One Year Ago...

I cannot believe it's already been a year since I moved from KC to Oregon.  Time has most certainly flown by!  I still absolutely love it here.  I am so very happy I made the life-changing decision to move here.  Life has been good, but not without its ups and downs.  More on that later!


I will tell you, I made another big decision tonight.  No, I am not moving back to KC!  But I think this decision will have as great of a positive influence on my life. 


Oh, and my brown hair is red now.  It makes my green eyes look blue.  Craziness, I tell you!

Pilot Rock

Last weekend, Barbarian/Hubby and I climbed Pilot Rock with our friend, Camper. The summit of Pilot Rock is over 5900 feet. The climb covers an elevation change of 2000+ feet. Pilot Rock is actually the cooled magma of an ancient volcano's central vent. Over time the exterior of the volcano has eroded away. I was pretty excited to climb until I found out about the extreme free solo rock climb required at the end of the trail to summit the rock.

Upon further research (I googled), I discovered that people have died trying to make the final climb. OMG! Are you kidding me? I am a pretty careless gal that usually has a few unexplained bruises at any given time. But I couldn't back out. The boys would never let me live it down!

We set out at 7:00 AM.  We wanted to beat the heat and other hikers.  We could see Pilot Rock from several miles out.  And as we got closer, it got bigger.  Oh my.  It was going to be a long morning.

The first part of the trail was a pretty easy, dirt trail.  Then it started going uphill fast at a steep angle.  The boys were leaving me behind but I was okay with that.  They like to race to the top.  I prefer to take my time, enjoying the trail and my surroundings.  And then was my least favorite part.  Steep, dirt and large loose gravel.  It sucked!  Most of this part required a lot of using your hands to climb.  Lots of bear walking.  Not so fun.

So I made it to the top of that section to see this...

The last section of the trail.  The rock.  Camper was already half way up.  Can you see him in the white t-shirt in the middle of this pic? 

And then there was this part.  This is where the free solo rock climbing started.  Camper got up and then it was Barbarian's turn...

It was at this point that he was beginning to think he might not make it up.

But he did!  And then it was my turn.  Please, please, please let me make it up there! 

Not only did I make it up there, I fly up the side of that rock!  Who knew my long legs and arms combined with my flexibility would make climbing so easy.  I showed those boys a thing or two! 

I found this cool marker on top of the rock.  I wonder when it was put there?

Did I mention it was our six month anniversary?  And that is how we spent it.  On top of a rock, looking out to see California on one side and Oregon on the other.  Perfect!

Roooooooad Trip!

Goodness, it's been awhile!  Sorry about that but life has just been so busy since we picked up my girls from Kansas City.

I flew home the Thursday before last.  Barbarian/Hubby had flown in two days prior to see his girls, load the trailer and get everything ready.  I arrived to find my girls having a pool party at my parents' house.  Seventeen kids total splashing around!  Oh my.  But it was great to see them having fun with their friends one last time before the move.  I received some wonderful wet hugs from my girls and their cousin.  So awesome to hold them again!

We headed out at 4:30 AM that Saturday morning.  It started out a bit dramatic.  The cats were not happy to leave the sanctuary of their home.  This resulted in Barbarian and I getting deep scratches on our arms.  Yikes!  Had to make a quick stop to get antibiotic for our wounds.  It was almost 5:30 AM before we were actually on the road heading to Oregon. 

This is Barbarian acting camera shy.  Yeah right!  Notice the lovely cat scratch on his arm.  But enough about him.  Look at the beautiful scenery behind him!  Gorgeous!

The drive was pretty uneventful.  The girls loved all the new sights!  I think they both took hundreds of photos.  They also sang and danced in their seats!  I'm really glad they got to see a different part of the country.

The cats were pretty good.  They sat under a blanket between the girls the entire first day.  They didn't want to eat, drink or anything else.  The second day one cat got spooked and started bouncing around the backseat, scratching the girls.  We had to quickly pull off the highway, catch him and put him in a kennel for the rest of the ride. 

We finally arrived here in southern Oregon around 8:00 PM Sunday evening.  We were all very tired but happy to be home.

Three Days Until Departure

Wizard of Oz has always been one of my favorite movies. And now, I myself feel very much like Dorothy. I have lived in the Kansas City area my entire life. Let's just say I'm in my 30's, shall we. I love the area. I love the landscaping. Spring has sprung and everything is green. So pretty! But in three days I will leave all of this for a new place. I am moving to Oregon. From a suburb of 84,000 to a town of 18,000.


This past weekend was rough. Full of family celebrations. Happy occasions. But they made me realize how much I was going to miss everyone. I have an amazing family! But I am excited about our new adventure. I get to live in a beautiful place. With my wonderful, new husband. My girls get to experience another part of our country. We will get to know his family better. I know that I am truly blessed!


So watch out Dorothy! I'm on my way to Oz, or in this case, OR. And I feel a tornado coming on!