Moving past the Bar


Three years ago Tom, Jessie, and I relocated to an unfamiliar place leaving behind our family, jobs, and friends. I'll admit I came to Eugene nervous, and a little frazzled after just giving birth and packing up our things. In almost every way I have been pleasantly surprised at this place and have grown to love it. As Tommy studied his brains out, I became familiar with all of the things that Eugene has to offer. Many explorations have been done with good friends, others on my own, and on rare occasions Tommy was able to accompany me.

Before I knew it Tommy graduated and the intense studying began for the Bar. There were some nights I felt a little bitter and wished for him to be home with us, and another part of me trying to slow time down knowing that finishing the bar meant moving forward with our future plans.

So here we are!!! All the planning, hard work (mostly Tommy), anticipation, and waiting and before I know it it's come and gone like a flash. My husband has finished what he set out to do and we've made it through alive. We still have a couple months left in this place that I could call home forever and we are going to try to enjoy every minute of it.

Soon we'll be packing up again and moving to a new place and I will feel nervous and maybe a little frazzled. We will be leaving behind, friends that feel like family, jobs, and so much more. We will be carrying with us one more beautiful baby that joined our family here, some odds and ends we've collected since we've been here, and lots of amazing memories.

Congratulations to my husband for making it this far and thank you for taking us on this journey with you. We've missed you and love having you back.






Tommy in his home away from home (law library) studying.

Happy Birthday to Jessie!!!

I can't believe it was three years ago that she came into our lives (well even longer if you count the time in my belly). She certainly came with her own special personality. She keeps us both on our toes and I often think to myself "wait a minute--who's in charge here??" Both Tegan and her make motherhood so amazing. To watch them learn and grow is miraculous. I can honestly say that in so many ways this has been the best 3 years of my life. So, happy birthday to our Little J. We love you!!!

Tegan and Jessie pounding on the drums.

This summer has gone fast and been full of adventures. Despite seeing my husband so rarely that I'm forgetting what he looks like, it has gone well and we have done our best to stay busy. Tommy's youngest sister is staying with us and we have enjoyed her company. Our days our filled with bike rides, berry picking, parks, swimming and some TV watching. Our latest trip was to Medford to see my friend Cathy again and head up to Crater Lake. Here our a few pictures to highlight these last couple of weeks. WARNING- DO NOT PROCEED IF YOU HAVE NO INTEREST IN SEEING LOTS AND LOTS OF PICTURES-MOST OF THEM SILLY.

These mirrors never stop being funny to me. This is Cathy and I looking quite stunning.
Just went I thought my daughter Jessie couldn't look any more petite.
Tegan's not so long legs now long.
This reminded me of Marge Simpson
Crater Lake was so beautiful and clear. I feel ashamed that it's taken me this long to get down there. I never thought I would be able to swim there, especially since there was patches of snow all over, but it was calling our names and we caved. It was cold as you can probably tell from our faces, but refreshing and worth it and jumping off the cliff made me feel a few years younger. The hike down was great, and the hike up wouldn't have been so bad if we hadn't been eaten alive by mosquitoes. It was crazy--you could literally see swarms of them surrounding us. We joked that we would be anemic by the time we reached the top. It was almost funny to be walking up the trail and see several people stopped and swatting at themselves and each other trying to fight them off.


Jessie and Ryan covering themselves in dirt. At first I was just annoyed, but I think they knew something we didn't because the mosquitoes didn't seem quite as drawn to them.



Yummy pancakes that I just had to get a picture of. Our friends the Johnsons came over, and cooked breakfast for dinner. Maybe it was the fresh berry syrup they made, or just the shapes that made them taste sooo good!


Here's pictures from the visit to a local news station. This was a mommy and me activity, but I think the adults may have enjoyed it more--or at least we enjoyed it for different reasons. I don't know... Jessie looks pretty comfortable up there, and she always has plenty to say.



We always go to Tom's family's house. This time,due to Tommy needing to study part of the day, and me wanting to enjoy some of the Eugene festivities before we move we spent half of the day in Eugene. It started out with the Butte to Butte which I have enviously listened to friends talk about doing, and then a fun, very hot parade in Creswell with our friends. Jessie got lots of candy and sprays from the several fire trucks that passed through. We all tried to get part of that action. Tegan just watched with wondering eyes and got a suntan.

Recently my brother and his family were in town. They have 3 little kids so Jessie was in heaven. We took a trip to Florence to hang out on the sand dunes and frolic along the beach. The sand dunes were great besides the wind whipping the sand in our faces at 90 miles an hour. We spent most of the time sledding down the dunes on boards, jumping on the dunes, and exploring the beaches. Despite the cooler weather and wind we even got a swim in. The result of all of this was lots of fun, a little bit of a tan, and lots and lots of sand. I'm still finding it everywhere.


Jessie down at the beach

Jessie and cousin Nina buried up to their ears in the sand

Tegan with her Aunt Julie

My dad