It's August already?!

It's been so long since we've written. But we want to try yet again to keep this thing going, because i know we dont get to talk to everyone who looks at this.I'm not sure where to start, since its been so long. Hopefully it still makes you feel somewhat connected to us. At least its a bit of an adventure journal of our lives that might be cool to print out some day and keep forever.

So a brief overview-
On June 16th we went down to california to see our old roomates Leigh and Matt. They had a CA reception after being married in Wisconsin a few weeks earlier. It was a great time to visit old friends! We got to spend some time with Jeff Clinard- if anyone has a chance to see him do a stand up comedy you should! We saw Justin, Joey, Ian and Tawni. We even ended up randomly seeing Ian and Tawni on the 680 freeway on the way home- crazy, what are the chances? We also got to visit Wally and Jessica- as you can see, Jon and Wally get along great! It was a short but sweet trip and we are certainly hoping they can make it up here some time soon. We drove home that sunday and reminisced about the old days in college where everyone had one thing in common- we all had really no idea what we were going to do afterward.

The next weekend we snuck away to our little Sisters,OR get away at John and Sues place (the place we stayed on our road trip through bend) A perfect getaway for our 2nd anniversary! It was a realization to slow down and revel in our love for the moment. Its much needed! We had breakfast on the patio with a view of the Sisters mountains and enjoyed the small town atmosphere for the afternoon.

At the end of June we went houseboating on lake Shasta with the Fitchs. My first time every houseboating and I fell in love with it! Its a pretty intimate time with family, but such an awesome way to get in touch again after being so far. Some day we really want to do it with my side of the family- maybe in a few years when my sister comes back to the west coast! Zac is the allstar wakeboarder so he was certainly fun to watch. Mel and I werent far behind... well maybe shes not but i sure am! haha, but i was finally able to cross both wakes without falling flat on my face. Jon has amazing endurance and commitment to his attempts to land his jump tricks. Either way he always looks hot to me! We even did a bit of doubles skiiing. It was pretty hard to leave family after being attached to them all week. But our friends helped us adjust back to life in Bend pretty quickly.

Allison Kraus came to Bends ampitheatre on July 3rd. Tickets were quite pricey, so the PArlas and us decided to float the river(which happens to be right next to the amphitheater. ) It worked perfectly and we found we could hear clearly and see just a bit- pretty comfortable for free!For the 4th of July we helped our friends move into a place just across town. After all the moving boxes, we jumped in the river and had a good float along with the rest of the city. No joke- I think that whole city was on the Deschutes river that day. I do love that all of Brnd comes out for community events. During the summer they have something almost every night, whether its Munch n Music, farmers market, art shows, or summerfest.

Katie and Frank Thaxter came to visit for a weekend as they start a 3 month adventure of travel. They are thinking of moving to Oregon so we were a prefect stop to check out bend. We went to Newberry Crater, the huge volcano near by. It was a pretty site to see- so unique! Our time was short but we caught up on where they are headed for the next little while. Who knows- maybe they'll end up doing architecture in some crazy 3rd world country, or maybe they'll settle right here in Bend, OR. We love the freedom of that!

Life has been up and down in our little home full of two families. We have had times where we laugh out loud together, and times where all we've wanted is to slam the door on each other. Through all the painful things said, I think Jon and I are growing through it, to be the man and women God mad us to be. We feel closer than ever and I appreciate him more than ever! I have hope that we will look back on living with the Fischers as a rapid period of growth in our lives, because they have helped us find out more about ourselves. What we like, what we dont like, how we are so different from many people out there, how to support each other better, how to love people who may not love you back (we're still not that good at that). We definately dont have everything figured out but we've learned a lot about people that i know will help us in every relationship we have from here on out.

So thats all from the mother ship up here. Here's to you, we love you all!