Chicago for Three

All you wonderful people: SEPTEMBER in the largest nutshell you have ever seen...

Our first grand adventure was doing the COLOR RUN here in Portland, which was a first for both of us. Running marathons isn't exactly my thing (yet, a goal that I am previously not working on...) but we dominated this 5k. And by dominate, I mean that maybe a few times I had to make Payton walk with me (but in the grand scheme of things, does that really matter?).  Anyways, here are the classic before and after pics :)

Next September stop was THE WINDY CITY! Which was pretty much 5 days of magical bliss. Seriously though--great weather, great company, great food, and GREAT birthday! And it all began with...

WEDNESDAY: We took a red eye flight and got to Chicago early Wednesday morning. First stop of the day was breakfast at Lou Mitchell's (which included both free milk duds and ice cream with the meal!). I thought it was pretty exciting....then of course we had to shop on Michigan Avenue and see THE BEAN.

Obviously we had to document our first plane ride together...

...and take 5 billion pictures with the bean.

And I can't forget the pizza for lunch. That DEEP DISH though...

THURSDAY: was just AMAZING. This year was actually the first year I didn't celebrate my birthday with my twin sister, but it was a wonderful time spending it in Chicago with my new family! It's a birthday tradition back home to have donuts for breakfast (my Mom even said she got donuts that day in honor of Alexis and I, hundreds of miles away), so in the morning we got donuts, for lunch we got Chinese (because it's my favorite) and then there was DINNER....

They kept it a surprise to where we were going, but we showed up at the Hancock Building, and 95 FLOORS LATER we reached the restaurant at the top, called the Signature Room. How cool is that? Great dinner with a great view :)

The view from my seat :)

(the view from someone else's seat...)

and lastly ladies and gents: the view from the BATHROOM

Happy Birthday dinner to us!

After dinner we went with a family friend who showed us where he works, which happened to be at the largest luxury car franchise in the world. We saw row after row of Bentleys, Ferraris, Maseratis, Lambourginis, Rolls Royce, Mercedes Benz, and the list goes on... The car below happens to be 1 out of 9 in the world. I can't actually remember what it was called though. We got to sit in multiple cars and it was pretty sweet! (-Payton)

FRIDAY: was CUB game day! Complete with Cub shirts, Cub hats, and Chicago dogs all around. And no better game then one against the Dodgers!

Got us some sweet shades.

Behold...

THE CHICAGO DOG. 

Basking in it's glory (and actually pretty good!)

SATURDAY: Highlight of the day was our Architectural Kayak Tour. We got to kayak on the river that goes through the city, and see all the cool different buildings. It was amazing fun!

DO YOU SEE THIS? Beautiful.

SUNDAY:  Sadly, our last day. Amongst saying goodbye to friends and family, we ended our vacation with a Garrett's popcorn trip because I LOVE POPCORN. We were happy to take a little piece of Chicago back home with us :)

Classic Chicago popcorn: Caramel and Cheddar Cheese mix!

So there it is. September in a nutshell. And Chicago: we miss you. Until next time!

Love,
us

M4NTHS

4 months of marriage means about 4 months in Portland, and the summer is coming to an end. This is the first Fall in 16 YEARS where I DON'T HAVE SCHOOL! Which kind of means a longer summer, right? But at the same time, I went to Bath & Body Works the other day and smelled the most DELICIOUS candle (Pumpkin Caramel Latte) and I just about died--so although I don't want summer to end, I also want fall to start! Anyways, the summer has brought us many adventures, and so here's a picture book version of our latest and greatest (heads up: TONS of pictures!)

People from Payton's work put a Softball team together, so here's to my first softball season ever! Of course, Payton was a stud out there.

Part of the team! Photo credit to Melanie :)

Typical Sonic run after a game :)

My sister graduated from the Utah College of Dental Hygiene! So a Utah road trip was in order.

bff Alex graduated as well!

We went on a muddy razor ride in Utah with the fam, and it was the grandest of times!

We hiked to the Timp caves..

...and ended our adventure by going to Hokulias.

Of course we had to go to Cafe Rio...

...and obviously Slab as well :) Yay for Utah trips!

Then, a couple of weeks ago, Payton and I paid a visit to the Portland Rose Garden, because who doesn't love an impromptu stroll through scented heaven? Seriously though, I'm in love with the smell of roses! Just a peak at some of our favorites:

(and I didn't even edit these!)

