Willamette Pass Overnighter

This is another Outdoor Program Trip. How lucky am I to have this job!!

I forgot my camera unfortunately so bare with me while these are all cell phone photos :/

We left Klamath Falls at 6am on Saturday (2/22/14) to head for Willamette Pass Resort for a full day of snowboarding. As we passed Mt. McLaughlin the sun was just beginning to rise, giving us such a beautiful sunrise. This picture doesn't even begin to give it justice. 

When we arrived, I found the most perfect mountain.. Well for me that is;) It was perfectly groomed and sunny with blue skies.

The view from the top was absolutely breath taking. That is Odell Lake in the photo^

Eric and I waiting for Jesse

On the chairlift to the top of the mountain :) 

Panorama at the top of the mountain.

My love ♥

The bedroom at the Willamette Pass Inn. It was such a cozy room and it had a wood stove, which I love! One of the best things is going to sleep to a crackling fire with the light flickering ♥

I am so thankful to be able to go on these trips with him. Travel makes the heart grow founder ♥

At the top of the mountain again

Eric sitting on the edge of the mountain. A little to sketchy for me but such a beautiful view!

Thank you Eric for throwing a snowball at us mid picture ;)

Happy Valentines Day! Here's to all types of LOVE ♥

Once every year this day comes around when you see an overload of "I love you's" and pictures show up on your Facebook wall or in emails, stores and advertisements. It's that one day a year when a lot of woman expect their man to do something awesome for them and buy them things like candy and stuffed animals and flowers etc. But when you really sit down and think about it. Everyone makes Valentines Day all about the "love of their life" the romantic type of love. Today alone I have seen so many girls post about how much they hate this day and how stupid it is. It shouldn't be just about a romantic type of love though. It should simply be just about LOVE. Love for everyone. Tell your mom you love her, and your dad, tell your sibling, your grandma, your grandpa, and your bestfriends. Show your love through your actions. Do something nice for someone who seems to be having a rough day. Let your love shine through you as you walk past people by just simply smiling at them. It makes me sad to see how upset girls get about not having a boyfriend on this day because that shouldn't be what it is all about. That isn't what it's all about but unfortunately that is what society leads us to believe. In all honesty, it's just a silly, fun holiday. Showing someone important in your life that you love them should be an everyday thing no matter what they date is. 

  ♥  ♥  ♥

 My Little Love Story

I use to be one of those girls who thought that I needed flowers and an amazing night all set up for me by the guy I was with. Jesse Marion changed that opinion of mine though and without even realizing that he did. In the time that I have spent with this amazing man he has taught me so much about life and love. Jesse and I worked together in the Outdoor Program (OP) for almost 2 years and it was nothing more than that. When I did start to have feelings for him though, it was to say the least, very unexpected. We started working out together and going on OP trips together and we hit it off like something I can't even explain. I had just recently got out of a long term relationship so though there were some sparks, I was not looking for and wanted absolutely nothing of it. Long story short, he won my heart over like crazy. I thought in the beginning when he would do things like help me clean my house, take my dog on a walk when I didn't have time to, or give me full body massages and draw me a bubble bath after lighting candles, putting on my favorite country music and making me tea, that all of this stuff was just him trying to impress me (and it was working but I could see through it.. Or so I thought). In my eyes, it was too perfect for him to last more than a few months. But boy was I wrong. I defiantly made him work for it seeing as how it was months before I actually let him call me his girlfriend but after not only him proving me wrong about what I thought he true intentions were at first, he continued to prove me wrong about how long I thought he would last. He still to this day, almost a year and a half later, does those things for me and more. He makes me feel loved and like I am the most special girl in the entire world on a daily basis. He is literally everything I could have ever dreamed for and more. So weather he has something special planned for tonight or not, weather I get flowers and chocolate tonight or not. I am completely content. I truly could not be any happier than what he makes me. This man is my solid rock. My everything. I cannot imagine life without him. And don't get me wrong, it's not just because of the surface things that he does for me. The relationship we share is something so incredibly special it's almost unreal. I can be so open with him about things I never thought in my life I would share with anybody and he listens. We talk about our pasts, our future, our family, our worries, our fears, our goals, our ambitions, what we believe in, what we don't, what our religious beliefs are. He values family and is a strong believer in Christ. He is my other half. My bestfriend. The love of my life. I have not the slightest bit of doubt that this man is who I am going to spend the rest of my life with and I cannot wait to see where life takes us on this awesome journey called "life" together ♥

