Brandon Van + Cara Caitlyn

I can't hardly believe I only got a few good pics at Brandon and Cara's wedding on April 6. When I say a few I really mean only a few. It occurred to me that some of you may want to see them. The guy with the killer beard is Jackson's cousin Ben whom we had not seen in awhile.

River Fun.

Going to let the pictures do most of the talking today. Please ask for the good Lord's favor as Jackson goes in for an interview with the Douglas County Parks Service tomorrow morning. Sending our love south!!

Hoping for a refreshing, frozen treat.

If any of you know me (Becky) at all, you know I have arguably the biggest sweet tooth on the face of the planet (well, then there's Julie...and Cara). So naturally one of the first things I'm looking to do is scout out the ice cream/frozen yogurt/candy shops in town. It's not even a question of IF they exist, right? I mean, they HAVE to - there are 21,000 people who live here. As it turns out - much to my chagrin - Roseburg is SERIOUSLY behind the times when it comes to sweet shops. The only candy shop in town, Umpqua Sweets & Treats, is OK but it will never touch See's. The only ice cream shop in town is called (are you ready for this?) "Gay 90's Ice Cream Parlor." I don't even know what to say to that. In all fairness I've not been in there yet so maybe their ice cream is the bomb or something but from the outside it looks old and filthy. On the "Gay 90's" sign out front there's a picture of some little man riding a unicycle. Yeah. I know. The only other option for ice cream is at the Soda Shop counter inside Sherm's Thunderbird Discount Market where we buy all our groceries (TJ's...sniff). They serve Umpqua Dairy ice cream which is locally made. I had it today for the first time and it was pretty satisfying. What's really great is the price: I got two large scoops in a "small" cup for $1.15! Hahaha. But when it comes to fro yo there's nothing! Lenny says she doesn't think Roseburg knows what frozen yogurt is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In other news I'm applying at 4 different Dutch Bros. here in Roseburg. I wouldn't be entirely stoked to work at a coffee shop again because of my previous injury but if I get the job I'll just have to wear my wrist brace and pray for the best. I'm also going to apply at a local spot called (here's another good one) "My Coffee and the Wine Experience." I know what your thinking: that sounds utterly ridiculous. I guess every Friday night it's live music (like old people jazz and stuff) and wine tasting and the rest of the time it's coffee. Still a little weird to me. We've been there once and really enjoyed the espresso so...yeah that's an option too. Jackson's latest job hunt news is he's got another interview this Tuesday with the Douglas County Parks Service as a maintenance guy. I think it's done a lot to boost his confidence now that he has two interviews lined up. The good Lord is good to us! We also both took the knowledge test to get our Oregon Driver's License and passed. I suppose that means we're officially Oregonians...maybe? It still doesn't really feel like it. I was saying to Jackson the other day, what's tripping me out is how much the Umpqua Valley reminds me of Sonoma County and even the Vacaville aggie lands and stuff. I think that's why it's been difficult to realize that we're really here...it looks so much like our old home.

Oregon Sunburn. Seriously ...

So the spring season here is very nice. As mentioned in the last post, the weather changes often and rapidly but this past week has been fairly predictable. We wake up to a cool, cloudy morning but by 11 am or so it gives way to sunshine and a bright blue sky. By then you are comfortable outside in shorts and flip flops - not all that different from springtime under the redwoods. So two days ago I (Becky) thought it would be great to soak up some Vitamin D in the backyard. I took Maggie and was out there for an hour and a half. Later that night it was apparent I had def been sunburned (like bright pink) on my shoulders and stuff. I actually don't burn that easily, thanks entirely to my Italian roots. But it's just funny to me: Oregon sunburn. Before two days ago I didn't even know that was possible here. Oregon isn't exactly known for it's sun shinyness. But isn't there something about being farther north and closer to the ___________ that makes it more likely to get burned? The Arctic Circle? The sun? It's definitely not the Equator. Josh Ratiani, you would know that answer to this. So...in other news - good news that is! - Jackson has an interview with Umpqua Basin Water Authority on May 9. This is really awesome as it's the first interview he's gotten so far. There's actually a number of openings with water departments in Roseburg and the surrounding areas. Jackson has been applying for all of them. There's also a position with the Genesee & Wyoming Railroad (shout out to James) that he applied for. The railroad would be pretty cool. (Right now I'm listening to Heat of the Moment by Asia. What? And why?). AND I have an interview tomorrow for a food service position at a assisted living home for old people. So I'm excited for that. It would be GREAT and a total act of the good Lord if we both got jobs in the next few weeks. So it's been an awesome Monday with all this good news. Oh, and Jackson got his license to catch little Nemos and Dorys today. It sounds like there's a big fishing trip in the works but obviously I'll be declining participation. Something tells me the only thing I could possibly do on a fishing trip is hold the little green net...maybe? That's as far as my expertise goes. Tonight I'm making my quasi-famous Football Season Chili for Phil and Lenny's small group that meets here every other Monday. The chili is just foolproof and I enjoy making it very much. Lenny is making GF cornbread to go along. But what I really need (seriously) is to get some chocolate into this house. I've resorted to scrounging around for baking chips and bottom-feeder candies. If only there was a TJ's ... Eugene! Why are you doing this to us?!?

