{Reckless}

Got to see Reckless Kelly Monday night with my friend Claire in Portland at the Doug Fir. Had a GREAT time!

Mickey and the Motorcars opened for them, I loved seeing them for the first time.

This is the lead singer for Reckless, they were great and played a mix of older stuff and songs from their new album.

Gathering

As I laid in my comfy bed yesterday morning with a cool breeze slowly sifting through the window, I heard a squirrel gathering nuts from our trees in the backyard. They were loud. I was annoyed. I shut the window and rolled over. Why were they gathering for the winter months now? Didn't they know it was 7am on a Sunday? Didn't they know we had gone to bed really late? Didn't they know it was the beginning of August?
Well, those squirrels are smart. You know that? They think ahead. They plan, the prepare, they get their work done early so they can play later.
Friday night, after I had enjoyed a makeover, and was dressed up, my husband called and asked me to bring the pickup to the job site so we could load it with firewood. What? Don't you know I am looking kinda sexy right now? Don't you know we are young and without kids. We could go out, or stay in I thought to myself. Why do we need to do this now?
But, I grabbed the keys and made my way to the job site so we could load it up with firewood. And Saturday morning... my husband was up at 7am and off to cut, split, and stack firewood. At 10:30 he called me and asked me to join him. He needed my help gathering wood for the cold winter months. I didn't want to go, but I put on old jeans, boots,and a t-shirt and plastered the best smile I could on my face. It wasn't a believable smile at first, but I tried my best. I arrived, jumped up on the trailer, and started stacking firewood until we had about a cord of wood to haul home. We were tired, we were sore, but we knew we were planning, thinking head, and this work now would help allow us to have more time to play later.
So our beautiful Saturday afternoon was spent unloading the wood off the trailer, into wheelbarrows, and then finally into the shed in our backyard. It was a lot of work, and we were tired, but we felt good when we finally finished Sunday morning. We had started a project, worked hard, and finished something that will help us this winter. We were gathering for the winter, and now we are done.

Brandon showing me how strong he is, and me on the pile of wood.


The trailer that we used to haul it.


Me, finally in the picture! haha

fun, fun

So my girlfriend Kelly came down for a couple of days to stay with Brandon and I. We worked on a class we are taking distance ed, we hung out, we met friends for lunch, we went running and we ate good food. It is always so fun to be with her, she lifts my spirits and kinda just 'gets' me. I can be bitchy if I need to for a minute, and funny, and just mellow. I don't have to act, or pretend, or be happy all the time. We can just 'be' our selves. (this is reminding me of how I feel with my friend Lindsay too). =)
One of the things we wanted to do while she was down this trip was to go to the MAC counter and learn how to do our eye makeup. Kelly wanted to know more how to do make up for going out at night, and I wanted help doing just day to day makeup. So, we got to the counter about 11:15ish, and didn't leave until 2:30! We had the BEST gal helping us, and she was there by herself, so she had to be helping customers while she was teaching us makeup techniques. But we had a great time, and came away with cool makeup, good techniques, and some makeup to replicate the look on our own. =)


Here we are together... all made up.


My eyes went from 'day' to 'night' with some black (yes! black!) eye shadow and some heavy black eye liner. wow!


so this is a weird angle, but here I am. All glammed up with big earrings and all. Too bad the rest of my day is just eating dinner at home and house work. I need a hot dinner date! haha

{LIFE}

These past two weeks have been so much fun. While some of my friends are desperately trying to slow down so as to better enjoy these few short months of summer, I am trying to do as much as possible so as to enjoy these few short months of summer. Crazy, I know. But this is when I have time. I can send cards, call friends, scrapbook, travel to see family and friends, have lunch dates and a life after five p.m. on a weekday.
So, here is a pictorial of our past two weeks.

Driving home to Eastern Oregon is not out of the ordinary for Brandon and I. And this is what are family and friends are used to seeing when we pull in the driveway. Becky and Brandon and Duke in the HCo. pickup.


The reason for our trip this time was a birthday. This was the adorable flower basket I put together for a gift from Brandon and I. I secretly wanted to keep it! =) But luckily, I know it is at a great home now, and will be enjoyed just as much there, as it would be here.


Saturday night we drove to Meadow brook to have dinner (on Hwy. 395 south of Dale). It was so much fun to be there again, and it was a beautiful day. It is almost a Young family tradition to go there and have root beer floats at least once each summer (usually more often) so it was great to be there again. Turns out, the owners mother graduated high school with my dad!
Here are the birthday girl and her sons. Brandon, Debbie, Luke, and Matt.


