Eugene Funness

Matthew and I decided it was time for a vacation - so vacation we did!! We picked to visit Jeremy and Therese and Natalie and Mark. While we were planning that vacation, we discovered Boise was about halfway to Eugene, Oregon where Matthew's brother Michael lives. We planned to stay one night with J&T then continue up to Eugene to stay for a few days, then return back to Boise to play with J&T. It was a fabulous trip!!! We had a great time!
We drove to Eugene through Bend, then back to Boise through Portand. It was fun to see the differences between the 2 routes we took. We loved our drive - who wouldn't love it when you are surrounded by this beautiful site?
M&M arm wrestling - guesses as to who won?We went and saw the movie UP in 3D. We totally digged it - especially the glasses! While we were waiting for the movie we played some arcade games which was super fun!
Michael made his table into a slate board. We loved drawing and writing on it - such beautiful artwork. Brittany - check out the bottom left corner - you'll get a kick out of it!
Matthew was starving! What a perfect shot!
We hiked up to Spencer's Butte and got a panoramic view of Eugene - so beautiful! The hike was awesome and so much fun!


This is what Spencer's Butte looks like from Michael's apartment - Yep! We hiked all the way to the top of that! We are pretty much amazing!
This is Skinner's Butte - also close to Michael's apartment. This is the famous Eugene rock climbing wall. We climbed up the left side of it where it wasn't so steep and we could do it without the equipment. It was awesome! Every year there is a race from Skinner's Butte to Spencer's Butte. That would be quite the run - good thing we have a car.
Michael's apartment was super cool. We totally digged it. After a day Matthew was pretty much pleading to move in. His apartment was built in 1921 - so it's got some old classics - like this phone - this is what they use to buzz people into the building
The bed can fold up and twist around into the other room! Amazing!
Here's the outside of the building. I love the design of it!
This is sweet awesome elevator. First you have to open the door, then you have to open the gate to get inside. Classic!
Matthew and I tried our first scuba diving experience in the wild in Newport while we were there. It was quite the crazy experience!! We had to wear 7mm wetsuits and a hood because the water is cold - 48 degrees. We got all new snorkeling stuff, so we were unsure how it would work, and if it would be decent. The current was so strong. Every time we tried to swim out deep enough to dive, we would end up in the same spot. We would swim and swim but wouldn't go anywhere, instead the current would take us away from where we wanted to be. We quickly learned the ocean is way different from the cakewalk Homestead Crater where we got certified. Next time we'll do a boat dive. We wanted to do a boat dive, but they were not offered in that area. We did get to see TONS of cool starfish, some jellyfish and other fish. Let's just say our dives can only get better from here!
We went to a YUMMY sushi restaurant. It tasted so fresh and was so delicious. Michael was a fabulous cook and made us such yummy food while we were there! Plus it was nice to have the food prepared and not have to make it. We also went to the farmer's market. I love those! I wish they had one here - I would probably live there.
We went bowling which was super fun. Guess who the big winner was?? Me!!! I beat Michael by 2 pins! and matthew by a long shot - hee hee

The first video is of us on Spencer's Butte viewing Eugene. The second video is of us gearing up for scuba diving. The third one is of us sending off our paracute man that we won from the arcade. Good times! The last one is of us running down Spencer's Butte rockin out to Eye of the Tiger - our theme song!

While we cruising along driving back from Eugene to Boise we saw the Portland temple peeking out from the trees. I told Matthew we should stop and walk around the grounds. He hurt his back earlier in the day, so he lied on the grass while I enjoyed the grounds and took pics. It is such a beautiful temple! I couldn't believe how big or how tall it was! We didn't have time on this trip, but I would love to return and do a session!

Boise Funness

Boise was fabulous! We got to spend 2 days on the boat - my favorite! The water wasn't the best, but we still got in some sweet wakeboarding and wakesurfing! I totally forgot to take my camera on the boat thought, so I was bummed I didn't get any water pictures. The first day we went, Matthew and I got totally FRIED!!! We are PINK! We put sunscreen on, but obviously not enough and not often enough. I usually am so good about not getting burnt, I forgot how much they hurt! So this was a good reminder to be more careful. The big reason we went to Boise at that time was to celebrate Jeremy's birthday! One of the days on the lake was for his birthday celebration. Afterwards we had the yummiest BBQ. We also got to see the new Transformers movie. Good times!

