Bald Hill

Our hike on Sunday was at Bald Hill, which is, quite literally, a bald hill. Walking through mossy forests, ferns, and green trees, it was quite a surprise to reach the top and walk out into open, grassy space. Then the trail delved back down into the forest on the other side for the decent. It was a gorgeous day, and though not quite as warm as Saturday, we were more than happy for yet another day without rain! We will be back, as this hill is located on the outskirts of Corvallis, a mere 10 minute drive from our house.

Bald Hill

Saturday Play

Today was beautiful! With temperatures creeping towards 70 degrees, we couldn't resist a little time to play...so this afternoon we took a break from our studies and headed to Witham Park, located right in Corvallis. We hiked for about an hour and soaked up the sun!

Witham Park

A hike in Falls City

On Friday we drove up to Falls City with our neighbors and had a fun afternoon hiking.

Falls City Hike

Dave's haircut

So Dave's hair was getting really shaggy and he decided he couldn't wait until Christmas to get it cut. So we went after it ourselves. In Dave's words, "It's a good cut, but it's not as good as Mom's."

Dave doesn't like the first photo - he says the flash was too bright!


Before


After

Indie wants to read

Indie has decided that she wants to learn to read. So whenever Dave is reading for class, she jumps up in his lap and concentrates on the computer screen. We swear she's getting smarter.

Halloween

We carved a pumpkin for Halloween.

Halloween

Have you voted?

Curtains!

We have a curtain for our bedroom! Not only is it room-darkening and thermal, it was also made with lots of love from Jamie's Grandmas. I envision that we will take our extra hour this weekend and sleep in!

Climbing

Last weekend Dave went climbing at Skinner Butte while Jamie studied...who do you think is jealous of who?

October 22

We took a break from studying, ventured out of the office, and discovered a beautiful day! Our roses were flourishing, little purple flowers (we don't know what they are) were popping up all over our yard, and Indie was passed out in the sun with her paws covering her eyes.

Autumn is the best!

We took a hike with our neighbor's dog, Chike, to enjoy the fall colors...

Rachel's Birthday

Two weekends ago, Rachel's lady friends came to Corvallis from Bend and Eugene to celebrate Rachel's birthday. It was a wonderful weekend and we took a gorgeous hike in the late afternoon as the sun was beginning to set... we had too much fun taking pictures!

Rachel's Birthday

Indie and the Cold

As it has gotten colder here (and by colder we mean mid 60s), Indie has decided that she wants to be a lap-kitty. Now nearly every time we sit down (or in Dave's case, lay down) Indie seeks us out for our warmth. When we are not available, she resorts to the sunshine coming through the windows.

Bend continued

We have finally posted the rest of the photos from our weekend in Bend...click on the link below to view them.

http://picasaweb.google.com/Jamie.Petts/WeekendInBend#

Weekend in Bend

We spent this past weekend in Bend, OR. We drove there with our neighbors Matt and Rachel (and Chike of course) and got to meet a bunch of their friends there. We did a 3 mile hike on the Deschutes River, played on some boulders, explored Bend, and had a fun ride back home in a cramped car! I will post the rest of the photos soon.

A hike with friends

Our new friends (and neighbors), Matt and Rachel, took us on a hike in MacDonald forest with their dog Chike. It was an awesome hike with a pretty view and Rachel got to do some yoga poses at the top!

Hike with Matt and Rachel

New Discovery

Indie has discovered that there is a plant right outside our front door that she likes to eat. So she sits patiently at our door sometimes, waiting for an opportunity to run out and chow down - it's pretty funny!

Indie

Sometimes Indie is just too cute!

More fun with Grandma Loretta

We went on a wine tour while Grandma and Fred were here in Corvallis and had a marvelous time sampling delicious wines. The vines were just bursting with fruit!

Crater Lake

Two weeks ago we met Grandma Loretta and Fred at Crater Lake in Southern Oregon. It was beautiful! Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States and is known for its gorgeous blue color and clarity. As the day went on we were able to view its remarkable color - the pictures hardly do it justice.

