A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer...

KeriAnn , I'm not ignoring your tag...really...I just realized it was there...you see, I'm not used to checking for comments on my blog because I'm pretty sure there is only one person who reads it once in a while. Anyway, I will now try and fulfill your tag...here are the self-proclaimed rules for this assignment The Rules: 1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts. 2. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves. 3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog (about their 8 things) and post these rules. 4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose people to get tagged and list their names. 5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog. 1. I love potatoes...they are good mashed, baked and fried. I love every kind of potato except when you mix it with the dreaded evils of mayonnaise and eggs to make potato salad. Potato salad is not potatoes, it is a sin against your taste buds and art...

For all of you who missed out on the Salem RiverFest, I am sorry. It was a blast, and it was free, which made it 10 times better, and 10 times more crowded. The PR company I work for volunteered their services to RiverFest, and so I got some perks at the even, like getting to eat a VIP dinner back stage, getting to take pictures on stage during the Jars of Clay concert, and (Bryan's favorite part) getting free pop. Here are some photos of Sunday night, when an estimated 30,000 people showed up to see Jars of Clay and their unbelievably short shorts. Oh yeah, during the day they also had a BMX and skateboarding demo...that's what all the sweet motocross pics are from.

So I haven't had time to update lately, so this is my month of September smooshed into one post. This month has flown by, but I managed to catch a few pictures from the "last bits of Summer" to share with you all. First, Bryan and I spent a few days at Thrill-Ville with our youth group, where they enjoyed the rides and we enjoyed some free ice cream! Next, Bryan and I, accompanied by Kyle and Kari, went up to see if the Mariners could get a win out of the Angels (we were unfortunately dissapointed). We still had a good time in Seattle and the weather was amazing. As you can see from the photo taken from our seats, we were as high as you get at Safeco field! Kari wasn't too excited about the view behind us (glass walls through which you can see very far down), but we just focused on the game...and our family pack hotdogs and drinks! Lastly, we took a final camping trip (with Kyle and Kari) to Florence, where we were again blessed with beautiful weather! We were in a v...

That's right...badminton club. I'm not an official member...yet, but Jason (Bernard), Jason (Braun), and I went to check it out last night, and we had a great time! Yes, this is a ligit badminton club in Salem. Even though the area is a bit sketchy (Waldo Middle School), the people were really nice...and surprisingly old...and good. I never knew old people could be good at sports, but as I tell my dad (who is turning 50 today), there is hope for the future! At least in badminton. The old ladies are the craftiest, because you really don't expect them to be good, but what they lose in agility, they gain in strategy. They all have amazing angles they hit, and some of them (most of them) can smash it harder that 6 foot somethin Jason Braun! The three of us ended up fighting over who would get to be partners with the 65-year-old lady named Sharon with coke bottle glasses and a wicked angle shot. By the end of the two hours, my shoulder had popped more times than in my wh...

So out of the last two weeks, I have worked a whopping 3 days! Now I am back at work and I don't get another non-holiday day off 'till Kim's wedding in January! (bummer). Bryan and I spent last week camping with his family at Lake Tahoe. It was great to just get away and get tan while everyone else back in Oregon got to experience the beauty of humid, cloudy days. On our week-long vacation, I got to visit the most photographed area in the world (Emerald Bay), I got to see ducks and geese on the beach, I got to see a movie about bears, and I also got to see a real mama bear and three cubs! While the mama stared us down from her sunning spot in the forrest , we heard her cubs playing in the trees nearby, so we snuck over to watch them, and to take pictures of them. Bryan was a little scared of the big bear, but she was far enough away. While we were stalking them, my flip flops were crunching so much on the ground, and I was afraid that the bear would hear me coming, so I to...

So I took two days of vacation from work this week to go camping with our youth group this week in Florence. Although we froze our butts off for the majority of the time, those crazy Koreans, along with my also crazy (and very white) husband still enjoyed the "man run" into the lake, hard ground to sleep on, and plenty of sand in their teeth. Armed with plenty of ramen, marshmallows, and walkin' tacos, Bryan and I, along with 16 students (ranging from 12-19) set out to prove that we could make it for 3 days and 2 nights without parents. While we did hit up the 'rents for our vans, and some transportation, we ended up alive, and that was quite an accomplishment, considering the size of the dune cliffs some of the boys were jumping off of. We did escape some of the valley's "heat wave," but I think the highlight of the trip was the dead mouse found underneath the girls' tent. No one knows how it got there, but it is my theory that someone squished it i...