Natty is 4 months pregnant! It was so fun to see her and we got to check out her farm. Awesome! 4 months pregnant and I can still stick my tummy out almost more than her - she is tiny!

You ain't had a birthday party or celebration until you sing Happy Birthday Wagstaff style!

Happy 80th!!!

My Grandma turned 80 a few weeks ago. The older I get, and the more time I spend working in assisted living, the more I realize what an incredible feat this is!!! Way to go Grandma and Grandpa!! They are great people and how I love them!

I Promise We're Not Lost

We're just vacationing!!! I haven't been close to a computer. I'll have lots of updates and posts soon, but for now we're playing and having fun!!!!

Camping Anyone??

Matthew and I LOVE camping!!! We can't wait to go!!! We'll keep you posted on when we will be going. In the meantime - anyone want to coordinate with us and go with us? Our summer is filling up fast - so let us know! We can pick a date and place and DO IT!!! Yes!!!

5K - Yeah baby - Done and Done!!!

Matthew and I made a goal to run a 5K together, so that's exactly what we did today. It was so fun to do it together. It did take some pushing and prodding. Matthew teased me about having to get up early and to have to run. But yes, even he enjoyed it. We've been preparing the last few weeks for it - which has also been good. Last week Matthew said he ran as far as he ever has - 2 miles. (Maybe I shouldn't reveal such secrets). Today we successfully complete the 5K in 33:11 - Yes!!!! It was a great goal to work towards. Neither one of us are big into running, so it was a stretch for us. I loved having a running buddy. Now we're going to either work towards improving our time or running a 10K. Anyone know of any good ones coming up or would want to do one with us?
The fun part about it was during the race looking ahead and seeing a sea of people in front of us and behind us. As a PE teacher, I was ecstatic with how many people were participating and being active! Yes!!!! That's what I like to see!
Right before the race with our matchey shirts!
Right at the beginning of the race. My parents were nice enough to come support us, cheer us on and take pictures. We are in the front of the picture in the middle. I'm mostly hidden with a person in front of me.
Coming in on the home stretch!

I love this picture! See how much we love this??!!
In line after the race
Alisha ran it too. We didn't know that until the night before, but we didn't see her till the end of the race. Next time we'll have to do better and coordinating and run together!

Family Proclamation

When Dustin and Alicia got married, I thought it would be cool to make a family proclamation with pictures of them around it. They absolutely loved it! They then did the same thing for us when we got married. I did it again for Natalie and Mark - here is what it looks like

Scuba Certified!!!

You are now looking at the most recent scuba divers!!!! Matthew and I have been talking for a little while about wanting to get scuba certified. Scuba Ted's in Springville had an offer we couldn't pass up to certify. So as a graduation present, Matthew and I just finished our scuba certification! Yipee! It took 3 weeks. It was fast, and there was quite a bit of time involved, but it was well worth it. Now we just gotta plan a fun trip somewhere!! For our 2 open water dives we went to the Homestead Crater in Midway. It's a natural hot springs, so the temperture was nice and hot - 96. That felt really good after shivering everytime we went to the pool. I had the hardest time with any skill requiring me to take off my mask. I thought I was just breathing through my mouth, but obviously not, because I ALWAYS ended up with water in my throat!! I got really good at coughing my way through the skills - But - I was successful! It was so much fun to do it together. It's way better to certify and dive with a buddy - especially when that buddy is my amazingly awesome Matthew!

Henage Family Scrapbook

Matthew's brother's family were here for about a month - Thomas and Emily. While they were here I took some fun pictures of their family and kids. I was going to just send the pictures to them for Emily's birthday, but then I thought it would be even more fun to put the pictures into a little album for them. I got this album for free on my mission - so I've had it for a while. It was a scrapbook kit, so they had different layout ideas and everything I needed to do those layouts. I used most of the stuff, but catered it to what I was doing. I could never find a good us for it, until now - it was perfect!!! It was fun to do. It was fun to try some different ideas and use some new stuff I had recently gotten at an awesome scrapbook sale - thanks Katie for telling me about the sale! Here is my work of art!