This past Friday we went to a really great burger place with the Bells. It's called The Counter and the great part about it is that you design your own burger. Bun, patty, cheese, toppings, sauce, and more and they have the best sweet potato fries, onion rings, and regular fries. We have been there a couple times, but each time is like the first time all over again because it is so fantastic. There, a shout-out for The Counter...

The Bells are expecting their baby to be due in only a month! I can't believe how fast time has flown by! We hung out poolside with them after church and chatted about the big change coming in their future. I think it will be fun to see how they parent, they are both just so right on about everything.

I spent a lot of Saturday getting decorations and recipes together for the Bells' baby shower Charissa and I are throwing for them this coming Sunday. Jonathan spent the day finishing up his final paper for his advertising class, which he did very well in. We rewarded ourselves for our hard work by vegging out Saturday night while watching the show "Avatar: The Last Airbender". It is supposed to be a show for kids, but we are hooked! It is a delightful combination of humor, action, and randomness. We die laughing each episode, but are glued to the screen at the same time. You've just got to watch it for yourself.

And on a garden note: I made some calzone and put fresh basil from our garden in it! Talk about a rewarding feeling!

This week is moving along quickly and we expect another fun weekend ahead!

I had a very pleasant birthday week. On Tuesday my Bible study ladies surprised me and took me out for dessert at a really great place. On Wednesday (my birthday) Jonathan took me to a Filipino restaurant I have wanted to go to for a while that was delicious and we got some ice cream and took the dog for a nice long walk. Thursday night we went to the Bells' house to hang out. Friday night we went to the Shulls' house to hang out. And Saturday we got up early for a day of bodyboarding with our new wetsuits and boards. The waves were huge and we even saw a seal that kept launching its body fully out of the water. On Sunday we went to the Littaus' house for a dog playdate and dinner.

We're still plugging away at work, our "G100X" workout, church, Bible study groups, and daytripping. Life is quite good in this season.

Time for a "garden" update: The basil is looking almost ready to eat, the strawberries are healthy-looking but no fruit yet, and I gave up on the chives and oregano and planted more strawberries and basil and the second basil already has little sprouts!

And an exercise update: Beginning tomorrow morning, we will be doing our own exercise routine creation based mostly on P90X. We liked the foundation P90X gave us, but we got tired of some of the exercises and the host's commentary, and we want to work more muscle groups at a time each day. But we have loved feeling more healthy and energetic.

This weekend we went to ComedySportz with two other couples for some improv. We laughed so hard we almost threw up (seriously). It was a lot of fun. We also saw Harry Potter which was a pretty good movie and hung out with our church buddies after church. It was a pretty laid back weekend to try to recuperate from our trip North.

We made it up to Oregon for a visit this past week. We spent July 4-7 in Portland. We stayed on Matt's side of Jamie and Karly's duplex. They hosted a BBQ at their house for the Fourth of July with a bunch of friends. There was lots of good food and laughter and fireworks and Rock Band. We even stuffed a mystery firework from Mexico inside a cupcake and lit it. It made a loud boom and completely disintegrated the cupcake. We couldn't find a trace of it anywhere, but Jeff swears he tasted frosting on his lip. On Sunday, we went surfing and bodyboarding at Short Sands in Cannon Beach. I got a wetsuit for my birthday (early) so Jonathan planned a surprise trip with our friends. It was sooo fun even though it was gray and cold. On Monday, we went to breakfast with the darling Amber and Josh, hung around with friends, and then there was a big Ultimate Frisbee game that night.

Tuesday morning we headed South to Corvallis. I had lunch with Sara and spent the day with Mary. Jonathan got to catch up with Heath all day. It was great to see even more old friends! We had dinner in Eugene with Laura and Gabriel. They are such a fun couple and we are excited to have Gabriel be a part of our family now.

Wednesday was our day with the Gowins family. We went kayaking out by the coast for the first half of the day and had a BBQ for the second half of the day. Thursday was the Cunningham day with breakfast out, walking the dogs around Alton Baker Park, and relaxing a little. And Shinobi got a "summer haircut". He looks just like he did when he was a puppy :)

Friday we tried to recuperate a bit from the craziness of our trip and we went to Laura and Gabriel's wedding rehearsal and dinner. Saturday was the big day and we started early with coffee and hair appointments. Then, over to the wedding site to help set up and pose for pictures. It was a perfect, beautiful day! Everyone was so happy to be there supporting the wonderful couple! (Photos from the wedding will be in a future post.)

Sunday we drove back home to our sunny little town. We are so thankful for all the people who housed us, entertained us, and made time to see us. We really appreciate everyone we have back in Oregon and hold you all dear.

We have been married three years! It has gone by so fast! And what a blessing marriage is. There is a Swedish proverb that I think sums up how I feel about the past year:

"Shared joy is double joy, shared sorrow is half sorrow."

Even the smallest of happinesses seem so full and the lows aren't as bad when we have eachother to lean on. Our Anniversary was on Tuesday and we went to Vaso Azzurro and then went for a walk with some ice cream cones.

Here is a photo of Shinobi enjoying a sunbeam. We are so glad to have him, he is such a sweetheart.