Kusaba's Happy Place: The Dog Park

There is definitely not a shortage of dog parks up here in the Northwest! It seems like everyone owns a dog and is so laid back, which is so awesome. In Utah, you would get a ticket if you touched foot in a park with your dog. Since we moved up here, I have started taking Kusaba to the dog park. At first he was a little hesitant to go play because, in the past, he would get in trouble for running off. Now that he actually can run off and play, he is in a whole new world. He absolutely loves going to the dog park. As we drive to the dog park, he can somehow sense it, and proceeds to stick his head out the window and violently start wagging his tail. It's definitely a toss up of who likes the dog park more, however. I (being the passionate over-the-top dog lover) find myself having just as much fun.


First things first, he has to get his sniffing in



And then he gets his play on, which consists of wrestling, running with, and neck-biting other dogs


A friendly face-off


And then his favorite ball enters the picture (hasn't been used much obviously)


He runs around even more crazy until we've had enough of the throwing. If we left it up to Kusaba we would still be at the dog park.


All in a day's work...being a dog is tough


While at the dog park, Cody and I played around with our new camera. I absolutely have no photography background, but I'm trying to get better, especially with portrait shots. So here are a couple of Cody (note to Cody...if you take these off the blog, you will pay a price). He's quite the handsome subject in my opinion. Me, on the other hand, I could use some "photogenic" lessons.

Yay! Visitors...finally.

We were so excited to finally have visitors here in Portland! Brandon and Courtney(our fellow travel buddies) came up the other day with their cute little girl, Reagan. They were only up here for one day so Cody and I showed them the best that Portland has to offer (at least in our heads)… are you ready?
1)Voodoo donuts- There is something about eating these obscenely named doughnuts that is so fulfilling.2)Winco- How we have ever survived without this grocery store is a mystery. The bulk candy section alone is as good as a ticket to Disneyland.
3)Montage Restaurant- We were all first time customers to this restaurant, but it was highly recommended by some of my friends. It was nothing short of awesome. Montage is located underneath a scary looking bridge in a dirty part of town…who could ask for anything more? Well there’s more. Montage serves gourmet Mac and Cheese. So good.

4)Lacamas Lake- In an attempt to entice Brandon and Court to move up here we took them to this beautiful lake that is ten minutes away from our house. We even offered to buy a boat so that we can go OUT on the lake if they move up here. (The pressure is on guys!)
5)Camas Airport- A second attempt to entice Brandon…he and Cody really want to build their own airplane. This airport would be a pristine location for their airplane building dreams.

Wow, what a day. Thanks for coming to visit you guys! Kusaba misses Reagan already and we do too.

Boating in Florida? Well, okay...you twisted my arm

MEET CODY'S FRIEND PHIL...
WHO WE GOT TO GO VISIT IN ORLANDO...

PHIL HAS A REALLY CUTE DOG NAMED RUDDER (one of my favorite parts of the trip)...AN INTERESTING FACT ABOUT PHIL. HE BUILT THIS BOAT....(yes, I said BUILT)
I think we are still in awe! Phil has worked for over two years now (50-70 hours weekly) to build this awesome wakeboarding boat. Now that he is finished, he plans on opening his own boat company and we just might be his first customers. He took us out on a lake near Mt. Dora, Florida and we had a blast. I am so impressed that someone could dream so big and actually turn their dream into reality. Here are a couple more pics from our sunny weekend in Florida!! Thanks for showing us a fun weekend Phil and Claudia (and Rudder)!

Suze Orman would be so proud

So I finally did it...after TWO years of talking about it. I finally set up a Roth IRA! Don't ask me what that means because I probably won't be able to tell you. All I know is that Suze Orman told me to do it in her book "The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous, & Broke". Have any of you read it? It's actually a really good book for someone (like me) who just needs to be told what to do with their money. Her no nonsense approach about finance is a good wake up call as well. I still have a TON to learn about investments, CD's, and money market accounts, but I least I got started finally. So I have a question for you fellow bloggers...Do you guys invest? If so, what good books or websites have you read that would help someone like me who is just starting out? I look forward to your comments :)

Three Years and Counting...

My how time flies. Cody and I have been married for three years as of TODAY! I am so grateful to have such a wonderful husband. He always keeps me on my toes and is always game for new adventures. Three years seems like a long time, but I still feel like a newlywed...just older and wiser. Ha ha. Okay, not really, but I definitely feel like I have grown so much as a person and Cody is a direct result of that. He is my best friend...I couldn't ask for anything better! Happy Anniversary CoCo!

"CUTE" or "COOL"...you decide

Much to Cody's dismay I am posting these pictures of him, but I can't help it...they were too cute. Actually I better not say "cute". I got in trouble the other day when I told Cody that the plane he flies is "cute". This was how our conversation went:

Me: Every time I see your plane pass the United gates at the airport I get really excited!

