Labor day weekend in Eugene, OR

Over the long Labor Day weekend, I took an extra day off on Friday and Scott and I drove up north to visit his brother Brian in Eugene, Oregon. I was so excited to visit Brian and his family because he is the only sibbling that I hadn't met yet. Scott has 2 brothers and one sister - his sister Jody lives in Helena and his brother Mark lives in Belgrade so I have had the chance to meet them.
The drive was pretty far, about 8 1/2 hours, but it was a nice drive and Oregon is really pretty. We drove past Mount Shasta, which I've never seen, and always has snow on it because the elevation (14,000 feet) is so high. Eugene is a nice town that reminds me of a cross between Missoula (lots of hippies) and Butte (lots of industrial areas for building and logging). Brian lives in a nice house with his unofficial wife Jenni, his son Travis and her daughter Kennedy. They are such a sweet family and we had lots of fun. Scott really had a lot of fun cuz Brian has lots of toys to play with...from remote controlled helicopters and cars (that he built) to stunt kites. Scott now wants a remote controlled car for Christmas - I told him we might have to wait for awhile as the nice ones are really expensive and we need to buy him a new digital camera for his thesis project first. He also wanted a stunt kite, but he now has one as Brian bought him one for his birthday. So now he's all excited to go to the beach and fly it, which should be no problem since it's always windy at the beach in SF. That wasn't the case in Oregon though. While we were there, we drove for a couple hours to the coast and went to their favorite beach to fly the kites and race the car around on the sand dunes. But alas, there was no frickin' wind! Who ever heard of such a thing? Beaches on the northern coast always have some wind....so it was eery that it was so calm. It was still fun though as we walked around the little beach town, had lunch and went into a few cute stores.
Other than the car ride home, which took 2 hours longer than the way up because of construction that wasn't going on but the roads were blocked off anyway (stupid state construction), it was a relaxing weekend. I'm so glad we got the chance to visit them before the wedding. I didn't want to have to introduce myself to his family at our own wedding. :) They were very sweet and hostpitable and can't wait to see them again. Enjoy the pics!

Engagement party and Scott's b-day

Yay - my Scotty turned 28 on July 13th! I just couldn't top last year's birthday present for him...I took him sky diving over the Napa Valley and we had a wonderful dinner at a great restaurant overlooking the Valley. This year, though, we were both way too broke from our trip to Italy in June and figured that all the fun that we had for those 2 weeks were enough for now. Instead, I just cooked him one of his favorite meals - homemade lasagne with lots of cheese, garlic bread, my specialty greek-style mushrooms and good wine. We layed low for that weekend and just had a nice relaxing time with each other...still in awe over the fact that we are engaged. :)
We did, however, throw a party that I was planning to have as his birthday bash but he turned it into an engagement party for our friends here in the Bay Area. We wanted to celebrate our excitement and my apartment complex has a clubhouse room available for just such parties. We rented the clubhouse (which is right by the pool) and planned a BBQ for our friends. Unfortunately, our party happened on the most scorching weekend of the year! We were absolutely roasted out of my own apartment as I have no A/C (and usually don't need it). The clubhouse was a little cooler, but still was sooooo hot. Robert, Liza and Sara came down to help us set up for the party and go shopping at Costco, which was very brave of them and I can't believe that no one got heat stroke. Needless to say, we had about 40 people on the list of yes but only about half that showed up because it was just too hot and everyone was trying to stay cool. We did have a really good time and were saved by my friend Anita. My apartment was 115 degrees (about 5 degrees warmer than outside) and wouldn't cool off. Since I had 3 people staying with me for the weekend, we would have died. Anita was in San Jose working for the week and she had a hotel room at the Fairmont that she gave us a key for so that we could stay there while she went to another town for the night to party with other friends. It was a savior having the nice cold air blasting us all night! Whew!
Well, all in all it was a fun and interesting weekend and I'm glad for all those that could brave the heat to hang out with us! And we want to say a very special thanks to the following people: Marlyne (Scott's mom) for generously sending us $200 to pay for the food and supplies as well as the cute cards - that was so sweet of her; Anita (my friend from work) for the room with A/C as well as some yummy and fancy chocolate truffles; Candice (Scott's friend from school) for the cute card and yummy white chocolates; Jenn Koo and Sarah Levy (my friends from work) for the sweet card and beautiful silver picture frame; Michael Poon (my friend from work) for the awesome gift card to Cheesecake factory - my favorite chain restaurant, I wish there was one in Montana; and also to Melanie Diels (my friend from work) for the coolest wine glasses, the wine and champagne for the party and also for picking up some ping-pong paddles and balls for the table. And a huge thanks to our wonderful friends Robert, Liza and Sara for braving the heat to help set up and especially clean up after the party! That was a task beyond all tasks.
Needless to say, we were so busy getting ready for the party that we forgot to take pictures and the ones we did get weren't the best because everyone was so sweaty and tired. So to save everyone, especially including myself, I'm not posting any pics on this blog. :) Just mainly wanted to say thank you to everyone who came, helped and/or brought a gift (even though it was completely unnecessary). We would be nowhere without the love and support of such a great group of friends and family!

