Vaaaacation and Happy Birthday Zoey

My second trip to Oregon was amazing!  I went and stayed with Mom and Dad from Aug. 24 - Aug. 31.  We went to the Columbia River Gorge, Mount Hood, Mount St. Helen's, the coast, the mall, the thrift store, and my new favorite store IKEA.  Everything was so much fun; I started to wish I was a mountain climber/parasailer/surfer. I also got to be the first one to stay in Mom and Dad's new house.  It was very pretty, although very hard to get out of the car (you'll see why when you get a chance to visit them).  Also, it was very disappointing when I got my camera out for this first picture and discovered it had been broken by the airlines.  I will now be more careful when packing.  So, Mom and Dad let me use their camera.  Here are some pictures from my trip:

This is us on my second day there after shopping all day with mom. This is their patio in the backyard before we got attacked by bees.

This is me and dad on our journey to see the waterfalls.

And Mom and I at one of the falls, and some lady that needs to get out of the picture.

This was my favorite waterfall because you can wade in the water where it comes down.  It's called Ponytail Falls...no actually that's just what I call it...I think it's Horse Tail Falls. It was the last fall to see, and Mom and Dad explained to me..."Oh, this is the last one, we just drive by it."  I told them I wanted to get out and see it...little did they know it was such a cool waterfall!

This is a barge we got to watch go thru the lock at the Columbia River Gorge.  It was very cool to watch and we just happened to be there when a boat needed to pass thru.

This is when we stopped to watch all the parasailer's (the time I wished I was one).

This is Dad and I at the most beautiful lake I have ever seen.  It was near Mt. Hood as you can see.

This is me in the snow on Mt. Hood.  Yes, it was one extreme to the next - from wading in a lake to playing in the snow.

This is Mom and I when we went to Mt. St. Helen's.  It was very cool because we got to hear about the explosion of the mountain and actually hike on a trail in the mountains. (This is when I wished I were a mountain climber.)

This is Mt. St. Helen's. You can see the whole side of the mountain exploded off.

Mom and Dad so lovingly walking on the mountain trail.  The trail is paved here, but quickly changed to a sandy dust trail.  My shoes were no longer black after we finished.

This is Dad pondering the awe and wonder of Mt. St. Helen's.

This is all of us in the middle of our hike.

This is another beautiful lake, but this one is near Mt. St. Helen's.

This was the day at the coast.  We grilled shish kabobs and smores with blueberries and coconut. The ocean is behind Dad but it's a little to bleached out to see.

This is mom eating one of the smores.

Dad and I on the rocks at the beach

A beautiful picture of the beach

Me frolicking in the ocean (freezing cold might I add).  You can't see any surfers here but there were a lot of them (this is when I wished I were a surfer).

The rocks at the beach (Mom took this one and I thought it was very pretty.)

Mom and Dad on the rocks at the beach

So as you can see, I had a very amazing trip.  We did so many fun things.  Special thanks to Mom and Dad for letting me come and for taking me everywhere!

As for a little furry somebody's birthday...

Zoey's birthday was Sept. 1 and she turned one.  Here are some pictures of the celebration:

First we went on a birthday walk.

Here is Zo Zos in her birthday hat. ( I know it's amazing I got her to do this.)

Me and Zos in our cone hats, but not very good quality picture

Here is what I got Zoey - her cake, card, and a wrapped present.

Zoey eating her cake

Zoey opening her present...yes, Rachel, she did open it all on her own!

Here is what was inside...a squeaky hamburger toy!

This is her card

This is her playing with LJ...he wouldn't put on a cone hat, but surprisingly he did join in when I sang happy birthday to her...I also got him to sign the card.  Also to my surprise, Dad called and sang happy birthday to her, as well as Rachel and Jag.

Yes, Mom...I know she's a dog, but she's my baby!!

