Summertime...

There are just some things that take you back to childhood... I just spent 10 magical days back in the states. Though I spent a weekend in Seattle visiting friends and celebrating Larissa's wedding, the majority of my trip was spent in Washougal - my home town. The trip... was nothing short of neverland ... I spent my time:

- driving 80 miles and hour down the winding backroads, with the windows down, my hair swirling all over the place, and singing country music at the top of my lungs
- going for long morning runs, and then jumping in the river - with my running shoes still on
- tasting different portland beers - each one colder and more flavourful than the last (loving the new Drop Top Amber Ale!)
- falling asleep on the river deck, in a sun lounge, and waking up in a pool of my own sweat, with drool coming out of my mouth (don't you love daytime naps!!)
- floating around the river poking sticks at crawdads and letting the wind send me up river
- picking blackberry with my girlfriends... for making blackberry pie (one for me, one for the bowl, two for me, one for the bowl...)
- mexican food !!!
- lunch on the boat dock with mom ... she certainly taught me my love of hefeweisen with lemon
- falling asleep after an evening of laughter with my girlfriends... there was one afternoon with mettie, jill and heather where we really did think we were 14 again
- chopping wood with brother paul (you should see me with a machete), playing golf with my dad (i golf like i have a machete in my hand - s.l.i.c.e), and playing jokes with my brother ivan (somehow he always wins in the joke wars!)
- picking colours for the house paint with my mom and johnny - in case you think a yellow green looks good on a a 40 foot long house... i can save you the trouble and tell you it does not - the four or five neighbors who already knew about my poor colour choice before
- sleepovers! in total, i had something like 20 people stop by, and four or five different house guests during the week ... enough to drive my mother crazy! some things never change
- a bbq with the gussies... lots of food, lots of kids, lots of laughter - you know it's always going to be fun!
- smores! (for the uk folks, a smore is made up of camp-fire roasted marshmallows, graham crackers, and melted chocolate) - and yes - they are messy!
- camping!! paul and I spent a night on his new 28 acre forest... absolutely amazing... that was before he put me to work in the morning
- marathon training with Jill - because you just cannot take a vacation when you're addicted
- going into the local gas station or grocery store and running into; your old high school principal, your bus driver, a friend from t-ball, and at least 4 people you have not seen in 10 years
- a night out with met-the-jet where we listened to a local country band churn out reba remakes ... the lead singer was complete with cowboy boots, acan of beer, a little jean skirt a sultry voice, and long, long red hair
- having to remember to take a shower because you've been in the river so many times that day that you must have showered - your hair is still wet!

... Being home was a break from reality. A place where I always feel at home... and when I go there, I feel surprisingly childlike - no matter how old I am. Now that's what I call a vacation from reality

Enjoy the pics!