Laura comes to visit

A friend of Scott and I came to San Fran to visit the weekend of July 8th, Laura Rennick...but soon to be Laura Anderson. She's engaged to one of Scott's best friends from Helena, Brian Anderson (aka Moose). She came to the city to get her French visa renewed - the French consulate is in SF - as she is spending a couple of months living there and taking classes. It took so long for me to post this blog entry that she has now been there for a few weeks already. Sounds like she's having a great time! I'm sure that Brian (and their puppy) can't wait for his fiance to get back home, though. They plan to get married in July of 2007. Scott and I always have fun hanging out with them and had lots of fun going out with Laura while she was here! We took her to some sights that she didn't get to see last time she was here, like the Golden Gate bridge. It was so foggy last time that she didn't get to see it. Since we are both newly engaged, she wanted to visit some wedding dress shops as well and I took her to Jessica McClintock in Union Square. JM has some cute stuff and it's very reasonably priced. Laura made me try on a few dresses with her for fun. I was hesitant at first cuz I wasn't quite ready for trying dresses on, but now I'm hooked and so excited to try on more stuff! :)

July 4th Weekend in Folsom

The fourth of July was really fun this year. I had June 30-July4 off of work as holiday, as did Scott, so we headed up to Folsom (near Sacramento) and spent some time with Robert and Liza at their place. We barbequed, watched movies and Entourage (the new HBO megahit), walked around historic downtown Folsom and took a hike to a really sweet water hole called Mushroom Lake. Liza found the swimming hole in her book of hikes around northern Cali. The hike/swimming hole about a little over an hour drive towards Tahoe. It was really beautiful and it was a perfect day for a swim. The water was so nice, not too cold and it was really clear. We went cliff jumping and played with some mud salamanders! It was a great relaxing weekend. Thanks to Rob Thomas (hehee) and Liza Jo for always being so hospitable when we come over. :) On the 3rd, Scott and I went back to San Fran to watch the annual fireworks from Ghiradelli Square across from the Golden Gate. They were so awesome...as always cuz I love fireworks! Hope you all had a great 4th as well...

My Engagement Ring

I finally got to take some good pictures of my beautiful ring that Scott and I picked out while we were in Capri, right after the proposal. The picture in my last blog where we are in a little shop and Scott is down on one knee...that was the place where we bought my ring. I love it as it's very unique, just like me. :) It's definitely not your typical engagement ring, but I'm so happy with it. Scott's plan was to pick out a ring while we were there and then for me to pick out a diamond ring of my choice for our wedding. That works out well for 3 reasons: I will always have a sentimental item that will remind me of that perfect day, I will have a beautiful right hand right when we get married, and it'll give us some time to save up some money for wedding rings. :) And for those of you who are dying to know a date...too bad. We plan to have a fairly long engagement (no sooner than 2 years) so that we will have time and money to have the wedding of our dreams back home in Montana. Scott has a year and a half left of his Master's program so it definitely can't be before then. And since I didn't even figure that we'd be engaged before he finished school, it'll work out great!
Well, just one more thing I wanted to share about these pictures - the romantic velvet box that Scott made for me that he gave to me before getting down on one knee. It's gorgeous and he made everything...from the poems inside to the box itself. He's so dang talented! Anyway, I didn't want to take a picture of each of the lines on each of the leaves in the box, so here's what was written for me:

Without you...

I am weak

I am sad

I am fragile

I promise always...

To make you smile

To make you laugh

To make you happy

And then on the very inside, under all the leaves of paper above, was a little heart shaped paper book with the following written on each page:

You are my heart

You are my soul

I love you so much it hurts

Please will u marry me?

And there was a place underneath the heart book for a ring...which was empty at the time he gave it to me, but when we picked one out, it fit in the spot perfectly. :) Well...I guess you can see why I fell so in love with him.

One last little tidbit - Scott also got a ring while we were in Italy. He wanted to have an engagement ring too, so that he could show off the fact that he was engaged because he is so excited. How sweet is that! Even though it's not very traditional for the guy to have an engagement ring, it's a really cool ring and if you haven't noticed, we like being a little different. He doesn't like to do what everyone else does. So....here's also a picture of his cool ring...oh yeah, we bought it in Venice so it also has a lot of sentimental value. ;)

Vacation in ITALY!

