

-Clifford

Super awesome and amazing pictures of us pre-marriage

Here are some pictures of us!! Not that you guys don't know what we look like, but whatever. I'm pretty bummed that we didnt get very many before we were engaged, but I can't turn back time!! If I could I would for sure go to Woodstock and ancient Rome. Anyways, I really like candid pictures opposed to fake, cheesy pictures, but I dont have many of those either!!

~BRYNN

The countdown begins...

12 more days until May 9th. In the past the thought of marriage had always scared me. But I have realized how safe I feel with Clifford. I know I found the person that is meant for me. I know I found the person who will be there for me through everything. That makes the thought of marriage so awesome. It's a wonderful feeling knowing who I'm going to spend my life with. 12 more days until the happiest day of my life.

~BRYNN

Just slaving away...

Here I am at work and the prospect of doing this all summer while Brynn serves the Jamba masses across town makes me relish the time we spend together.

--

-Clifford