Dear Marissa,

If you're out there, silently reading my blog, never commenting - I miss you.
Getting ready for school is not the same without you. And we never got to have a goodbye get together so I could make cake, and now I have to make cake without you.
Who am I going to write notes to and doodle with during faculty meeting? Who is going to justify my need for treats? Who is going to understand my feelings towards Biggest Loser Workouts?
You're missed, and Phoenix is too hot for anyone.

Update...

If Jamie can do it, so can I....

It's been a busy month for us. I've been gathering my school supplies, keeping up on my weeding and sneaking in a bit of baking. We also went on some hikes, took a great road trip to Oregon, saw the hot air balloon fest (yes, that should all be capitalized, but I don't want to go change it), and celebrated Anna's wedding! Here is an overview...

Hike to Dog Lake with Grandma and Grandpa
I took my parents and their dogs on a hike up to Dog Lake a few weeks ago. The wildflowers were beautiful and the dogs had SO MUCH FUN!

Oregon Coast

We headed to the coast for a week of cool air, relaxation and beautiful views - we found them all! We drove up via Hwy 138 which is amidst the most lovely waterfalls. The next day we hiked to more falls then drove to the coast. We spent the bulk of our vacation overlooking Port Orford. It was a wonderful relaxing fun trip. The dogs fell in love with the ocean and swam to their hearts content. We had great company with Mom & Dad and Butch & Sharon, and they were fully supportive of ice cream and reading time. Needless to say, I have somewhere in the range of 300+ pictures to sort through, I will leave only a sampling today, perhaps I'll find more motivation and add more later.Toketee Falls
Battlerock Beach - this is what we saw from our window (and my bed) every morning!
Lulu LOVED the ocean!
Rudy did too, especially if there was a stick involved!
One of the many beautiful, and windy, vistas.

Hot Air Balloon Fest
Every year there is a balloon festival that happens at the park just down the street. The last few years we've been taken by surprise by the blowing air over the house, or the balloon that landed on the field next to me and the dogs. This year we decided to get up and go see them inflate and launch. It was a beautiful morning and the balloons sparkled in the sun, unfortunately there was a slight breeze so they didn't get to fly, but we still got good pictures!
Anna's Wedding
Today was Anna's wedding! She FINALLY tied the knot to Sam after dating for 6 years (they started dating at the same time that Art and I did, we just moved a little faster. She had a very beautiful, non-traditional wedding at Log Haven. They had a ceremony on the deck followed by brunch on the patio. It was breakfast, she wore pink shoes, there was no cake. How do you serve cake for breakfast she asked? Well, I don't think anyone should get married without cutting the cake so I made one for her and Sam to take with them. The flowers on top matched the flowers she made for her dress and the pleating on the bottom matched her dress. (She was gorgeous!) Hopefully I'll get to see some pics from the wedding and then I can post, I took my camera but really didn't want to take pictures.
Pheww. That was exhausting. Now I have to think about going back to school in a week!