Well, this was definitely the most amazing vacation I've ever had, or ever hope to have. Scott and I departed from San Fran on May 30th (just barely back from Heather's wedding) and headed to Rome. Our first 3 days and 2 nights in Rome were spent in awe of the city and walking around trying to see everything that we could see: Trevi Fountain (Rome's most famous fountain), Palazzo Chigi (the official residence of the Prime Minister), the Pantheon, St. Peter's Basilica and Vatican City, the Sistine Chapel and the other Vatican famous museums, the Colosseum, the Arc of Constantine, the Palatine (where Romulus - founder of Rome - killed his brother Remus), the Roman Forum (most famous ruins of the city) and the Spanish Steps...just to name a few of the big ones. There were many cute little restaurants, cafes and museums in between. We almost even saw the Pope our second day there as he was giving a speech to the young teens that evening. People lined up and filled St. Peter's Square very early in the morning. There were literally tens of thousands of people there that day, so we decided to get out of the crowd early since we didn't have any translators.
The next few days spent in Rome we stayed with one of my best friends Marika, who I met while in Sydney over four years ago. It was a much awaited reunion and I was so happy to see her after so long! Although she has been living in Norway with her boyfriend Matt for a few years, her family still lives in Rome. Her mom was so sweet and very accommodating. We were so happy to be saving some money on hotels - Italy is definitely not cheap, especially with the crappy exchange rate.
On June 6th, the four of us (Marika, Matt, Scott and I) borrowed her mum's car and drove down south of Rome about 3 hours...heading to our destination of the Almafi Coast. Along the way, we passed Naples and Mount Vesuvious and stopped to walk around Pompei. The history of everything in Italy is just amazing and it was all so cool to see all the places you read about. Scott has been studying many of these places in Art History for many years and he was excited to finally see them in person. The Almafi Coast is supposed to be a must-see and it's a place that the rich and famous stay. It definitely surpassed my expectations...it was a beautiful coastal drive and the towns were cute and had breath-taking views. We stayed 2 nights at a B&B in a town called Positano. The view from our rooms was the coolest - we were up on the hill and could see most of the town below us and straight down to the ocean. It was a perfect place to stay and was actually very cheap compared to other places around. The next morning after arriving in Positano, June 8th, 2006, we took a 45 minute ferry ride to another must-see place - an island called Capri. It was cute - there were only a few towns on this island, which was only 6km (about 4 miles) wide, and had really cute shops, cafes and again beautiful views and beaches. This was without a doubt my favorite day in Italy - this was because this was the place that Scott proposed to me! :) It was completely unexpected and so romantic...while we were looking out over the ocean, Scott pulled a homemade, velvet purple box out of his packback. It contained leaves of rose-pressed paper with lines of a poem written on each leaf that opened up to the bottom. In the bottom there was a heart-shaped book that had more beautiful words on it...the last page reading: Please will you marry me? He got down on one knee and I started crying I was so happy. It was the perfect day and I couldn't have asked for a better man to spend the rest of my life with. :) After I got over the initial shock and dried my eyes, we headed into some jewelry shops to look for a ring. He wanted me to pick something out from Capri so that I would always have something from there that would remind me of our engagement vacation...as if I could ever forget. But we found a beautiful sapphire and diamond ring in one of the shops that was custom made by the shop owner's son. The son's wife (who ran the gelateria accross the street) even came over with Champagne for us to celebrate. I love the ring because it is unique and is very sentimental. Once we have more money saved up when Scott graduates (he has about 1 1/2 years left at the Art Academy), I will get to pick out my diamond wedding ring and my engagement ring will become a perfect right hand ring...with many memories.
That's really the longest story I have about our trip as the rest of it flew by so fast. When we got back from Positano, we rested for a day, watched some World Cup action and relaxed at the pool. On June 11th, we hopped on a train and headed for Venice for 2 days and nights. It was a really awesome city and so cool that the only way to get around was by foot or by water. All of the canals were so neat and there were lots of great shops and restaurants again. It was good that we didn't have more time to spend there as it is the most expensive city in Italy. We were again lucky with finding hotels and found a great one with a canal view, a central location and a fair price. I liked it best because it had a regular queen sized bed, not just 2 twin beds pushed together like most of the European hotels have. :) We visited the famous St. Mark's Square (Piazza San Marco), the Peggy Guggenheim Museum (a rare collection of some of the most famous modern artists), the Gallerie dell'Accademia (one of Venice's best art museums) and walked along the streets next to the Grand Canal. We definitely got our workout with all the walking we did! One of my favorite parts was actually taking the ever popular gondola ride...although it was really spendy, we got to float down the Grand Canal at sunset and our gondola guy (the guy that steers with the stick thingy and wears a striped shirt) sang some love songs to us in Italian...and he was actually really good! :)
On June 13th, we headed back to basecamp in Rome. Scott and I rest for a few hours, packed up our bags and headed to the airport to go home. It was so nice to see Marika and we couldn't have asked for a better way to spend our time. Scott and I got to enjoy half of the trip as newly engaged, which was really weird but fun! We left Rome that night and flew in to Amsterdam for an overnight stay. The cool part was, I got to see another friend who I met in Sydney, Edo. It was great to see him again and to introduce him to Scott. He was so sweet and let us stay at his apartment with him that night after taking us out for a couple of beers. We woke up the next morning and headed back to the airport for our last leg of the journey home. When we returned, we slept that night for 13 hours straight and spent a few days getting over jet lag, washing clothes and relaxing in the quiet of my apartment. I feel so lucky to have had that experience and so excited about having such a great fiance! Italy...I'll be back again someday....Scott...I love you so much and thank you for such an unforgettable vacation....Marika...I was so happy to finally get to see you again and can't wait until the next time....and finally, my family and friends...I love you all for your love and support and am so blessed to have so many caring people in my life. Enjoy the pictures and have a wonderful summer!