Week 2 funzies ...

Week 2 in Oregon has begun. Also, the first teaser trailer for Catching Fire was released like 17 hours ago. What! Katniss is still a BA. Go. Watch it. Now. : November 22, why are you doing this to us?!? So...Jackson and Becky have had a lot of time on their hands to think and stuff. They've gotten into the habit of taking walks around the neighborhood and playing with a bouncy ball along the way (shout out to the SCT boys). The bouncy ball is way fun - why don't adults do this more often? They take Patrick along and take pictures. Yesterday it rained on them and that was fun too:



On the job front: Becky has a possible lead on a food service position at an assisted living place for old people called Oak Park. She goes in tomorrow to fill out the app and speak with the kitchen manager. This is good news considering it's one of the only places hiring that she's looked into. There's still a chance at Costco but it seems like an uphill battle to get in there. She goes in to put her name on this list for the manager to look at. They won't see anybody in person there unless they called you first. In financial news, Jerome Louis returned their Monte Rio deposit in full. The good Lord himself engineered this small miracle and we are certainly grateful. Becky and Jackson are also going to be making dinners for the whole family starting this week. They are looking forward to this fun challenge. Tomorrow night: BBQ Teriyaki Chicken (in homemade marinade) and Jackson's famous Asparagus Fried Quinoa. One crazy thing about living here is the weather changes VERY quickly and ALL the time. One second, it's blue sky, sunny and feeling warm. The next minute the clouds have rolled in and it's dumping rain. Then you can drive 2 minutes in the opposite direction and it's sunny again. This happens all day long so there's really no predictability. Becky doesn't mind it though, there's a little something for everyone so it doesn't get boring (shout out to Cara). Cara! You would love it up here right now! And Becky misses you! Earlier today Jackson and Becky took a drive through the countryside that's just over the hill from where they live. The pics are below. This is the Umpqua River Valley:



Yeah. This is where they live now. It's pretty beautiful. They were just imagining a little farm nestled against those trees (shout out to Zach and Lacy). So that's up to speed on Week 2 so far. Hopefully the end of the week brings more good news! Jackson and Becky love all their friends and family. They pray for them often.

Beginning again.

Jackson made it to Oregon in the Yukon. Becky made it to Oregon in the Mazda. Jackson spent the 7 hour drive listening to AnG while Becky basically sang to herself the whole way. When they crossed the border into Oregon, Becky actually cried a little. If anyone knows her at all however, they will know she's a big time crier and is OK with that. This all happened six days ago. So far, life is treating them well. It's been six days of settling in and acclimating themselves to their new surroundings. Neither of them have ever lived outside of California before so this is kinda a big deal. They both still feel like this is just a visit, even though they unpacked their boxes and moved in. Mostly everything has it's place but the bed is still different and the town is unfamiliar (for now). They did visit the Super Walmart and found it to be the cleanest and most pleasant Walmart they've ever been to. Not at all missing the greasy-fast food-oily meat-dirty-butt smell that permeated every last corner of the Windsor Walmart. This morning Jackson went to play one of the local disc golf courses. He's very good at that. Becky made the mistake of calling his discs "frisbees" before he walked out the door. Maybe you don't know this, but he also reads books about dragons. Probably the biggest thing now is finding work. When you have bills, it's good to have a way to pay for them. Jackson is hoping to get an interview set up soon with Umpqua Basin Water Authority. Becky is going to try to find a food service job with either a catering company or an assisted living home for old people. Becky really likes old people a lot and thinks it would be fun to give them food all day. Catering would be cool too but the hours would be pretty lame. So life is just different right now because they are in this inbetween place. They're not on vacation and not visiting but it doesn't feel like real life yet because they don't go to work everyday. It's just a little strange. But good things are coming and time will reveal how the good Lord works it all out. Becky's also going through some symptoms of withdrawal - her box of See's Candies ran out yesterday and there may not be any chocolate left in this whole house.