Wine and Snow

A lot of times I take for granted growing up in Hood River and being able to come back whenever we want. It is seriously so beautiful everywhere you look. This past weekend we headed back and I had a little impromptu wine tasting with some of my favorite girls. I'm working really hard at acquiring my taste for wine... I can handle white wine pretty well, but still working on that red! It's always so fun to hang out with the girls and catch up on life. Alyssa and I also started planning our trip to Seattle! (More of that to come soon)!

Brayden has been asking to go sledding like everyday since the snow all melted. Jarrod and I thought that it would be fun to take him up to the mountain to go sledding. We usually go to Little Jon's, but we were really disappointed at how little snow there was. After we made a few runs we decided to head up to Mt. Hood Meadows and play up there... my oh my was it busy. Brayden sure did love hanging out up there tho... watching all the skiers and snowboarders, it was a picture perfect day and we are hoping to have B take ski lessons maybe next year :) Time will tell, but one thing's for sure he LOVES snow!! 

Growing Up Too Fast

When I took these pictures I got a flashback to when I was a little girl and my dad would read the news paper ALL the time. I can remember it like it was yesterday him always having a newspaper in his face... it made me think of how fast Brayden is growing up and it was so funny when I turned around in the car and saw him it was so cute! Sometimes I wish I could just slow down time and savor each moment he's still little. 

National Love Day

Jarrod hates celebrating a made up holiday like Valentines day, but I think it's fun. So we put a small budget on gifts and did a little celebration. Brayden thought it was his birthday when he came down stairs... but it was cute. I didn't want to get him a bunch of candy and stuffed animals so with his budget I got him this super cute guitar. I made a yummy dinner of steak and shrimp scampi and a huge heart shaped german chocolate cake (one of Jarrod's favorites). After dinner we headed over to our neighbors house for a little dance party and hang out time. I love my boys every day of the year... but maybe just a little more on National Love Day :) 

A Lot of Sushi and a Little OMSI

Sushi! If you know me at all, you know I'm Japanese... but you also know that I'm not big on seafood or really fish at all. I know, I know... that's like being an Asian outcast haha, but my cousin was in town and him, his girlfriend and Jarrod LOVE sushi so we found this amazing sushi restaurant. I love veggie sushi and will eat avocado and cucumber rolls all day... but this little restaurant had delicious food as well. Below is a picture of Jarrod who loves sushi, but had never tried uni (sea urchin) and this was his first time... besides his face, he said he liked it and would probably try it again. He's such an adventurous eater :) Here is the website if you're ever in the Hillsboro area and are looking for some good Japanese food Syun Izakaya. 

The next day we headed to OMSI. We had never taken Brayden there and my cousin had two 10 year old boys with him so we thought that would be a great place to run off some energy. There is so much to see and do it's crazy. Needless to say we were there for quite a while and still didn't get to everything. This mama needed a nap after we were done... but we all had a good time. 

The Newest Shareholders at SD Deacon

Jarrod and I took a BIG step this year becoming shareholders in his company. Jarrod and I were so excited to be offered this opportunity. I didn't realize that it was such a privilege to become shareholders in his company. They only have a limited number of shareholders and only offer 3 or 4 employees a year to own a part of the company. Jarrod and I are the youngest shareholders and we felt so grown up going to our first meeting. The meeting was at the Portland Golf Club, it was gorgeous and has so much history and is a very classy place... The owner of Jarrod's company (Steve Deacon) happens to be the President of the Golf Club as well and he pulled out all the stops. Dinner was so yummy, we dined on parmesan crusted halibut and filet mignon, had amazing wine and delicious dessert. Our meeting ran 2 hours over, but we didn't mind because we learned so much about the financials of the company and all the cool buildings we own a little piece of around Portland. I'm excited about this adventure and am so proud of Jarrod for all the hard work he puts in at this amazing company. 

I would have taken more pictures of the night, but the country club doesn't allow cell phones so I snuck in just a few :) You can learn more about Jarrod's company here. On that website there are a lot of projects Jarrod has worked on too! 

I can't finish this post without a BIG shout out to Anna and the Belcher girls for coming in and hanging out with Brayden while we were gone. You girls are the BEST! 

Celebrating the BIG 28

For an early birthday present my wonderful boys surprised me with a beach weekend getaway. I must say it truly was a birthday gift to have such a beautiful day on the Oregon coast (in JANUARY)! Not a cloud in the sky and not one drop of rain, it was a picture perfect weekend in every way. I love spending time with my little family and I couldn't have thought of anything else I would have rather done. There were absolutely STUNNING sunsets and beautiful beach days. Here is a little taste of that amazing weekend...

My actual birthday (which fell in the middle of the week) was amazing as well. My super, terrific, awesome friends surprised me with an early morning wake up call, breakfast and shopping! I can't believe how blessed I am to have such amazing friends and family in my life. My birthday wish is to make this year one of the best yet. To be a better friend and to focus on my relationships just a little bit more. Enjoy the small things in life and to savor my ever growing little boy. I must say I'm truly blessed and I'm so thankful for where I am in life!