We were Berry Picking!

Today, I experienced some great Oregonian things of Farmers Markets and Berry Picking! This morning, Joni and I decided it would be the perfect opportunity to go to the Farmers Market. There is one right in downtown Lake Oswego. The best part was all the free samples....blackberries, strawberries, yellow watermelon, peaches, hummus, and more!

After we then found this crazy store that had awesome clothes for great prices!

So next one of the coolest things I learned about Oregon is that berry picking is HUGE here. I can't think of anything better than freshly picked, ripe berries. I have been wanting to do this for months, but have found it hard to find time. Well, have no fear because today was my lucky day!

After going swimming to beat the heat, Joni and I were discussing our options of activities and I remembered the blackberry bushes right outside my apartment. We grabbed a bowl, hopped the fence, and picked until the bowl was full. It was so much fun!

PS Joni and I just happened to have the same swimsuit coverall just in different colors!
We then decided to be all homemakie and baked blackberry bars and blackberry muffins. Then for dinner we had blackberry salads. It was so amazingly delicious!

Happily Ever After

So to continue my catch up, Landon got married last weekend! It was so amazing and I am so happy for him. He and Shelley are so cute together.

They were sealed in the Mt Timp temple and it was seriously my favorite sealing I have been to so far. The sealer said such incredible things! Also, their reception was so cute and I just love weddings and seeing people so happy together.
The day after the wedding, we went to the zoo with everyone. I loved having Lincoln and Darin as my buddies as we walked around. Also, the zoo had the coolest bird show ever. I especially liked when this girl fell into the bird's bath, but later we found out it was all staged! After the zoo, we went and saw Landon & Shelly open presents and helped them move into their new apartment. I am so excited for them to start their cute little lives together.

I then spent the rest of the time with friends in Provo. Saturday night, Lauren and I decided to have some fun by going to the football stadium, then we got chocolate milk, and ended with a late night chat!
Sunday, I went to church with Lauren and Adrian. After we went on a walk, took a nap, and they made me a delicious dinner! It was then time to go to the airport. I got there and found out my plane was delayed 3 hours! Crazy, but I took it as a tender mercy because I got to see Jannifer and Danny. It just worked out perfectly that Jannifer picked me up and took me home for a few hours. I got to see their new place and we got to talk, which tend to be quite awesome and inspiring. Then I went back to the airport and was on the same flight as a friend from Oregon so that was super fun!

PS it was weird checking in and checking my baggages and then leaving the airport for 2 hours and then to come back and leave on a flight....

California Dream

So I am way behind! Anyways, I went home to California for a week and it was so much fun. It was for my grandma's 80th and great-grandma's 100th birthdays. We just turned it into a family reunion type celebration. I came early so I could get some quality time with Darin and Logan, I also got to see Heather a few times, get tan and fall in love with California again. I forget how beautiful it is at home and how it is sunny with natural air conditioning. Plus, I just loved being with the family and having no cares of my adult life...a true vacation!

Mom and I had so much fun taking care of the boys. My first day there we went crawdad fishing, berry picking, and swimming. Then on Sunday, I went to the San Francisco singles ward. It was fun and interesting. Monday, I went to lunch with Aunt Melanie and Heather, who I just love talking to and seeing. I also went swimming at Aunt CC's with the boys, which was fun because I got to talk a lot with LeeAnne. Tuesday, we played at a park and went swimming again. We went to the fair on Wednesday. Thursday, we went swimming!

On Friday, the family reunion part started. We went to this cool park thing and did some easy hikes along with a picnic. The worse part was trying to get our BBQ started, but finally we got it going and thoroughly enjoyed my hot dog! After we played frisbee in the field and I actually could throw it! After we went to the beach and the best part was when Hyrum, Dad, and Spencer got in the freezing water to body surf. They are awesome!

Saturday, we went to Aunt CC's for swimming, dinner, and the birthday celebration. I ate so much good food and my favorite dessert was the gluten-free lemon cake....I would have never guessed that one!

I had to leave on Sunday, but it was such a great week. I love being with the family. I love that our family does so many activities in a chill way. Party rock in the house tonight!

Playtime with Kids

Today, I came home for lunch and my neighbor was out with her kids. She has three little girls who are precious and they came running up to me saying, "Brittany! Brittany!" Then they picked flowers, rocks, and leaves for me as I talked to their mom. After that they showed me how they swing on the railing saying, "Watch this! Just one more time!" Then as we said goodbye, they blew me kisses and waved. It made my day!

It makes me miss Logan and Darin! I love when Darin yells, "Hey Brit!"

Without A Paddle

So I need to play a little catch up on my recent adventures! The night before I flew to California, my friend Kate texted me about floating the Tualatin River. It was such a nice day and I thought it would be a great way to start my vacation. We got on the river around 8pm ready for our 5 mile canoe trip. We had 2 canoes and 2 girls in each.

The river didn't really have a current so we had to paddle if we wanted to go anywhere and the water didn't look very clean. Kristina and I were having a little trouble going straight and after a little bit we discovered that one of the sides of the canoes was deflating...awesome! So I got in the other canoe and we kept going. It was a good evening to be outside and it very peaceful.

About half way through our trip, we came to this little dam. It wasn't too big, but as the first canoe when down it popped the bottom of the boat and got stuck in the current. It made me nervous as our canoe went down, but we made it safely. The first canoe became pretty useless so we had to made another change. Kristina, Katie, and I all got into the good canoe, and Kate rode in the deflated canoe tied onto our canoe. We still had half way to go and with our new arrangement we found that one or both of the canoes would get stuck on the rocks. It would take quite a bit of effort to free ourselves and we just had to face that we were going to have to get in the water. Then paddling was made difficult with pulling the dead weight of the deflated canoe so we were quite slow. I ended up being the main paddler and as it turned dark, it became hard to navigate the river.

We luckily were laughing about this crazy situation we got ourselves in. My arms were ready to fall off and there river just seemed to keep going. Then we finally were approaching the end when we got stuck on a huge rock! Kristina, Katie, and I got out of the boat to push and then the current picked up and we almost lost the canoe. Then we had to go under a bridge and Kate warned us that sometimes homeless people are under there and to paddle quickly under it. For some reason, I had in my mind homeless people trying to grab us and take our canoe, but we didn't see anyone. We finally made it to the end ready to be done with the river!

I didn't get home until 11pm and still had to pack for California so I ended up going to bed at 1am. When I woke up at 4am for my flight, my arms were so stiff and sore!!!

Happy Half Birthday

Today was my half birthday! It is important to celebrate the little things in life. And I made a list of half the things I did to celebrate:
1. Talked to Heidi for half an hour
2. Renewed my lease for half a year
3. Bought 10 halves of avocados
4. Got asked out on a date
5. Ate half a dozen crab cakes
6. Watched half of the show Chopped
7. Enjoyed half of a sunny day
8. Tried on a $60,000 diamond ring
9. Woke up half past six
10. Want half a gallon of BYU chocolate milk
11. Listened to half of the song Good Life
12. Got half a pound of blueberries
13. Made half a wish
13.5. Found half a......