What makes me intimated????

Well, having to speak in public in front of large groups of people is probably top on my list. And last night David and I both had a chance to do this, although I would say that David is actually quite good. So good I think that sometimes, probably in this case, I become the recipient of guilt by association and people assume I must be a good speaker too.
So, a couple of weeks ago a member of the Stake Presidency called me and left a message on my phone. Honestly I was thinking David or I must be getting a new calling so I didn't think anything of it. I quickly called him back and then as I began speaking with him I realized something... Stake Conference was coming up in a few weeks. As my heart started to pound, sure enough, this kind man asked if David and I would be willing to speak in Stake Conference. Uhhgg. What do you say? Umm, actually I get completely terrified in front of large crowds, I bawl like a baby and you might be privileged to see a snot rocket fly from the podium? Instead, I just said yes. There were two redeeming things he said during the phone call. First, David would be speaking with me. This meant he would get to sit by me and help calm my nerves. Second, that we would be speaking during the Saturday evening session rather than Sunday morning.
Well, after searching through numerous talks, the scriptures, offering several prayers and bombarding my family (thanks Ambie, Mom and David) for insight and editing advice, I survived. Elder Bruce Merrill of the Seventy spoke at the meetings and it was a joy to get to meet him and to learn from him.

One Last Summer Fling

Lucky for us we live in a place where people actually want to come visit. Last weekend we had Alex, a friend of David's from Philly, and Vince, our good buddy from Loma Linda, came to visit. Both have visited us before, but we wanted to make sure they had not forgotten Portland's quirkiness.


First thing Saturday morning we headed to Voo-doo Donuts. Where else can you get a bacon and maple long john, the "Blazer Blunt", a vegan donut or a voo-doo doll donut all at the same time as picking up a pair of undies. David jokes that it is the only place in Portland where people are wearing 7 layers of clothing but somehow you can still see their butt crack.

Derby Announcers...all I can say is H-O-T.

After the trip to Voo-doo donuts we headed over to the Adult Soap Box Derby. Last year David and I were introduced to this annual event and appreciated the introduction to Portland's culture. After attending last year, I remember thinking: Is it more common in Portland to go bra-less or to only wear a bra. As a Portland resident, I am now feeling very confined when I wear a bra and my normal 2 or 3 layers of clothing as David so lovingly likes to tease me.

So, I bet you're asking, what is an adult soap box derby. Just think of "big" kids that make life size themed derby cars that can be raced. Maybe these pics will inspire you to start up an adult soap box derby in your neck of the woods.

Mr. T's van is legitimately homemade. I personally had to touch it to verify it wasn't real.

This was by far the most disgusting thing I saw all day besides the sicko wearing a black speedo and chaps. I didn't take any photos of him to spare myself and all of you from experiencing a sudden wave of nausea.

There tends to be quite a bit of drinking at these derby events and unfortunately the individuals riding these beer barrels down the hill were a bit tipsy and at a speed of about 3 mph turned the vehicle right into the public safety car parked right along the side of the road.

Sunday we took our friend Vince to the Portland Oregon Temple for a tour. They give guided walking tours around the outside of the temple on Sundays. I enjoyed the tour because I never take the time to walk around the temple and truly appreciate all of the symbolism.


And then Sunday evening we headed to Washington Park and visited the Vietnam Memorial. Vince dared me to roll down the hill for $5.00 bucks. I was laughing so hard the whole way down, so when Vince decided to do it I had to do it again. I NEVER, EVER seem to learn that rolling, spinning, bouncing or basically any other head movement will make me sick. Here is a few clip of our trip down the hill.

If you listen carefully you can hear me laughing hysterically. That is until I stop rolling.... and then this is what I did at the park, on the side of the road heading out of the park, at some random street corner in downtown and then once more when I jumped out of our car at a stoplight. Finally relief!

Isn't David so nice? He took about 5 video tapes of this little incident.

Monday we headed out to the beach. We had to show our Californian friend the Oregon beaches. They are beautiful and refreshingly uncrowded. We hit the two hot spots, Cannon Beach and Seaside. My main motivation for visiting Seaside was of course to visit the 170 flavor salt water taffy store. Everyone gets to spin the Wheel of Fortune and Vince was a lucky winner. Vince this ones for you: "And a little extra cause you're special."

