The Dechutes River

Dechutes Oregon!

This weekend Ben and I went to Maupin, Oregon and went down the Dechutes River. We were planning on going, but not until Saturday morning--Friday evening at 9:30 he turns to me and says, "do you want to go tonight and go camping? " So, we drove to the John Day campsite and slept in the car on an air mattress! We had such a great time. Rob Mackley joined us in Maupin and rode the river with us. He is great to have on the river...I had my little sit-on-top kayak (not really meant for Class III or Class IV rapids, but I made it through). Ben did great on his whitewater canoe--he always gets looks and comments from people--"are you really going to go down in that thing?" He just smiles and explains that it is meant for whitewater. He looks like a big banana going down a slope of vanilla Ice cream. The best part is when he "boofs" off of a wave, which is when you allow the boat to ride the wave to the top and then fly off like a skier off of a jump.

Ben also got a water-proof camera for his birthday so we can take it on our water trips without fear of it getting wet. Here are a few pictures from our trip.

Enjoy!

Ben's New Canoe

I know this is going backwards a bit, but about a month ago Ben got a beautiful new Whitewater Canoe. I have to admit I was a bit nervous, but it has been the source (and will continue to be) of many fun outings. I didn't know if I would like it, but after getting used to how she works in the water, I love playing with her....I don't know that I will ever get as good as Ben, but hopefully I can hold my own in some class three white water (thats my goal)

Idaho River

So blogging is not my strongest talent....I get so busy I forget to record what we are doing in our lives. This past week we went to Idaho and visited both sets of family. It was a great trip. Just a few pictures from the river trip in Swan Valley. Ben has talked about this river since I met him. I have never been down with him--it was worth the wait....So beautiful...It reminds me of heaven :)

The Carnage of the Peeps

Happy Easter everyone! Not only was my Easter a wonderful one, but Ben and I found out we have more than one thing in common. Ben likes Peeps, and so do I....(but for different reasons).
Ben bought me some Peeps for my easter basket because he likes them and he wanted to get them for himself because he knows I don't like marshmallows. (True) But he didn't realize that I like Peeps...but not eating them...I like to find creative ways of re-arranging their matter using the microwave.

Ben also likes to use them as target practice for his plastic pellet gun...Oh well, they can't complain, most of them take the practice with a certain buoyancy, and the rest--well, they will soon be undergoing a transformation of cell matter because they didn't cooperate.

What we do with bad Peeps

Portland, Here We Come!

Becky and I drove to Portland to try out for "America's Got Talent".
We had a wonderful time, learned that television "reality tv" is not real at all, (they would do "candid" interviews with the participants and tell them what to say, and record it over and over again until they said what they wanted them to say) and that I think Rebekah and I are probably not made for the competition--for the simple reason that when we perform we try very hard NOT to show off, but rather to be generous in our performance. I think we were a little bit too understated for their liking.

But! We had a wonderful time being with each other, and on the way back stopped by a beautiful area about an hour outside of Portland where they had a stunning waterfall and pretty good fudge that is highly over-priced (fudge takes approx. 8 min. and about 3 dollars to make for a pretty good sized batch, they were asking for 4 dollars a square) But, hey! We are on vacation! So I bought Ben a square for his souvenir (arn't all souvenir's overpriced anyway?).

I was so happy Rebekah could come down for the weekend and visit us. It was such a good time!

Becky Came Home!

Becky came up to Richland for a weekend trip. We had a wonderful-good time! We went geocaching and she finally decided she liked it. Here are some pictures of our good times.

Peace Like a River

Chaos, Work, Busyness, Responsibilities, Work, Work, Work!
Life seems to get so cluttered. We have calls to be made, movies to see,
emails to write, houses to keep tidy, dinner to cook, bills to pay, concerns with
health-care, hair-care, lawn-care, day-care--
Sometimes I wonder what about people-care, or more expressly, soul-care?