Cody: Why?

Me: Well, first of all, there is a chance that you are flying it and second of all, those planes are really cute.

Cody: Oh that's exactly what a man wants to hear about the plane he flies. 'It's cute'

Me: Well it is cute! It's small and cute!

So note to self and to those of you out there who also think his plane is cute...it's not cute, it's COOL. So to get back to my post. I am posting these pictures because I thought they were COOL. They aren't in any way, shape, or form "CUTE".

Today, I had the day off, so I decided to fly up to Seattle with Cody on Seaport Airlines. It was so nice to jump on a plane without having to go through security. Even a bigger bonus Cody was flying it. He did a great job flying the plane and only looked back at me once during the entire flight (very good self control). It was a beautiful flight. The skies were clear and the views amazing. When we got up to Boeing field, I really wanted to take some pictures of Cody in front of the plane. He made sure that all the passengers were out of sight and that no one else was watching. He was a little shy or embarrassed...or both. Actually, probably embarrassed of me because I was acting like a mom taking pictures of their child on the first day of school.

Me: Okay, go stand by the cute little plane and smile honey! You're a big boy aren't you!

Ha Ha...Cody is going to kill me when he reads this. And I really didn't say that. I'm actually really PROUD of my husband. He works so hard and is so incredibly smart. I think he looks super macho in these pics and very handsome. What do you think?



The bridge we cross everyday to go to work
Mount Hood...gorgeous!

A Date in Chicago

On Friday, Cody and I found out that his dad was out in Chicago on business so...we decided to go out there and surprise him! Cody's dad has always wanted us to come visit him when he goes to all these cool cities, but we have never actually done it until yesterday. Chicago is an amazing city! I wish we could have stayed longer. My favorite part of our short trip was sipping hot cocoa on the 95th floor of the John Hancock building. The view was breathtaking. I was mad that I didn't bring my tripod because I could have really gotten better shots than I did. Oh well...I guess that means we'll have to go back soon. Chicago is so full of history and has some awesome architecture. While we were there, Jerald (Cody's dad) showed us around the city with a couple of his college buddies that he went to dental school with. They took us to their old campus and told us some great stories about the city and the good ol' college days. It was fun to hear them joke around with each other.I felt bad because in the middle of us walking around the city, my feet decided to go numb. I honestly felt like I was getting frostbite and that my feet were going to fall off. Note to self: Do NOT wear paper thin flats while walking around Chicago. We ended up having to go back to Jerald's hotel so that I could soak my feet in the hot bath. How embarrassing! I don't know how Cody puts up with me sometimes, seriously. Anyway, that's where my favorite part of the trip comes in. After regaining feeling back in my feet, we all went to the "observatory lounge" (aka: bar) on top of the John Hancock building where I sipped the best hot cocoa ever. The views were so amazing and the atmosphere was so romantic (sigh). I was sad that we had to leave so soon to come back to Portland, but I'm sure we'll make it back there soon if I have anything to do with it.

Sushi Night!

INTRODUCING your chef...
CODYISHIMIKU
(When you are making Japanese food you have to change your name)

THE GOODS...
Shrimp and Salmon Tempura


MMM....SO DELICIOUS.

European cruise... Um, Yes please!!!

Thanks to our equally impulsive friends Brandon and Courtney we are headed to Europe in May for a 4 day 3 night cruise. We are leaving from the Netherlands, stopping in La Havre, France (close to Paris), Guernsey Island (a port in the English channel), and ending in London. We aren't sure what we are going to do before and after but probably something along the line of fly in to Germany or Italy, spend a couple days there and eventually take a train up to the netherlands. Then we will spend a day or 2 in London afterwards.

The best part about this whole deal is we got the cruise for a whopping $89 per person (obviously add tax and port charges), I couldn't believe it. It was supposed to be $149 but when I called he told me he could get me $89... um, yes please!!! Anyway, once we get blogsmart we'll add a countdown timer, but I just thought I had to come brag about this ridiculous deal we got!!!

Where can I get me one of these?

I love her hat! Does anyone know where I can get one? Ha ha, just kidding. I'm actually really glad that I was able to watch the inauguration today. Obama did an awesome job (aside from his oath of office stumble!). It was cool to see such a historic moment. I am interested to see what happens in the next four years. He has a lot that is expected of him and I couldn't imagine being in that position. Even though I would consider myself "conservative" I am really stoked, along with the rest of the nation, to have a new president. I think it's what our country needs right now...a fresh start. Our prayers are with him. God Bless America!!

Picturesque Portland

Tennille's parents were up here the last couple of days helping us get settled in (it was great to have you Ray and Charlene) So we went to the only cool portland places that we knew about... Multnomah Falls, and the PDX Temple. Tennille took some cool pictures, so I just thought I'd post them.