New Blue and a House Too

Well, the Chevy Metro (little silvy as I called him) finally bit the dust.  Dying in the drive-thru on a scorching hot Missouri day was the last straw.  Luckily, the same day I was able to get New Blue.  New Blue is my new Ford Focus that's pretty much a Mercedes to me.  I have electric windows, excellent air conditioning, and a cool sounding blinker.  It's also an updated look, although only 1 year newer than my old car.  Anyway, here's the new car (new to me that is).

+

Also, I'm in the process of buying a house.  The set up is really nice, with an upstairs and a basement.  I'm very excited to close on it on October 3.  It has a fenced in backyard for Zoey and lots of storage space.  The house is not too far from where I live now, either.  Here is a picture with the stamp of official-ment.  :)  There's no available pictures of the house online anymore.

 And this is a really big bug I found in my bedroom.  It was scary cuz it jumps.

The Patio

I have gotten all my plants planted for spring.  I mostly have flowers already bloomed, but also have wildflower seeds I planted that are sprouting.  In addition I have a tomato plant, strawberry plant, and chives.  My strawberry plant is just starting to sprout.  When I first got the flowers, Zoey bit all the blooms off.  I have most of them up high now, although she doesn't seem as interested as when they were new.

Can you guess what is in this first picture?  He lived here for a couple days until Zoey found him and licked him so much he moved away.

 The bottom pot is the one I planted wildflowers in.

 Hibiscus tree...used to be a palm but died over the winter.  As you can see Zoey is already getting in to it.

 From left to right: Strawberry plant (well seeds still), chives, tomato.

 Zoey liked the red lilly; she picked the petals off one by one.

 Zoey looking so innocent....yeah right.

Zoey also got her first haircut recently.  All of her black coloring is gone.  Here are some before and after pictures.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Holidays

As most of you know from Mom's blog, Zoey and I went to Portland for Christmas.  Zoey did very well with the plane rides.  I was worried sick on the way there that she would start barking on the plane and I would have no way to stop her.  Luckily she was fine and slept the whole way.  We had a very fun time in Portland with Mom and Dad.  My only complaint was that it was too short.  We tried to squeeze holiday celebration and cooking in with a vacation.  We saw the mountains, touched the ocean, looked at waterfalls....cooked Christmas goodies, ate Christmas dinner...it was the best!  We plan to try to go back in the summer...as long as Zoey is still welcome!  She was good for the most part...just a couple incidences!  Zoey and I were sad to leave.  We loved our presents from everyone, especially the unexpected gifts from Becky, Gabe, and Jerren.  Zoey really loved openning her own presents, she didn't want to stop ripping the paper even though it was already off the present.


I love this picture of Zoey.


This was Whitney, Christina, and my Christmas party- this is what they got me.
My new bedspread from Mom and Dad

New years was good.  Whitney and Christina came over to celebrate.  I made crab legs, shrimp, and mashed potatoes.  We also had peanut brittle, snack mix, and rice crispie treats I made.  I decorated the tree with balloons, noise makers, hats, and confetti poppers.  The minute we yelled happy new year, Zoey ran under my bed and wouldn't come out the rest of the night.  I finally got her out, with much difficulty and resistance. 

The tree half decorated because a little someone will mess with it.

Notice the flower in my hair: I made it with Mom on Christmas.

Zoey didn't last until midnight!

Zoey has been doing well on her tricks...she has now learned "shake".  She loves all her new toys she got for Christmas.  The penguin ball from Rachel and the lion from Mom and Dad seem to be her favorites.  Whitney, Christina, and I drew dog names, and Christina's dog Petey had Zoey.  He got her a very cute KU jersey and a bone!  She is barking a lot more, especially at people that walk by "her yard".  But she seems to like other dogs.  We were at Petsmart this weekend and she made many friends as we walked around. 

We had our first real snow of the winter last night, which Zoey nor I are very fond of.  It took a little while to get to work this morning, but I left early and made it on time.  I am about to ask my boss to leave early (I'm on lunch break now).  Then I will add pictures when I get home!
Matching vests!