Blackberries!

I can't believe people consider these weeds! I also can't believe how much we pay for them in Nebraska when they grow so abundantly in Oregon.

Home, Sweet Home

Tomorrow marks 38 years since my parents bought their house. I can't believe how many memories are wrapped up in this place. It will always feel like home.

The view down my parents' street

My parents' home

The park behind the house

My old playhouse

Another generation loving the park

In the garden

Seaside and Cannon Beach

This trip was Annie's first chance to see the beach. We made the most of it!

Tillamook

Love me some good Tillamook cheese. And ice cream! We had a fun tour through the cheese factory.

2014 Family Campout

These were taken at Nehalem Bay campground.

America, the Beautiful

Whenever we road trip, we give the girls tickets. They have enough tickets to get through the day, and pay us a ticket every 50 miles. This has completely eliminated "how much longer" and "are we there yet?"

This time around, I took a picture every time the girls gave me a ticket. This was a great perspective of our beautiful country.

Fabulous 40

It's hard living 1,600 miles away from my best friend. We've been through an awful lot since that first day of 8th grade, sitting together in the back of the science class (I wonder if we weren't seated alphabetically how long it would have taken us to become friends.)

I still giggle at our high school antics, but I'm deeply grateful for the friendship that has matured and grown (even though we have our days where we wonder if we've matured!)

We both turned 40 this year, and life didn't allow us to take the getaway we had wanted. But we still made a great day of it earlier this week, visiting all sorts of places we wouldn't normally frequent - and simply getting away for a few hours of all the responsibilities that life has brought our way.

Amazing ice cream

I had the strawberry balsamic black pepper and coconut salted caramel bar

Who doesn't love a great yarn shop?

Bonus - the mountain was out that day

So glad I made sure we had extra room in the car for our return trip

Gutian Girls

While in Portland, Dayna was able to meet up with Lindsay - a new friend from across the world. Both girls spent the first year of their lives in Gutian - a very small town (by Chinese standards) in Fujian Province. Lindsay was in town from Alaska getting ready for her big bone graft surgery.

The girls became fast friends and even plan to continue writing to each other.

15 Years

It's hard to believe that 15 years have passed since I said "I do." A lot of life has happened in those years, and I'm happy to have Dan by my side.

We spent our actual anniversary touring downtown Lincoln like a couple of tourists...reliving some favorite places from when we were dating.

Then on vacation, we splurged and ate one of the nicest meals we've ever had. We found a nice restaurant on the Columbia River and watched the airplanes take off and land while sailboats passed by our window. Did I mention the incredible seafood?

Speak Softly and Carry a Big Horn

Dan has been excited to relive his Drum Corps days this past year. One weekend each month, he has been practicing with other alumni members to celebrate the Union Pacific Railmen's 75th anniversary. They were planning to play for Omaha's Drums Across the Midlands show, but due to unforeseen circumstances, they were only able to play the national anthem during the performance. Even so, Dan had a blast and is still whistling the Union Pacific theme song.