fruit in season didn't mean anything to me until i moved to oregon...and oh is it wonderful...the blueberries are delicious right now!

hike

trav went on a beautiful hike yesterday and this was the view of mt hood! (on top of zigzag mountain)

good quotes from the book "walking on water" (a book about faith an art...a great read)

"Unless we are creators, we are not fully alive. What do I mean by creators? Not only artists, whose acts of creation are the obvious ones of working with paint or clay or words. Creativity is a way of living life, no matter what our vocation, or how we earn our living. Creativity is not limited to the arts, or having some kind of important career..."

"In art...we move, unfettered, among the stars."

"When we are writing, or painting, or composing, we are, during the time of creativity, free from normal restrictions, and are opened to a wider world, where colours are brighter, sounds clearer, and people more wondrously complex than we normally realize."

home sweet home

wow. traveling with a baby is quite the experience. whew. pre-kid traveling was so relaxing. i loved working on the plane, reading, just enjoying the experience. now my mind is planning when i can feed thatch, when and how he'll sleep...and carrying the extra load...and no room for my stuff in my back pack...

thatch did an amazing job. he really did. we had no major meltdowns and even received complements from fellow travelers. wahoo!

and the week with family was great. busy, but great. we were ablle to see lots of extended family at trav's cousin's wedding and in both our hometowns in oklahoma. it was so good to see everyone. if only oregon were closer to them! (pictures of thatch with family coming shortly to his blog)

but i am exhausted. hopefully i can use today to recover before work tomorrow!

ahh, life is good!

this past week was wonderfully superb...

with "women & wine" at sarah's house, it was so fun to hang out with the women from evergreen and just enjoy a night out...fun conversations, great wine and food...couldn't be better.

and then the wonderful 4th of july with fellow evergreeners. i loved that people just hung out for hours on end with no agenda and no place to go. the weather was AMAZING! and it was so relaxing. i left with a huge smile on my face and so thankful for the community around us.

and i spent the weekend finishing "same kind of different as me" a wonderful book. i love 3 day weekends, i wish i had them every week!

and i just bought shane claiborne's book, "jesus for president" not sure i love the title but i've heard it is great!

what a wonderful weekend

my sister-in-law, emily came out to visit this weekend and it was just so much fun to hang out with her. i really wished we lived closer.

we hung out downtown, went to a brew pub, went to the coast and hiked Neahkahnie Mountain, ate at a great little pizza place in cannon beach, enjoyed thatch's celebration beer...it was a great weekend.


bridgeport brewery




oswald west...one of my favorite beaches on the coast...i hung out and fed thatch lunch and enjoyed a little picnic...





view on the way up the mountain...



i almost made it to the top of Neahkahnie with thatch, but he just wouldn't have it. (i even fed him a pumped bottle on our way up!) i was so close to the top, so close. it was a warm day and he needed a little time out of the wrap...so i hung out in the forest while travis and emily made it to the top where you can see the entire coast line.






thatch was a good sport...and friday night he had a huge laughing episode while we were waiting on the max...it was so amazing. amazing. i am still smiling thinking about it.

tasting the thatch brew

some pics by my sister-in-law of us trying out the incredible thatch brew...

speaking of farms...

sunday after church we went to sauvie island with some friends to pick strawberries. the farm was so beautiful...my first trip out to sauvie island (an island where the river goes on both sides of it)



and then i fed thatch under this beautiful oak tree and enjoyed the scenery!



it was a wonderful afternoon!!

let's be farmers...

i grew up in oklahoma in a town of 45,000. but i was a city girl at heart. i wasn't much for the cowboys that seemed to come in abundance. and i denied the idea that we were in the south. my mom and i would take frequent shopping trips to "the city" and yes, that's what we called it...and i would love to buy things at the trendy stores...i had no interest in horses, country music, having land...and i didn't understand "small town charm". and even when i first moved away from oklahoma, i was a little embarrassed to say where we were from...

but now i see that there is beauty in simple living, of growing your own food, having your own chickens to get your eggs...and i actually crave that life. i would love to own some land here in oregon. grow our own vegetables...and heaven forbid, maybe even have a cow.

i think maybe oregon has taught that to me. i drive out in the country and i am amazed. i can't imagine what it would be like to be a farmer here. it would be so much fun.

city life is wonderful. i love the culture. i love what it brings...but i have found and respected that thing called country living. and i hope i can bring some of that into my life...the life i wouldn't take part in as a child. it's still part of my heritage and i'm starting to embrace it.

i think i use to think you were cool if you lived in a big city...and now i'm realizing that is not the case. sure, there are some darn cool people in portland, i could only dream of being that cool. but i'm not so sure the city is what makes them cool.

country living for the first time in my life, is starting to appeal to me. i think i finally understand why travis loves the wheat fields of oklahoma and has such wonderful memories of helping his papa on the farm.

i just read lacie's blog on intentional community living and my heart leaped with joy...growing crops together, living on a big piece of land with a group of people and having our own garden and farm...what beauty!

