My Favorite Place

My friend Emily texted me tonight and now I'm in mourning.

No sad news, in fact the exact opposite. Her text was full of inappropriate references to body parts and sexual innuendos - things best friend text messages are made of.

I was definitely cry-smiling, cryling if you will. 

I miss Eugene.

I miss the Fall there.

I miss coming home from my morning runs sopping wet.

I miss Best Lane Park.

I miss Mama Leone's soup from Whole Foods.

I miss Off The Waffle.

I miss La Perla.

I miss Duck games and green and yellow tortilla chips.

I miss the hippies and the weirdos and the Duck Fans and most of all, I miss my friends. I miss our Wednesday playgroup and Bachelor Girls Nights and late-night craft sessions.

I walked outside last week and noticed all the chalk on our driveway had been washed away by the rain. But it didn't smell like rain. It was just the sprinklers that had washed our artwork away.

Do they sell bottled rain smell?

I need it.

I'm seriously craving it.

So in honor of Eugene, here's some photos from what feels like forever ago (not long before we left Eugene). Let's just say we did a lot of hiking. 

Picking wild raspberries or poisonous mushrooms - I can't remember which.

Ev and Char.

I'm going to go cry in my closet now...

A 6 month old Anna! (She turned ONE this week!)

Someone told me this guy is a Spartan or something...

If I had to choose a Sister Wife, I am convinced Emily would make a great one. She makes popcorn every night at 11 PM and she loves hiking. Its amazing that we found each other in this big giant world.

Anna? Are you there?

She hikes with triplets (sort of).

My hero.

I know there are so many beautiful places on Earth. I've seen a few and I hope in my lifetime to see many more. But I don't know that anything is as beautiful as Oregon.

I adore it.

Hiking = bonding.

I have a few amazing friends here in Yakima. And I'm grateful for that. It has made missing my Eugene friends bearable. I'm convinced friends are essential. Just ask Harry Potter or Skeeter Phelan. Friends matter.