April Showers Bring May Flowers

April sure did fly by! And while we had some April showers, we're still having May showers. Supposedly the rain doesn't let up until the Fourth of July. Guess that's just in enough time to start up the fireworks! The weather is warming up and we're gearing up for a beautiful Oregon summer. Daniel and I have many summer trips planned, including lots of visits from family and friends. We're so glad to be the vacation destination this year!

Last month started off a little hectic for my family. At the beginning of April my (Erin) grandmother went home to be with the Lord after living a very long and vibrant life. My mom had been her primary caretaker for the past several years, and while death is not normally associated with joy, our family was thankful she went to her permanent home. This gave me a good excuse to fly back to Tennessee for a week. We made the quick trip to my grandmother's home in Mississippi for the funeral, and then I drove back with my family to Tennessee to hang out for a few days. I got to spend lots of time with my brother and sister and parents. It was nice to have a relaxing trip home since I don't get to see them as often as I'd like.

While I was in Tennessee, Daniel took the much anticipated and studied for Professional Engineer Exam. To have this over was a huge relief for him! He is confident he did well, but we won't find out until July whether he passed it or not. Thank you to everyone who prayed for him and sent encouraging emails. Since then, he has been diligently working through the Spring semester. West coast schools are on trimesters, so he'll finish up for the summer in mid-June. He has identified and began working on a project which he'll complete over the summer. After that he'll have a few hours left in the fall and graduate in December. We feel like our time here in the Northwest is just flying by!

At the end of April we enjoyed a visit from my parents (Erin) and Aunt Sue. It was a much needed vacation for them and we took them all over Oregon. We started off the trip with a night at the Timberline Lodge at Mount Hood. They were all amazed that it was the end of April and there was still a 20 foot base of snow and it was still snowing. Dad, Mom, Daniel and I skiied one morning which was fun but wet and cold. Supposedly one of the ski resorts at Mt. Hood is open year around. Wouldn't that be cool to take a ski trip in July?!? While they were visiting, we also went to several wineries in Eugene and took a trip to the coast. The weather cooperated and was just perfect. Spring is in full bloom around here now!

So, the other major recent event is that Daniel pursuaded me into doing my first triathlon. I guess since I'd done a marathon and he bought me a bike...what else was left?? I refused to do a triathlon with an open water swim (don't like the idea of not being able to see what's beneath me!) so we found one locally that the swim was in a pool. I really liked it and for my first tri did pretty well. I get lots of complements on my bike and get to brag about what good tastes my husband has! Daniel and our friend Shilah also raced...it was fun doing it with them!


We are so thoroughly enjoying the time we have here and continue to make such great friends. The reality of another move in about six months is settling in for me (Erin) and I hate the thought of leaving behind such good friends. But, we know there are so many great people to meet everywhere and look forward to the next place the Navy (a.k.a. God!) takes us.