So here's a story for you. Payton went to San Francisco last week for a few days on a business trip, and as a result, I was just looking for things to do. One Wednesday night I was reading a book on our couch, and I heard some loud music coming from a few blocks outside. So naturally, I had to go see what was going on over in our hood. I walked to the park that was down the street, and there had to be a couple thousand people there enjoying food booths and a free concert!  I had to know more, so I asked a random lady what the shindig was all about, and she said the park holds a free concert every Wednesday night over the summer. WHAT?? I was already telling myself "I can't wait till Payton is back so we can go to one next week" when she then said this was the last week they were doing it until next summer. Of course that would happen to me. But I didn't let the bad news stop me from enjoying the "here and now" so I decided to go into the middle of the crowd and dance the night away all by myself (except for the fact I tried to find a place where other single ladies were dancing so I wouldn't appear so "alone and single"). I spent a while singing along to POUR SOME SUGAR ON ME, SWEET HOME ALABAMA, ANY WAY YOU WANT IT and YOU SHOOK ME ALL NIGHT LONG, until the concert ended and the field lights came on. Which meant the entire field went from "concert lights" to "as bright as can be." Which meant time for me to leave because I didn't want all of Lake Oswego to know that I went to a concert all by myself. But really, it was great fun and now I can't wait till next summer!

And then there was Labor Day weekend. (September is clearly the best month...a holiday, my birthday, a mix of summer and fall...perfection to say the least!) Anyways, Payton and I went to Bend this past weekend, and it was great just like it always is!

We hiked the butte, which is where we got engaged last November! Perfect view of the city.

Also went putting with these peeps...

and spent Saturday paddle boarding and kayaking with this guy of mine :) 

So don't worry guys, you are now up-to-date! And within the next few weeks, we will be doing the COLOR RUN and going to CHICAGO, so stay tuned all you wonderful people! And since I have to end with my latest projects...

I made this as a wedding present for one of my best friends from BYU. Half of the heart is where he is from, and the other half is where she is from :) Shout out to Ryan & McKenzie!

We love you all,

us

The Great Outdoors

So many adventures in the past few weeks! Between that and briefly forgetting you have a blog to update...here's the past month of our lives! Taking it all the way back to the beginning of July, we decided to go to Bend for the 4th of July weekend. Payton's grandparents live there, and it was time for a mini vacation. We celebrated AMERICA by going golfing, attending a barbecue, and of course watching the fireworks that were sent off from the butte. Seeing as I don't golf, I took on the role as designated driver. But one day guys...one day you will see me out there, with the cutest matching golf outfit you have ever seen. But until then...I'll just enjoy my view :)

Happy Birthday America!

and FLASHBACK from last year! when we first started dating :)

For some reason I also wanted to go floating down a river real bad, so we added that to our Bend adventure!

We also went blackberry picking the other day, which is always fun to do. Brought back childhood memories picking them with my sisters and mom! The farm we went to had SO many types of berries to pick, but I wanted to get blackberries because they are one of my favorite fruits. It wasn't until after our adventure, though, (and after paying for the fruit) that we found out blackberries are considered a weed here and we can pretty much pick them a billion places for free...but hey, it was worth the laugh and immediate gratification of a homemade blackberry cobbler!

 HOME. MADE.

Flashback to the more recent past, we went on a camping trip with Payton's grandparents in Washington, and made an impromptu drive to Mt. St. Helens. At least we can say the bottom half of it was looking gooood.

love these two wonderful people!

Helped churn the ice cream, and decided to chop my hair off:

Got to camp right next to a river! 5am motor boat wake up call, cause some dudes had to go fishing or something...but it was a beautiful view!

tent and cooking grounds! dutch ovens are the best.

Last but not least, Payton and I finally went on a hike together, and Saturday was the perfect day to go (I recently made a Chacos purchase, so pretty much I'm ready to hike anything). We started out the day by hitting up the Lake Oswego Farmer's Market (I'm becoming obsessed with farmers market samples!) and then we headed to the Gorge to hike our lives away and get an endorphin boost. We wanted to hike Oneonta Falls, but it was closed due to a rock slide. We were pretty bummed at first because we were excited for the "water" hike, but we hiked Horsetail Falls instead because we hadn't hiked that one either. And surprise! Water hike it was :)

 It tested our strength...

our balance...

our agility...

our endurance...

and it was beautiful!

Us with Ashley and Robbie! So glad they were able to join us.

But really though, that hike was BOMB. There was even a spot where we were able to jump in!

And there's no better way to end a great day than with great food. You guys. TACOS. If you are looking for a place to satisfy that craving, check out POR QUE NO and FEAST.  Their tacos were delicious! And rather photogenic...

NOW on a different note, my latest and greatest:

I wasn't kidding when I said Pinterest and I were going strong--constantly taking our relationship to the next level. As a quick explanation, Payton and I met in Provo UT, were engaged in Bend OR, and got married in Los Angeles CA! Yay for crafts!

That's all for now you lovely people.  Until next!

Love,  

us