Spring In Pictures

It's the first day of Spring! I can't wait for those warm evenings when Ben and I sit on the porch drinking beer and heckling the neighbors. Now that's good times. Spring is always a busy season for us. Stuff always happens. Let me explain and illustrate with way too many photos. I don't think I have ever been brave enough to post this many photos of myself for all to see.

Sad News - Ben's childhood cat passed away this week. His name was Bob. He was the toughest cat ever. He killed a baby bird on Mother's Day. You can't get any tougher than that. This is a photo of the last time Bob and I spent some time together. It was just after the famous Mother's Day massacre. He was tired from the hunt so he let me pet him.

April marks the 2 year anniversary of the purchase of our house. This was just 6 months ater we moved to Oregon, and our very first non-condo piece of real estate. Since then we have done tons of renovations, met some awesome neighbors, and basically just thoroughly enjoyed living here. This picture was taken on moving day. It's amazing how barren it looks compared to now. Thank god for Ben's green thumb.

It was 3 years ago this spring that we made our very first trip out to Oregon. I was considering taking the job I have now, but was totally having a horrible time on my visit. Absolutely everything went wrong. We were having such a horrible time that we decided to just say "Screw it" and drove to the beach. We had already decided not to move here, I'm not exactly sure anymore what the resons were for that decision. All I know is that when this picture was taken I had never felt so lost in my life.

Our friend Collin is coming to visit. We have known Collin since college, although he didn't attend our college. His girlfriend was my roommate. We all adopted Sophie together when we were living together. Then Ben and I got our own place, Collin broke it off with his girlfriend, and we got Sophie in the divorce. We only get to see Collin like once a year.

April marks the one-year anniversary of the worst dinner in the history of dinners. We were visiting our friends in San Diego and thought that it would be fun to get all dressed up and go out to a fancy restaurant. 2 of our friends were 90 minutes late. The waiter was rude and treated us like children. The food tasted like ass. One of the people in this picture was incredibly annoying. This list could go on and on. But it was definitely one of the more memorable nights in the recent past...it was that bad. We managed to get the bus boy to take this picture of us, to comemorate the crap that was that evening.

My parents always visit in April. Last year, we went to the Rose Garden. My Mom absolutely loves roses, so I thought it would be fun for her to see a giant city garden full of them. At one point we were walking and she stepped in a big pile of poo. My Dad took a picture of the event. This is why I am so much like my father, we have the same sense of humor. We will always have this picture to remember their visit.

2 years ago this spring, I bought my CRV. I have always driven hand-me-down cars either from my brother or my parents. This was the first brand new car that I bought with my own money. It helped us move into our house. Ben drives it now since I have my company car. But even when I drive my Mercedes, I still miss my CRV. There's just something about it, knowing it's yours.

Finally, yes this is the last one...hiking season begins! Now, I know. Technically you can hike almost any time of year. But spring is the best time for me. You catch glimpses of new leaves and flowers popping up, the air is incredibly clear and fresh and the trails are not as crowded as they get during the summer months. I think Ben and I spend almost every spring weekend hiking. And we always take pictures of ourselves doing so.