Happy Thanksgiving!

We drove down to California to have thanksgiving at TJ and Autumn's with Andy (Joey's Cousin) and Andi, and Chris, friends of Joey's. It was really fun to see TJ and Autumn's house. They live on a vineyard and take care of it and in return are given housing. In the winter they work on projects around the house like updating the house and making a outdoor shower and sauna.

We had a fun visit, and on our way home went up the coast. Stopping in the Redwoods to hike down to the beach, to watch the sunset, which was amazingly beautiful.

I have never seen this type of mushroom before.

I thought they were very cute.

My cute ingenius husband cooked fresh mussels over our little bonfire.

On the way up the Oregon coast we saw this lighthouse that neither of us had been to ( I forget which one it was...) . We chose not to take the time and stop at all of them, most of them were closed anyways. But it was still fun to see.

Trip to Utah

Joey and I made a quick trip to Utah for an early Thanksgiving with my parents and all but one of my sisters and my brother. It was just a weekend trip, but it was so good to see everyone.







My parents invited everyone to come for a walk Saturday morning before our big Thanksgiving Dinner, so what I had in mind was a nice leisurely stroll so I wore cute shoes, what they had in mind, however, was a speedwalking marathon... requiring more athlethic type shoes. Needless to say I ended up with blisters... and I felt like a little kid, who couldn't keep up. It was still nice to be out in the fresh air.

I invited my favoritest friend, Anna Brinegar to come for our Thanksgiving and we got to hang out for the weekend. It was great to be able to spend time with her. She was my closest friend in college, and now that I live in Oregon we don't see much of each other.

Sunday we went downtown to Temple Square and listened to the Spoken Work. It was Joey's first time there, we had a fun time going for a quick wandering through the Visitors Center at Temple Square.

We kept ourselves busy and even squeezed in a visit to Joey's sister Shani that lives in West Point. We drove up to Snowbasin and had breadbowls and soup. mmmm mmmmm good!

I absolutely loved hanging out with Kendall, Shani and Pete's baby. It is so fun to see her personality develop.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Raine's birthday, and other fun in NC

Although it felt too short we had a wonderful visit. We played at the park, of coarse had birthday cake and presents, Played apples to apples for kids, went hiking at Chimney Rock, and generally enjoyed being together. Here are some of my favorite pictures.

a succinct little sentence

Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

This saying was attached to a tea bag in my cup of tea I drank while in North Carolina visiting Ocean, Raine, and Lakye (pictures to follow). I really enjoyed this saying. It reminds me no matter what the situation is, there is always a right choice to be made to better myself.

Other pictures not yet posted

Joey's Birthday

For Joey's birthday I made a very tasty vegetable Lasagna and fruit cheesecake. I have never made lasagna on my own before, it was very fun, and it turned out wonderfully. It was a weekday so we just hung out at home and watched a movie. His big birthday present is our trip out to visit Ocean, Raine. and Layke. in North Carolina, which is coming up soon.

Hanging out in Corvallis

Every year Corvallis has a Fall festival, this year we attended since we were in town. We rode our bikes to the festival, there was music, food, and LOTS of people. Living here I have become used to the quieter life of a smaller populated area. It is events like this that I really notice how unaccustomed to Salt Lake City I now am... We enjoyed the music and danced for about an hour. We stayed for awhile, then headed to the disc golf course at the south end of town. We were happily surprised to find another music festival at the skate park that we stayed to enjoy, catching the end of it. It was a fun weekend, and very fun to enjoy Corvallis by bicycle. We stopped by our favorite Chinese Buffet, which just so happened to be directly on our way home. A very nice way to spend a Saturday.

Climbing Middle Sister

View of Middle Sister from the D. Wright Observatory

We did this about a month ago, but it is definitely worth posting late.

September 20, 2009 we summited the middle of the Three Sister Mountains, near Bend, Oregon. Elevation of 10,047. For Joey and I this was our third attempt.

The first attempt we had a long ways to hike in because the road that provided the most direct approach was closed. We hiked in Friday night, and basically hiked continuously the whole weekend, totally about 30 miles. We were about an hour or two from the summit, but because it was getting late we as a group, we went with two other people, decided to turn back so as not to descend in the dark.

The second attempt was Labor Day. It was just Joey and I. We took started at the Obsidian Trail head. We had a good time, despite the weather - rain and wind. Camped at about 5000 feet. When Sunday morning we awoke to snow, and more bad weather so decided to turn back, vowing that we would be back.

The third attempt was the successful one. The weather was decent, only a small amount of rain. It was even warm enough we found a small lake and went swimming. It was Joey and I, and Joey's father, John.

Here are some pictures:

Dinner at Base Camp

One of the stunning views while climbing

Nearing the Top. If you look closely you can see John on the trail below the glacier.