Brandon and I standing in front of the meadow.


On our way home we stopped on the North Fork of the John Day River to play around. The water was so warm!! We had a great time playing and skipping rocks. Plus, we had Grandma and Grandpa with us, so it was extra special.


Sunday we took the boat to the Columbia River to go Carp fishing with Luke's bow. I know, dangerous, but we were in thick mud. Luke and Brandon had a great time, and Debbie and I got a nice tan.


The view from the boat.


Last Friday the Little McKay Cr. Band was playing in Springfield, OR. We took the new intern with us and had a great time. This band is so much fun!



Saturday one of my best friends from the University of Oregon married his long time girlfriend. It was such a beautiful ceremony and I was so happy for them both. The other cool thing was that I new one of the bridesmaids and all of the groomsmen. We were all great friends in college!


Nate and I at the reception. They had a wonderful reception at the brides parents' house.

Come Take A Walk With Me

The Directions:
1. Leave a comment on my blog. In the comment, recall one memory that you and I have had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.
So join in on the fun... whether you "blog" or not. :)

Life is Full

The past two weeks have been hectic, busy, and wonderful. A few weeks ago Brandon and I took a long weekend to celebrate our first wedding anniversary. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed just hanging out with each other. There was no TV, no agenda, no other family members or friends, no real cooking, nothing much but us. It was great. We left on a Thursday and didn't return home until the following Monday afternoon.

The following week Brandon started his 'in water work' season and was busy working long hours while I worked around the house and other projects. That weekend we celebrated the fourth of July and spent Saturday evening once again celebrating our anniversary. We watched a movie, ate the top tier of our wedding cake (yep, we had it in our freezer this entire time!) and just lived.

Sunday morning Brandon went to work and I left for Eastern Oregon. I was headed for my parents house, and arrived early that afternoon. I spent the evening visiting with my folks, and walking with my mom out on one of our usual routes. We walked four miles. I spent the rest of my week at 'home' visiting dear friends in Hermiston. I was with Kelly for a night, and then spent two nights with Lindsay and her family. It was so great to have time to just 'be' with these two girls. They both have young boys, and it was great to sit, visit, hold baby's, grocery shop, nap, and live with such good friends. I miss them both SO much. I also met with Kelly and Francie for lunch one day. Lunch was wonderful, and I felt right at home again with these two beautiful women. I really miss them-

My last days in EO were spent in Morrow County. Thursday I met my mother in law {there really should be a friendlier thing to call her} and my {brother} in town and had the opportunity to sit with Luke when he came out of knee surgery. I felt strangely privileged that I got to be there with him at this time. We then Eastern Oregon carpooled to Heppner and I spent the next day helping Debbie clean out one of the work pickups.

Saturday was my best friends first bridal shower, and I had the chance to help host this event. It was fun to be with the ladies of Heppner and to sit with Jill as she opened gifts and thought about her new life as Mrs. Miller. That night we stayed out at the ranch in her new home and I soaked up the scenery. It was so magnificent. I can't imagine having that view everyday.

and now I am back at home with my family and I am so lucky to be here. Thank you Brandon for sharing your time, and thank you friends for having me! It was awesome!

Hayward Field

As many of you know, the start of July was also the start of my summer life of having no husband. =) "In water work" starts July 1st, and if you are working around water, you work like crazy starting July 1st until early fall when the permit ends. It is a crazy time of year, and the wives all suddenly become pretend widows. So, we wives find things to do to occupy our time. My friend Sarah and I usually hang out quite a bit, as our husbands are on the same job. Thursday night we loaded up her two darling kiddos and went down to Hayward Field, where the Olympic Trials are taking place. It was so much fun to wander around and take in all of the excitement of Track Town, USA. We saw athletes running through campus (Hayward Field is the University of Oregon's' track) and were able to watch the trails on a big screen from outside the arena. It was so much fun!
Here is the main entrance to the arena where you can watch the trials on a big screen for free. There are also tons of things to see and do inside this area.


Here is the big screen I keep talking about. There were lots of people sitting down and seriously watching, while still many more were standing and casually watching. We watched for a short while, but kids don't have the long of an attention span, and there was TONS going on.


We wandered around the field and peeked inside. We originally thought we wouldn't have wanted tickets to the actual event, but after looking inside, we both thought it would have been fun. Such an intimate arena, you can see all of the events at once.


Another view of the same thing.


I am really glad we went down and saw this. I would have regretted not experiencing this exciting time. To remember my trip down to the trails, I took these pictures (not edited yet) and also bought a cool hat. =)