Way out in the Desert having fun in the sun.

We went down to Tucson AZ to visit my dad for a while. Going from OR to AZ is usually quite a shock. One area is green and lush and the other, beige and dry. We do enjoy visiting AZ because of the fun activities to do.

 A saguaro cactus can grow to a little over 25 ft tall and can weigh as much as 1 ton. Oh yes they are big and provide life to many of the animals that live in this forsaken land.

Norah, in comparison with a vulture. They are actually huge when you stand up close to them. 

Back in the city my dad made friends with a metal artist and this guy makes some absolutely amazing metal art. 

There were way more sculptures and his whole property was full of them. 

Norah got to ride my step moms horse Cinnamon. 

Did you know that a cactus has a skelton? when they die and decay, often this structure is left behind to show what the innards of a cactus look like. 

This showed us the power and speed of a desert hawk. They fly over the desert lands and hunt small animals. Their speeds can reach 150 MPH . We got to see them in action flying and it was interesting to see. They hunt in groups also which is rare for birds. 

Winter Fun With the Family-2017

Our December was complete with a few visits from family. Brian's dad and stepmom came to visit. We headed to the carousel to ride! Here is Norah and Grandma Aran riding.

Christmas wouldn't be complete without way too many presents, but we had a good time.

Norah being silly

Harper looking cute with her Christmas outfit on.

Brian's present was a winner! He found a great marble set for Norah on Craigslist.

Brian and I finished off the year 2017 going to a Pink Martini concert in Portland. It was a great time with my favorite band. 

November 2017

Me and Harper. My cutest, youngest niece. She is a year older now. But still has a fun smile.

My other cutest niece and Norah, playing outside in November.

Norah got sick. She felt pretty yucky and that means a lot of sleep and snuggles with daddy.

The tree lighting ceremony at the state capitol was a fun outing towards the end of November. A wonderful way to get into the Christmas spirit. Which isn't too hard for me. It is a favorite time of year. Other than me turning 36 and Thanksgiving happening, November came and went. 

Fun at the farms

October is the season of apples, and pumpkins, with some other tasty treats mixed in. 

 We went to Bauman farms which is less of a farm and more of an amusement park. They had a corn maze, hay ride, petting zoo, and even hay bails in the shape of Minions.

Then it was off to First Fruits Farm where Wendy and I (and sometimes Norah) are official pickers. We mostly help with the apple harvest, but we love to help out whenever possible with other fruits. We love going there to pick and wash apples. We have turned into somewhat of a date.

Oct 4 brings us Norah's 3rd b-day. She wanted a purple cake and as you can tell she was not disappointed. We had a usual toddler party at our house. 

Time for Halloween festivities to start up. That means carving pumpkins at Diane's house. It is somewhat of an annual traditon. The question is never "where are we carving pumpkins?" but " what day are we carving pumpkins at Mi Ma's house?" 

And this is the annual picture that always gets taken after everyone is finished. 

Finally trick or treat day. Wendy was looking good as a Indiana Jones wannabe. 

Germany, One Year Ago...

Almost a year ago, right after Brian headed to Ecuador, Norah and I headed to Germany to visit our good friends that we had met while living in Russia. 

Here is Franzisca, Norah and I the first day.

Why not a pony ride while in Germany?!? We went to this fun farm/park/produce store for a fun outing one day. I loved that I got to lead the pony around in a circle with Norah on the back. Not quite how it happens in the USA.

Here is our gang in front of Sanssouchi Palace. Sven is holding Jonas upside-down, Norah is squinting in the sun, Asya, Franzisca and I looking lovely and Annabelle is in the stroller.

Norah being cute as always.

Below is the lovely palace and gardens. So much fun to walk around all these lovely places. 

Norah, in front of the Berlin Cathedral. We climbed all the way to the top and had a great view of the city!

A huge Lego giraffe, just a normal sight to see while driving through Berlin.

There were many of these bears throughout the city. The Bear stands as the city symbol and mascot. We took a picture at all the bears we could find. 

Norah and I just wandered the city on this day. We had a fun day being tourists. Actually, I wandered and Norah rode in the stroller.

I like the contrast of the church with the new, modern tower in the background. It was lovely and simple inside. 

Jonas and Norah are about one month apart in age and couldn't communicate that well due to some language differences, but they "tolerated" each other. Here they are waiting for the metro. 

Norah and I had a great time; we only stayed six days, but it was very nice to catch up with my two wonderful friends, Asya and Franzisca. It brought back great memories of Russia. 

I wish Germany and Russia were closer so we could visit more often, but I'm thankful for the time we had and look forward to future visits!

Ecuador in one post

  So Wendy and I have been REALLY bad at posting on our blog lately and we have just recently decided that we will now be somewhat consistent again. That being said, I need to backlog a few events that have happened in our lives in the past 3 months. Sooooo


 Fun time in Ecuador. I will sum in all up in one post.  Our schedule for the 3 weeks really was crazy, we were constantly travelling from this town to that town on super cheap buses and seeing such fun thing. I also drank some juice from the market and got wicked sick and lost somewhere close to 20lbs.


Ecuador really is a country of so many different regions that are made up of different climates. We hit tropical, high desert, jungle, and somewhat desolate lands. The food is crazy cheap as well as the transportation.


Staying with Samuels family really was such a better way to experience the place and culture of Ecuador. They were so sweet and giving of their possessions. Also, I felt that I got to practice my Spanish so much more because I got to know each and every one of them. Some nights we would stay up late talking or playing cards.

 This is at the top of the largest hill in the capital "Quito" . The city is at 10k ft and we ran up the hill which was super hard to adjust to at the beginning.

We went to a indigenous village and of course I could not resist playing with some of the kids. I was teaching them the slap hand game and as soon as they understood the rules, they were so excited.  

These little beetle larvae are a delicacy in the Amazon and so when in Rome so as the Romans do. 

The best way to describe them was a salty water balloon with a rotten aftertaste. But it was an experience that I won't soon forget. 

Oddly enough it wasn't the Beetle larvae that ended up giving me diarrhea, but instead, this juice did me in. It's a fruit called Guanabana which is a white fruit and the lady used tap water which I had been drinking but this time I ended up going to the bathroom 15 time that night. 

No you arent seeing things strangely. This is the real size of this avacado. 

And we went to a mariposario/butterfly house.  These guys were also quite large. 

However somehow in the land of giant fruit, this little guy showed up. He was tasty. 

I love other countries and the things you can see. Like a taxi carrying too much luggage with a sweater holding suitcases in the trunk. 

We hiked a volcano at 15k ft and I could only take 10 steps and then needed to stop to sit and breathe. Truly a remarkable experience. 

This says "We bake pork, turkey, guinea pigs, and chickens."  That's right they eat guinea pig. 

The taste was not as good as chicken yet similar in texture. Also another great experience. 

Samuel and I ran 50 kilometers in the Amazon Rainforest. It was 90 degrees by 9 a.m. !!! So brutal hot and I'm from Alaska. I don't like heat.