Hiking on a glacier

Pictures from the Summit

I will go ahead and be honest. This was really hard. I hated it while I was doing it. But there is something to be said about doing what you view as nearly impossible for you. More than the physical, it really pushes your mental limits. In order to make it to the top I had to shut my brain off. I used all my energy getting to the top. The problem with that is that the summit is only the halfway point. It takes a lot of mental strength to continue, even when you don't want to. Now that it is all over with, I am very glad that I did this. I encourage everyone to try something you think is impossible. It is a very powerful experience. Like us, it took three tries to summit. Its not always about whether or not you succeed, but what you learn along the way, and that you keep trying.

Another thing I love

The Farmers Market. Basically the Farmers Market is awesome anytime, but is less busy and seems more relaxed during autumn. We are lucky here due to the temperate weather, the Farmers Market runs through most of November. And after that they have a indoor winter market.

My cute wonderful husband and I bought something from every booth. It was so much fun, and very tasty. We bought a wide variety of squash, many I have never had before. And several types of potatoes. It will be challenging to eat all the fruit and veggies that we got, but we are up for the challenge. Winter is coming, so why not enjoy fresh veggies why they are still around?

I loved this sign, and it reminded me of my good friend Anna.

2 for 75 cents, plus a cute sign, we couldn't resist.

Beautiful Farmers Makret flowers, cheering up our bedroom.

Autumn

I love autumn. I think this is the first year that for whatever reason I was looking forward to the transition to autumn. I also love the word Autumn. I vow to never say Fall again.

Things I love about autumn:

Knitting. I have developed a new passion for knitting. Hats and scarves is what I am starting out with, but the possibilities are endless.
Autumn food. Squash, soup, pumpkin bars. I love cooking and having the aroma fill the entire house. I love trying out new recipes.
Reading. There is nothing better than curling up with a husband, a blanket, and a book. Currently I am reading Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck. A great read.
Going for Walks. The weather is crisp and sunny, and perfect to wear a comfy jacket.
Autumn Leaves. The colors are so magnificent. It is so fun to see the trees get all dressed up for the season, as if going out to a fancy dance.
Socks. I didn't wear sock for the entire summer, with only one exception I can think of. That being hiking where there was snow and glaciers. I greatly under appreciated socks. Socks are comfy and warm, and just the right addition to a crisp autumn day.

We Moved!

We moved at the begining of the month, and for those who are interested here is our new mailing address:

Darby and John Concannon
3280 NE Lancaster #4 Corvallis, OR 97330

I don't know what it is, but I love having changed my name, and us having the same name...

Our Wedding

Our wedding was wonderful! Even the weather cooperated. I am still waiting to get pictures back from our photographer, but I do have a few from family members. Thanks to all you that came for our happy weekend. It was so nice to have so many of our friends and family there!

Here are the pictures that I do have so far.

Funny Story: when I was dancing with my dad he apparently had blue frosting on his fingers, which was transfered to the back of my dress. One of the relatives ran in with a napkin and took care of most of it. I think its hilarous.

Joey and his dad

Joey and his mom

Fathers Day

Ok, so I am a little bit slow on posting pictures lately, but the important thing is that I get them posted right?

In the morning we went to the Skate Park. The kids love running in the bowl, they are all able to get themselves out, which is really pretty impressive. They brought their bikes and Joey and I skated. It may sound impressive "I skated" but I have not skated enought to even go down the ramp into the skate park, its all basicly flat ground for me. Although after skating we all went to a nearby coffee shop and I skated there. I was very proud of myself.











Later I made a nice spaghetti dinner, and then went to a Corvallis Knights Baseball Game. Although it was a little bit long for the kids attention span, we brought toys for them and bought popcorn to keep them occupied. I remeber when my parents took us to a baseball game when I was a kid. I though it was the most boring thing ever, I remembered this so we came prepared.








Several times there was a fly ball that popped out of the field, and on to the sidewalk behind where we were sitting. Raine and Ocean would run down to try and find it, until the end when older kids stayed down there waiting.

Ocean is so much fun. She is getting old enough she like to dress well, and likes having cute outfits. You can't really tell but she is wearing a dress with a white tank top over it, with khakis underneath. I didn't help her at all, she put it together by herself. It was the cutest thing. I don't think I could pull it off. I also don't think I dressed that well at age 10. She was a little bit frustrated because she didn't have a jacket that really matched. She also helped me pick out my outfit, and accessories. I was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, but that just would not due. I ended up with my cute jeans, layered tank tops, a jacket that coordinated with my necklace, and sunglasses that matched.

The Knights won, it was really fun game to watch even though sometimes baseball can be pretty slow. At the end of the game, kids are allowed to run the bases. Layke fell asleep during the game, but perked right back up to go run the bases.

Its kind of funny, but I don't have any pictures of Joey... the Man of the Day. I had one, but he wan't wearing his hat, which he is very sensitive about... and I would be in trouble with posting.

So overall it was a great day. Step-motherhood (officially in one month!) can be difficult, but I wouldn't trade for the world. It was fun to help the kids make cards, and to teach them how to express appreciation and gratitude, and to help them realize how much their dad does for them.