For the second year in a row, Bryan and I enjoyed the St. Paul Rodeo for the 4th of July. This year, we were accompanied by Ben and Alicia, Jason and Lauren, and Kyle and Kari. Bryan and I both bought stylin' cowboy hats (as you can see Bryan's in the picture), and we all enjoyed over priced carmel apples, hamburgers, jumbo corndogs, smoothies, snow cones and strawberry lemonade. The rodeo was great too, even though the people downing beers in front of us reeked! YeHaw for cowboys!

These are pictures from my cousin Kristen's wedding last weekend in Freemont, CA. Bryan, my brother Steven and I took a road trip down there (and saw Kim on the way). All of the "Hunter" side was there and we had a great time at the wedding, and even stopped at Great America "on our way" home. The first picture is of my cousin Kristen and her soon-to-be-husband Justin. The second picture is of my younger brother, Shane, flying through the air after Kristen's garder. The third picture is of my cousins, Brittany, Lindsay, and Kelsey. The fourth picture is of Kristen and one of her bridesmaids looking at the cake before the wedding, and the fifth is of my brother Steven (the hairy one) and my cousin Blake (the bald one).

So there is this crazy family of ducks in the pond outside of my office building. (pictured at left) On Monday, I heard my co-worker Vicki yelling that there were ducks in the middle of our busy parking lot. Sure enough, I looked out my window and saw a mama duck sitting there in the middle of the parking lot with 5 fuzzy ducklings hiding under her skirt of feathers. Vicki was on the phone, so she motioned me to go down and save the ducks. I'm not sure what the crazy duck mama was thinking because there isn't one good thing that could come from leaving her pond and leading her ducklings accross the multiple asphalt parking lots full of people heading out of Fred Meyer, picking up their drycleaning, drinking at Cooper's (the corner pub), or getting the 5 5 5 deal at dominoes next door. Personally, I think she was hungry for some garlic breadsticks. So, I ran downstairs to save the ducks, using my Corban Soccer skills to flank the brood with a bannana run and I managed to...

Here's some photos of our awesome youth group at Corvallis Korean church

So we made it one year! Bryan and I celebrated our first anniversary last sunday (June 10) in Newport. Bryan arranged for us to stay at a bed and breakfast, and instead of buying eachother presents, we decided to put our money into buying a new really awesome camera. We bought it Saturday morning and I was so excited to take it to the beach with us (as you can see from all the pictures above). I never realized how cool bed and breakfasts are...way better than hotels, and it even had a built in lighthouse/crows nest at the peak of the house's roof. That was my favorite place. We also HAD to get pictures of the bridge, even if it meant waking up at 7:00 A.M. to avoid the rain! We took off by 10:30 to get back to Corvallis for church (more pictures), topping off a great weekend. The only bad part was the green slime that I accidently stepped in (wearing flip flops) when trying to set the timer for that picture of me and Bryan above.

One of my favorite pasttimes has been searching for the perfect gift. I've made my mom cry by surprising her with her repaired wedding ring, I've made my brother faint when I got him "A Bug's Life" for his sixth Christmas, and I've kidnapped Bryan on a Sunday afternoon and taken him to a surprise, birthday Mariner game. I love knowing that I can have a part in making someone's day better. And so ensues the dillema. June 5th through 10th encompasses Bryan's birthday and our 1st anniversary, which is a good thing, except for the gift department. It may be asking too much of my limited brain function to concoct the "perfect" gift twice within the span of five days. I've already used up the Mariners idea, and the creative idea (a scrapbook last year), and even the spiritual side (I gave him a new bible as a wedding gift). So what is left? If anyone out there has any great ideas, I am open for any suggestions. As I said, I love getting...

So part of my job is event planning, and the PR company I work for was in charge of a big event this last Saturday. Former First Lady Barbara Bush came to speak at a benefit lecture for MedAssist (a program that helps low income residents of Marion-Polk Counties get prescription drugs that they otherwise could not afford). Since Mrs. Bush is a community service front-runner, she came to talk about strengthening the community through the MedAssist program. Anyway...a bunch of Salem's "haves" came to the dinner ($125 per ticket!) and then made donations for the cause at the end. I was in charge of getting all of these rich, important people in to get their picture taken with Mrs. Bush before the lecture. It was pretty fun meeting all these people you see on the news like Senator Jackie Winters and Representative Kevin Cameron (Brianne's Dad!), and at the end, Mrs. Bush even asked me if I wanted to take a picture with her! I was surprised, and a little nervous, but the...