"...She lifts her skirt up to her knees
Walks through the garden rows with her bare feet, laughing..." [ray lamontagne]

hiking at the gorge

thatch's first hike was a success. we went on a small little hike this week. the weather was beautiful, thatch slept in the ergo...i can't ask for anything more.

Here's to Thatch!

limited edition celebration pale ale...

Balanced with three types of hops, this American-style pale is down right delicious. Cascade and Williamette varieties with their citrus notes and subtle woody tones give this brew a lively flavor. Garnished with crystal hops for a floral aroma...mmmm it tastes so good on the lips. So, enjoy this limited edition beautiful thirst-quenching liquid delight.

And be sure to raise your glass and say,
“Here’s to Thatch!”

paternity leave

well...i'm slowly starting back to work (continuing to do graphic design at home and work on my card company) and travis has started his 2 months of paternity leave...hooray!!

this summer will be full of trips to the farmers market, hikes, and anything and everything outside...and hopefully a little more sleep for me!

minimal living

i saw this post and loved it...i'm a minimalist at heart and hope i can still be like that, even with the swings and toys that seem to be collecting at the moore household.

i can't remember how to make it a link and don't have time to look, so i guess you can just copy and paste...

http://zenhabits.net/2007/08/a-guide-to-creating-a-minimalist-home/

and this

http://www.blissfullydomestic.com/frugal_living/index.html

wine country

some of my college friends are here helping me with thatch. they overlapped their trip and we went to tour some of the wineries in our area. it was so beautiful!! cat came thursday and today...christi is staying through the week. it is so good to hang out with old friends, it's one of life's sweetest blessings!! and this weekend i finally got my nose pierced! yea!

heat wave

i love it that the 90s (with no humidity) is considered a heat wave here in oregon. people here freak out about it. and to tell you the truth, i'm freaking out about it too. this is my kind of place. i love the mild summers and that it only gets into the 90s a few times! here's to summer in portland...it is going to be a fun one...hikes with thatch, lots of walks, and hanging outside! wahoo!!

singing

"jesus jesus how i trust you
how i prove you o'er and o'er
jesus jesus precious jesus
oh for grace to trust you more"

this is the hymn i've been singing to thatch to put him to sleep. i love singing hymns over him. they are a hell of a lot better than nursery rhythms. : ) nothing against nursery rhymes or anything.

life is good. i spend a lot of the day with thatch in a sling bouncing on an excercise ball. he is a little high maintenance and takes some work to go to sleep and stay asleep. but he loves his sling and loves to sleep on walks...and he nurses for almost an hour and every 2 1/2 hours. i'm nursing almost every other hour...whew! i'm starting to read chronicles of narnia while i'm feeding. sometimes it works better than others. and i end up watching t.v. a lot...the life of a newborn!

thatch has been so much fun. i'm just loving motherhood. and he just started to smile a little and is really starting to notice everything around him!! it just gets better and better!

japanese gardens

we went to the japanese gardens this week...they were beautiful!! and we were dorks and went thru the guided tour...it brought so much meaning to the design!

saturday

summer in portland couldn't be better...and this weekend we had a little taste of summer...the weather was beautiful and we made it to the farmer's market. thatch was in his sling the whole time and loved it...we listened to live music and walked around downtown. so much fun!

outings and dance parties

my favorite thing in the last few days has been the dance parties with thatch. his favorite song is starlight by muse...and miss the boat by modest mouse is a close second. i sing along and bop to the music...i think he thinks i'm the best singer there is! he loves the the beat and dancing/bouncing to this song...

we've also had a few outings in the last week...to target, new seasons, to a baby store...and we even were able to go to church on sunday...it was so nice to see everyone and introduce thatch!

things are going well. i'm feeding about every other hour...he sleeps a little longer at night...but i'm not sleeping much around here...but somehow i manage to get a little sleep here and there...i think i came down from my adrenaline high a few days ago and realized how tired i was...but travis and i are tag-teaming it and it is so nice to have my mom here to help out with stuff.

celebration ale

in honor of thatch's birth, travis has created a celebration ale...he started brewing it tonight. you might just be lucky enough to enjoy it in a month or so...

if you are just tuning into this blog, you might think it is a little odd that we are making a beer for our baby...maybe so...but if you lived in this part of the country, you would start brewing beer too. travis started brewing last winter and he hasn't stopped since. he loves it...and i can't wait to try this new one.

we are thinking about calling this celebration ale..."wingman pale" or maybe just name it thatcher hobbes.

any suggestions?