 

Mt. Bachelor Weekend Getaway

Our Sunriver Condo

I work in the Outdoor Program at Oregon Tech and because of this I have had the most awesome opportunities to go on outdoor adventures! This past weekend (February 7-9th) I led a group of 12 students to Mt. Bachelor for a two day snowboarding/skiing trip. We stayed in the Sunriver condos about 15 miles outside of Bend, Oregon, which if you have never been to before, are absolutely beautiful! I had my own personal hot tub right outside of my room on the balcony and a fire place 4 feet from my bed. This was probably in my top 3 favorite things about this weekend.

The view from my bedroom

The drive however was pretty sketchy to get there. We left Friday night at 5:30pm in the middle of a snow storm. Literally, STORM. The usual 2 hour drive took us about 3 and a half. The upside to this was that because of the storm, Saturday was a powder day! Now for most snowboarders, this would be the best thing in the world! For me though... It was the worst. This is my 2nd full year snowboarding which accounts to a total of 8 times ever snowboarding in my life. I am barely able to stay straight for a quarter of the mountain down on groomed trails. But then to add 3 to 6 feet of powder, made it miserable! It takes "snowboarding" to a whole different level. It's like learning to snowboard all over again but worse! I had to have fallen at least 30 times down the first run. After my last epic crash of three summersalts and landing on my head right before the end of the run, it was game over for me. Fortunantly, I have the BEST and most patient boyfriend in the entire world. He took me into the lodge, bought me hot cocoa with whipped cream and sat there with me while I pouted like a little baby about how much I hated the powder. And he is an experienced rider of 14 years who LOVES this kind of a day. After about 30 minutes of sitting there, I finally got over myself and went back out, thankfully the trails were a little more groomed down which made the rest of the day pretty awesome! That night we had an awesome dinner and then went hot tubing for the remainder of the night. Sunday was a pretty amazing day on the mountain. It was foggy at first but then cleared up with blue skies. I can't wait till I can make it up there again and the summit be open so I can get some pictures from the top of the mountain!

The gear car loaded and ready to hit the mountain

 ♥ ♥ ♥

Snowball fight! These grown men are like children when you put them in some snow:) 

Up on the mountain having a great time!

The shoveled out pathway to get from our cars to the condo

This man makes my heart so happy! He is by far the most patient man I have ever met in my life. He treats me like the princess I didn't know I could feel like. He is always looking out for my best interest and there for me no matter how busy he is. I could not possibly be happier than I already am ♥

The fireplace in my room. Amazing♥

Sunday around 12pm

Sunday around 2pm. So beautiful!Something you just have to be at and see with your own eyes to fully capture the experience of Mt. Bachelor♥

Photography

Photography to me isn't just a picture. It's more like a memory captured on one little piece of paper. A story told with no words. A moment in a person's life that's been frozen forever. Something for a person to look back on and laugh about, smile about or cry about. Life has a way of moving faster than any of us can handle. Before we know it, we're 13 going on 21 and it feels like just yesterday certain things happened, or certain people were still in our lives who are not anymore. A picture is that piece of paper that I can look at and remember exact moments. Pictures are what help me live with no regrets, because no matter where I am in my life today, I can look back on my photos and my scrapbooks and remember that everything does happen for a reason. People come and go and that's the way life is suppose to be. Every single person who has ever been in my life has taught me things and helped me grow and for that reason right there, I am thankful for those people, whether they're still in my life or not  ♥