Our travel sign

Finally I get to share our sign with you! We seriously started this project over a year ago! It is a labor of love for sure. Buy wood... cut wood... paint boards... google mileage from Sandy... paint letters, making sure the arrow points the right direction... then figure how on earth to put the thing together. Not to mention making it stand up straight and stay put. Phew. 

But then we stood back and surveyed all our hard work and it was so worth it!

These are some of our favorite places. We obviously couldn't list every city we've visited together, so we picked the most memorable. We stuck our new masterpiece on the edge of our yard and I snapped some photos. 

My parents gave us this idea. They made one a few years ago and we loved it so much. Had to make our own. Ours is more neutral colored than theirs, which blends better in our smallish yard. 

Traveling has taken a backseat to raising children; one of the sacrifices made so I can stay home and raise them myself. Worth it. But I love sitting on our deck and looking at all these great memories. Some made with the kids, many before we had them. We look forward to adding to our sign, as life permits... not a lot of space for more boards, however. Guess a longer 4x4 post would have been wise. ;)

Apple picking

Yesterday the fam and I took a little day trip over the mountain to Hood River and the cute surrounding towns. It's so beautiful over there! Plus we had an absolutely gorgeous day. Clear skies, orchards everywhere you look, and Mt. Hood towering seemingly right next to us.

We visited two orchards, Kiyokawa Family Orchards, and Draper Girls Country Farm. At Kiyokawa they greeted us as we walked into the huge green barn, filled with countless varieties of apples and pears, pumpkins and other produce. Plus a cooler with fresh apple cider, and shelves of jams, spreads and preserves. We told them we were first-time apple pickers, and were given a map of the property and recommendations as to which apples to pick. We were also told to taste any apples we wanted! We loaded Ty in a red wagon and pushed Beckham in the stroller, and set out for the fields. But first we had to stop at the cute kids play area so the boys could ride the John Deere tricycles and climb in the fort.

 Once out in the orchards, we were in awe at the different varieties and the fact that we could just pluck an apple right off the tree and take a bite. We fell in love with several-- Empire, Gala, Jonagold, and especially Honeycrisp. Ty sat in the wagon finishing off each taster apple. We picked maybe 15 pounds total, and I have big plans to try my hand at homemade apple butter. We also brought home some mini white pumpkins to decorate my table, some green beans, a jar of pumpkin butter (oh, yum), and a bottle of apple cider. Loved this place! Can't wait to go back again!

At Draper Girls we had fun browsing the antiques scattered around and throughout the barn, petting the goats, and swinging on the huge swing out back. They also have a vacation rental home on the property! What a cool place that would be to stay. 

The boys had so much fun. So did hubby and I. 

I'll post once I figure out how to make this apple butter, one of my favorite things!

The mysterious 'sign'

Here I am, finally sharing the much-mentioned but never-before-seen sign! I've been calling it a 'sign' for lack of a better term... I guess you could call it a directional sign?

A few years ago my mom came up with the brilliant idea to make her own directional sign as an anniversary surprise for my dad... but each individual sign would point to one of the many places they have traveled together over the years. She did most of this by herself! Cut the boards, brought them to my house to keep it a secret from him... then we painted and lettered each one. My dad, of course, was thrilled with this gift. He built the cute topper and they "planted" it in a prominent location.

I think this is just about the coolest thing ever. A conversation piece and reminder of all those fun memories. Ever since they finished it Mike and I have been wanting to make our own. Sadly, ours will have way fewer boards. But that's (almost) 6 years of marriage vs. 34 years of marriage. We have time to catch up! 

We've been working on our sign for a while now. It's finally almost done, and I can't wait to finish and share it!

A few places I'd like to add to our list.

She did a lot of fun, tropical-inspired colors since many of their travels have centered around tropical locations.

So cool. All the mileage is calculated from their house in Boring. Yep, there is a town named Boring. On purpose. And, unfortunately, it's aptly named. 

What, you may ask, is that building in the background? 

No, not the house. Not a guest house. Not really a shed, although it has a small shed in the back.

It's a pub! 

See, this is what happens when you live in a place called Boring.

You have to build a pub. With 2 (sometimes homebrewed) beers on tap. And a custom wood bar. And electronic dart board.

Check back tomorrow for a photo tour of this super cool little building!

Baby food

The biggest (and only) downfall I've discovered of making my own baby food is that it doesn't come in handy little jars, ready to toss in my diaper bag. I've got to package it up in little containers. Not a big deal at all, and so worth it. But boy, is it easier since I found this set! It's by Sassy, and you can get it at BabiesRus, or click here. The small dishes nest inside the larger one. Perfect for a couple different purees and some cheerios or puffs. Plus the spoon clicks to the inside of the lid, and I even fit a folded up bib inside! I've been using a big zipper bag to hold all my little containers, bib and spoon when we go out, that way I have a place to put the dirty stuff when we are done. But this way I don't waste a bag and its so much neater and more organized! Love it!