So the last week has brought with it some big changes in the Stephan California household! I was officially offered a job this past Thursday.....Yaaaayyyy!!! I got the call while teaching my 6th graders during my long term sub job... the district sent a sub in later that morning, and I had 1/2 of Thursday and Friday to fill out paper work, clean my new classroom, set it up (as much as I could), and prepare materials for the little first grade kiddos on Tuesday morning! WheW! It was a long and semi-stressful Friday -- but my fellow first grade teachers were unbelievably helpful, and made me feel sooo much better by the time I left Friday evening. More updates to come on this however... and pictures, but for now, I have got to finish up this summer!! So let's head to Bend, my parent's new home (still crazy to think about!)..... Here's a great shot of Mt. Hood on our way down from Portland, where we spent the weekend before at my brothers' homes:
Let me tell you, we sure didn't waste any time getting straight to work helping my parents paint their new house! We were so excited to help start making it more of a home by getting some color on the walls and some decorative items unpacked.... Here's Curt getting ready to roll:
Here's mom hanging out in the great room, with the dining room behind her. All the big windows in the house are just gorgeous, and let in tons of natural light, which I love! Notice how everything is stark white and moved into the middle of the rooms..... Lot's to do, but I love a blank slate!
Already paint on the walls is making a HUGE difference... getting above the cabinets was a little tricky, as demonstrated in the photo below, but never-the-less, the warm yellow tone popped the rich color of the cabinets and wood flooring right out.
Hideous shot, but thought I would include documentation of my holding a paint brush as well. I served in the prepping (aka: taping) and edging department (aka: standing on my tippy toes trying not to paint the ceiling while my arm is shaking): not my favorite, but I was out on the whole rolling thing!
One of our favorite things about our week in Bend, (besides just being with family which was the best!), were all the incredible rain and thunder storms we got to experience.... They were crazy!! Hail one day, torrents of rain the next (as I try to show below), and incredible lighting too (documented even farther below). Anyway, the bursts of moisture were welcome relief to the heat and super fun to watch. I wish you could see how hard the rain was falling in this shot!
The rain brought out a few little friends too.... including this adorable frog! I went out and tried to hold it, and it promptly relieved itself on me (thanks a lot!). Needless to say, our time together ended before it began.
Here's a shot of the kitchen with the paint all done, including our very favorite color on the left wall, Cocoa Bean.
The great thing about where my parents live is that there are about 3 dog parks right in the area, all just a few short miles apart. Their dogs LOVE it... and my mom is so good at taking them out... usually 2 or 3 times a day for runs or walks. (Mom, I know there is a good chance I'm spelling their names horribly wrong, so sorry!)... But, here's me, Charlie, mom, and Colette:
We went into downtown Bend one night when my dad arrived for a yummy dinner out, and our walk afterwards lent us this incredible sunset shot over the Deschutes River! We just fell in LOVE with Bend.
Here's Curt, me, dad, and mom.... I love this picture with all the soft light in the background.
Here's the entry-way of their house (on the right), and the great room..... things were really starting to come along after the paint got on the walls. We started pulling out decorative items, which was so fun! Did I mention, however, that me, Curt, and mom moved the grand piano and the armoire (featured in the picture below)? Let's just say our limbs were sore for days afterward, and it looked like Curt had taken a box cutter to his forearms!! Poor thing did the brunt of the lifting -- I'm a total weakling.
A look from the great room back into the breakfast room and kitchen. Love it, love it! And there's that beast of a piano we moved. I shuddered to think about moving that thing ever again. Yeeeesh.
So while we were in Portland visiting my brothers and family, Curt snuck down to Eugene for a night to go fishing with his buddy Simon. He caught a huge Steelhead, which he promptly froze so the whole family could be lucky enough to enjoy it together later. The meal Curt made with it was out of this world! For those of you that don't know... Curt loves to cook. And let me just say, he is darn good at it.... as I tried to showcase in the picture below. I can only take credit for the salad... the fish, potato salad, and asparagus were all his, and packed with a flavor punch! MMmmmm.....
Here's Chris, Karen, Curt, my dad, mom, and I at the table ready for the fish-feast:
There was another gorgeous sunset that night... after another torrential rain storm. Love, love, love the rainy stormy afternoon's and evenings.
Hi brother!!
Karen, me, and mom..... the sun was so stinkin' bright that we all appear really peeved about something in this picture... like the blinding, scorching sun.
Me and Charlie having some bonding time, although, don't I look more excited than she does?
Colette and Charlie hanging out.... They are so cute! And let me tell you, the fact that they don't shed a hair is pretty cool.
As a final parting shot, the last night we were at my parent's house there was a WickEd thunder and lighting storm. Curt took the digital camera outside, and after taking a hundred or more pictures, was please to find he captured this awesome lighting pic!