Escaping from the closed in walls,
I go down to the river like a gazelle to drink.
Drink up the sunshine smoothing over my face, hair, legs, and feet.
Drink of the breeze wrapping itself between my out-stretched fingers.
Drink of the tiny spider tirelessly trying to make a home on my scarf.
Drink up the echoes of geese and ducks paying respects to each other.
Drink of the rocks; solid, steady, changing over time.
Drink up the tiny purple crocus--first of it's kind, peeping its scent to those who will listen.
Drink up the water, sweet is its pulling--reminding me of the expanse of Deity called Love.
Why do I wait so long to come back?
My Father's world is a gift to me, given to remind me to come home.

Peace Like a River

Today I was enjoying taking a nap when I was awakened by the thought that I should go take a walk. After trying to shrug it off for 15 min. or so I got my coat and scarf and grabbed my journal and headed down to the river. It was so beautiful out with the sun shining and spring just around the corner. As I walked I noticed the buds just starting to come out for the early blooming trees, and even the daffodils had poked their way up through the grass. There was also some lovely crocus blossoms, yellow and purple.
As I continued down to the river the felt so at peace, and penned a little poem.

Lemons

Today I ate the best lemon I have ever tasted! You might wonder, "why would you eat a lemon?" I was cutting it to put on my delectable Greek pita that I made with lemon-tangerine chicken, yogurt spread, tomatoes, avocados, and olives. I squirted a bit on the pita for a little zest, and then put some in my water (Richland water is not what I would call 'pristine'). The water tasted soo sweet! So I licked the lemon with my tongue, and my taste buds were pleasantly surprised. I didn't get that sour zap that I usually expect, but rather a sweet flavor that was as sweet as a tangerine, but with a distinctive lemon flavor!
I remember someone telling me that fresh lemons are actually sweet, but I had no idea the delicious flavor they had!
Moral of the story: If life gives you lemons and they are store-bought and you live some-where where they have to ship them, they will most likely be sour....but every 27 years or so you might get a sweet one, and when you do, ENJOY IT!

Today I got asked on a date--to a Valentine's Dance! The guy that asked me out is sooo handsome, and he can cook BBQ like no-one I know! I have to answer him so if you have any ideas I would love to have them.

I've posted the pictures of how he asked me out. He says we will be doubling with Julie and Mike Brame....But he won't tell me what we are doing until I let him know If I am going.....

Maybe I'll say yes...

Substituting for the First Time

Well, I got my first substitute job in Richland! I was pretty nervous, but I think it went well...after all, they were kinder-gardeners! They were very cute and after the end of the day several of them came up to me and gave me a hug. I think i could handle teaching little kids! Now high-schoolers on the other hand are a little more scary! (Even though that is who most of my vocal students are)....
I am learning so much in my reading comprehension classes for Graduate School. I am excited to share what I know with children and help them get better at reading, and enjoy it too!

So I'm back, I forgot one thing.

I have to read a book in my grad class about Statistics and how they are erred. It was talking about racism and the origins of it (I don't know how the two relate) and in finishing an assignment I had to do for the class came across this great quote I thought I would share by Wendell Berry (my second favorite contemporary author.....)
This really puts into a new perspective (and I think a clearer one) the nature of man, and the root of racism.



"…..The root of our racial problem in America is not racism. The root is in our inordinate desire to be superior—not to some inferior or subject people, though this desire leads to the subjection of people—but to our condition. We wish to rise above the sweat and the bother of taking care of anything—of ourselves, of each other or of our country. We did not enslave African blacks because they were black, but because their labor promised to free us of the obligations of stewardship, and because they were unable to prevent us from enslaving them. They were economically valuable and militarily weak.
It seems likely then, that what we now call racism came about as a justification of slavery after the fact, not as its cause. We decided that blacks were inferior in order to persuade ourselves that it was all right to enslave them. That this is true is suggested by our present treatment of other social groups to whom we assign the laborious jobs of caretaking…….It is well established among us that you may hold up your head in polite society with a public lie in your mouth or other people’s money in our pockets or innocent blood on your hands, but not with dishwater on your hands, or mud on your boots."


Racism and the Economy
By Wendell Barry,

A Fast One

I know its been a while since I've posted...but Christmas was wonderful, and New Years great, and our anniversary the best one we've had yet!

And I promise I will be better at blogging.