Vince was the WINNER and he got his name on the Wall of Fame!

Tuesday, we headed up to Washington to go white water rafting on the White Salmon River. The river was probably one of the most beautiful I have been on and this particular trip offered a few new adventures for us. Halfway through the trip we had an opportunity to jump off a cliff and then at the very end, we had the chance to go over a 10 foot waterfall. I think that was our first class V rapid ever, at least it was mine.

Husum Falls

We survived the waterfall. It was awesome!

Thanks Vince and Alex for coming to visit!

Awareness Test

David showed me this tonight and I failed miserably.

Home Sweet St. Louie

Make a Smilebox photobook

I love to go home. There is something about being at my parent's house that is just so comforting. We were able to pack a lot of things into such a short time period, but when I only get home once a year that's what I have to do.

The day after I arrived in St. Louis my mom and I headed to Champaign, IL to visit my sister Kari and her family which included my super duper adorable 3 month old nephew Garrett. During our short day and a half trip to Champaign we did the following:
-Went to the Botanical Gardens
-Saw Theron's new practice (the fact that Theron is finally done with training and is now a practicing oral surgeon helps me to see the light at the end of the tunnel for all of David's training, WHOO HOO!)
-Took the kid's on their bikes down to the lake
-Learned that a two year old knows the importance of exercise and will keep herself fit by doing sit-ups and shaking her booty.

After Champaign, my mom and I took my niece Morgan and my nephew Karsten back to St. Louis with us. In St. Louis we played for a few days before heading back to northern IL. While in St. Louis we:
-Took my nephew to see the RV/Motorhome Sales Lot by our house. He is obsessed with these things. He wanted to walk through every motorhome and get pictures. It is hilarious that a 5 year old boy would love these things so much. He told my mom that she should buy one so that when he comes in town to visit he can play in it.
-Played in the pool.
-Went to Toys 'R' Us to buy legos and built a Sponge Bob rocket ship. I thought Sponge Bob lived in the sea. What's he doing with a rocket ship?

Drove to Moline, IL for a mini family reunion with my mom's sisters, their husbands and a few cousins and second cousins. They arranged it so we could get together when I was in town since I never make it back to the family reunion in December.

After the trip to Moline my dad came up with a brilliant idea to drive through Nauvoo on our way back to St. Louis. I have not been to Nauvoo since I was in high school so I have never seen the new temple. It was beautiful and the spirit there is so strong. Now I'm hoping to go back again when I have more time.

For the last few days in St. Louis I managed to meet up with my two best friends, Ashley and Heather, from high school that I had lost contact with, my good friend Whitney and her husband Drew, and my boss from 6 years ago, Maureen. I went to the zoo and the Butterfly House with my mom. And the day I flew out, my mom, dad and I were able to go to the St. Louis Temple together.

It was a great trip and next time I will remember to invite my husband :)

Weekend in Review

Summer in Portland is going out with a bang. We ventured out on Friday night to a movie in the park at nearby Laurelhurst Park. We ended up leaving before the movie started to meet up with friends, but before we left we were able to enjoy the pre-movie entertainment which included all the "Wizard of Oz" main characters, popcorn, music, a rock climbing wall and a hot air balloon.

Saturday we headed down south of Portland to West Linn to enjoy the Art Festival. We saw a lot of yard "art" that appeared to me more like scrap pieces of metal that were haphazardly sautered together. But, we did get to see an aerial dance performance that I thoroughly enjoyed. After watching it David said he hopes our kids will just want to run track, but I was secretly hoping our kids will want to dance and perform even if the performing comes in the way of aerial dancing. Heck, I almost signed up right there for lessons. Although, I would have to get a better performance outfit.



After the art festival we headed to a packing meeting for our medical mission trip to Vietnam. It was amazing to see all the medical supplies that had been donated for these medical missions. We spent a few hours sorting through everything and I realized, I really DO NOT know medical stuff. I guess I'll have to stick to the basics.

Today we had a special treat. When we lived in Loma Linda, David worked with this couple, K & G, that were in the process of adopting one of his newborn patients. The family now lives in Washington and they were visiting Portland, so they stopped over this afternoon for lunch. I had heard all about this couple and their little girl, K, who was in the hospital for about a month after being born with some complications. It was so nice to meet them and to see their little girl that is now 19 months and is doing so well.