T minus 8 Days!

Well, my trip to the Philippines is still a go! No, I'm not excited... Not even a little ;p

I fly out around 2pm on Wednesday, July 29th. It's quite a long flight, but I honestly don't mind. I love flying! In fact, I was at the airport on Friday night, to catch a shuttle to go to Corvallis, and got excited seeing the planes as they land!

I've always been that way though. I remember when I was growing up, my family lived near the airport and we knew all sorts of missionaries, so it was quite common for us to go to the airport to pick up people. This was all in the days of guests actually being able to wait at the gate and see the plain coming in. We have pictures of my sister and I standing at the big windows watching eagerly as the plains are taxing in. So, as long as I can remember, driving up Airport Way in Portland, headed to the airport gets me excited. There are so many possibilities! Anyway, I'm getting off track...

I haven't written much lately, so I'll update you on what's been going on. Contrary to how it may seem, I've not just been stuck on the Philippines. Over the 4th, Mom, Dad, Stess and I headed to Victoria BC for the Northwest Tandem Rally. We drove up to the river, parked and then took our bikes on the ferry. It was a lot of fun! We were there from Thursday through Monday morning. Victoria is beautiful, if not a bit hilly :) It got to the point where I dreaded a down hill, because I knew that another up hill would follow, but over all, had a great time and I'd do it again.

Dad, Stess, Mom and I on Victoria bay

Dad and I at breakfast

Stess and I entering Butchart Gardens

Just before the rally starts

Just look at all those bikes behind us!

Following Victoria we headed across the state of Washington and landed in Sandpoint Idaho for several days. Dad's Aunt and Uncle celebrated 50 years of marriage, so the rest of the family was already there, we just joined them. It's been a while since I'd been to Idaho (Mongolia tends to get in the way of that :) and it was nice to be back. We were there earlier in the year, so it was a bit cooler, but all in all, had a wonderful time!

Last weekend was busy as I went down to Corvallis for Kate and Howard's wedding! I had such a great time celebrating with them and I got to catch up with a lot of long lost friends. It went by too fast...

Now that I'm back, yes, I'm constantly thinking of the Philippines. I do have a count down at work where I can change the number when I come in. I know, kinda cheesy, but I'm excited! There are two guys leaving this Friday and I'll follow them over on Wednesday. I've got my visa, in my passport, and have started accumulating all those little things that you need when traveling. While there I'll have a computer, so I'm hoping to update this often, and Stess is loaning me her camera, so there may even be pictures! In the meantime, for those of you on Facebook, I'll be updating that often and of course email is always a good way to get a hold of me.

For now I'm set to be there for a month, but they have asked if anyone is willing to stay longer and my response... no surprise here, I jumped up and down and said, "Heck yeah!"

Oh, one other exciting thing... I know, so much going on! Stess has been accepted to Concordia's master's program and is moving to Portland! So, when I get back, I'll be moving. You can pray that we find a great place to stay, at a great price since I'm the only one making money!

Until later, have a fantastic week!