Crater Lake

Our "Family"

Indie was really excited to see us after being gone for a couple days at Smith Rock. She was being cuddly so we took the opportunity to snap a couple photos!

Smith Rock

We went to Smith Rock on Monday to climb for a few days and met up with Gabriel and Jaclyn (friends of ours from Iowa City that just moved to Portland!). On our way there, we had clear weather and got a gorgeous view of Mount Washington!



Mount Washington


Click here for more Smith pictures.

Mary's Peak

We hiked Mary's Peak on Labor Day. It is the tallest mountain in the Coastal Range (it's not really that tall but it affords spectacular views and is a great hike). We think it was about 7 miles round trip and we made it down before the rain!

Click on the link below for more photos.

Mary's Peak

Mountain Biking

We went mountain biking on Thursday and stopped at one of the high points on the trail to check out the view of Corvallis below. It was spectacular riding and really close to our house - so we will be frequenting the extensive trails!

Bouldering

On Wednesday we went bouldering! We hadn't been climbing in a while so it felt really good to be back on rock.

Bouldering

Tea Shelf

Dave built Jamie a shelf for all of her teas!

Tea Shelf

Dave's Shelves

Dave built shelves for his shed. He was very happy to finally organize the shed!

Indie

This is our newest addition. Isn't she cute?

Baking a Blackberry Pie

Portland with Maura

After we dropped Rick and Lori off at the airport, we got to spend three days with Maura in Portland as we awaited Indie's arrival (the cat).

We went to the ridiculous Soapbox Derby, where people build their own cars and then race them down Mt. Tabor! It was awesome! Our favorite ones were the "Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner at the Table" Car and "Rock Band on Stage" Car. Moreover, we did a little bit of shopping, went to the Hawthorne Street Fair, a local brewhouse, and a cool vegetarian restaurant where you play Boccie ball while you wait for your food. We also got to see the campus of Lewis and Clark where Maura went to school and we picked a ton of blackberries on the side of the road!

August 16-18

Portland with Maura

The Coast - Day 3 and House Photos

Day three of the Oregon coast landed us in the sand dunes! It was a surreal experience. They went on forever and we ran and played on them for over an hour! We also saw a lighthouse up close.

At the end of the photo set are a few photos of our house.


Enjoy!

August 15

Oregon Coast - Day 3

The Coast - Day 2

Our second day on the coast we woke up to more fog. We drove into town in Newport and grabbed some breakfast. After spending some time in the little shops we decided to take a short drive down Hwy 101. Little did we know that the fog would lift and we would get sucked into the beauty of the coast! We saw big whales and the tiniest dog ever, gorgeous rugged coastal views, architecturally intriguing bridges, and ended up eating more seafood and spending the night in yet another coastal town. The beauty of spontaneity!

August 14

The Coast - Day 2

The Oregon Coast - Day 1

We made it to the coast! After a problem with the radiator in the car that delayed us a couple hours, we finally arrived in Newport. We picked a perfect day for the cool Oregon coast, as the valley was having record highs! Our motel had a private beach access trail that meandered through about 3/4 of mile worth of bizarre greenery that made you feel like you were parading through the jungle. When we actually got to the beach, the fog gave everything an eerie feel...We explored the tide pools and played on rocks before heading back up to our room.

That evening we went down to the Bay Front area and had supper at Mo's. After supper we walked along the boardwalk, explored the docks and a few shops before ending the evening at a Rogue bar where Dave was overwhelmed with his beer options!

August 13

The Coast - Day 1

A fully functional kitchen

On Wednesday morning we got up and decided to make Swedish pancakes since we had fresh blueberries and a fully functional kitchen! Mom taught Jamie how to make them. We had a slight radiator problem so we were delayed getting to the coast - but we eventually got there and it was beautiful!

August 13

A fully functional kitchen!