Autumn

It's fall time in the Northwest with winter biting fiercely. Fall is a favorite season with it's cool mornings, dampness, color changes, and seasonal treats. It's not really those things I mentioned I like most about the fall, it's more the items you can use to battle those elements. Also, the tastes of those seasonal treats. Seasonal treat numero uno are these:

Pumpkin Pancakes. Kelsey and I made them one saturday morning. Then, when she went out of town, I was bored and made them for lunch. We just made them for family the day after Thanksgiving too. So good. Other seasonal treats, sticking with baked goods and pumpkin. Pumpkin scones. Pumpkin lattes are Kelsey's favorite this time of year. Butternut squash (Kelsey really loves these). Me...pumpkin cookies from Cougar Mountain...I love baked goods.

So, fall right. It's cold, wet, darker than summer. I love this time of the year to break out my beanies for my orange hair. I love wearing my ski jackets for the first

time, smartwool socks, and my boots. But, in all honesty I really just like racing cyclocross! From October to December...cyclocross unleashes it's 45 minutes (for me) of painful cycling pleasure. Once your done, you wash it down (your bike) with a garden hose and your pride (because you crash) with an IPA.

After doing this for 45 minutes it makes you want to do this:

Anyway, cross is wrapping up (kelsey is probably glad). So were getting ready for the Holidays. Their baked goods. Ginger bread lattes (I love these ones). Ginger bread cookies. Still wearing those ski jackets. Snow days. Ski days.

After a few of these:

I like to go to the car for beer and soup. Winter. Right around the corner.

Feeling like a monkey!

Monkey that did not eat her Wheaties!

For some reason I always get a good laugh out of this video. And this was about her fifth attempt!

Mysterious Lake

Mysterious Lake was one of the names they original thought of calling Crater Lake. It is mysterious but I like Crater Lake better.

Highlight of the Summer...Crater Lake!

I can't believe that it took me almost 30 years to finally get down to Crater Lake. I guess you could say, "A dream come true." We have been talking about this trip for years and finally due to John Mark's organizing and planning we made it! We started the drive early Friday morning (coffee in hand). We drove straight to Crater Lake so that we could start the afternoon with a great hike up Mt. Scott. The views were amazing- the closest we'll get to an overlook shot of the Lake. The hike took us under three hours and we ate our sandwiches at the top-yummy! Next we drove down to Diamond Lake where we were camped the first night. Great camp site above the water and had trees towering around us. Everything was wonderful except the millions of mosquitos that buzzed constantly around. Our dinner and s'mores were cut short due to not wanting to be outside for one more second. We woke early the next morning in anticipation to ride the rim. The weather was perfect; sunshine with a slight breeze. The ride was a challenging 33 miles with over 4000 feet of elevation gain. We were exhausted afterwards and eager to check out our second night accommodations at the lodge! We rewarded ourselves with beer, salami, brie, and bread! Our third morning consisted of a boat ride around Wizard Island and eating a snack at a beautiful view point before hitting the road back to Portland. Quick trip but extremely memorable!

Birthdays should never last for just one day...

John Mark took Friday off so we could continue celebrating his 30th birthday. Fortunately, his parents were able to join us on our adventure to wine country...well, the Willamette Valley Wine Country! We first met Mark and Chris at The Allison Hotel and Spa in Newberg. Beautiful but of course with a price. After drinks and appetizers we headed to Hotel Oregon in McMinnville. Hotels are not easy to come by during the summer season so we were thankful to get a spot. A family friend of the Baldwins recommended a great Spanish restaurant in town called La Rambla. Great food and fun atmosphere but don't expect to leave with a full stomach! Right Mark? We loved our wine and even kept the bottle. Of course, we never let an evening end without a few rounds of cards. The next morning we started wine tasting right away. Starting with with White Rose, next to De Ponte, then Archery Summit, ate lunch at Horseradish, and ended with a tasting at Elk Cove. You are probably wondering what our favorite winery was...I think we would both have to say hands down...Horseradish (yep, I know that is where we ate lunch-but honestly amazing!).






Next on our list for the birthday weekend was camping with the Christensens. As you can see by the photo with Meagan...our tent was not going to win any battles against theirs! We had a great time exploring the newly opened park, Stub Stewart. Unfortunately, there wasn't a whole lot to do there (great for families though) and the weather was overcast but you can't complain when you get to make a fire....right John Mark? Ha!

Suprise...someone turned 29+1

Although he was dreading the day of turning 30...he at least was surrounded by friends and family. Fortunately for me, without having a job for the summer I could devote my day to organizing a small surprise golf tournament at Lake Oswego Municipal Course. I can't believe everyone was able to keep it a surprise and no major glitches (except for John Mark not wanting to put on his blinking 30 pin!). Thanks for all that showed up and supported his "plunge" into the world of thirties.