Five years later...

On August 3rd 2004, surrounded by a few friends and family, Mike and I stood in the Scottish countryside and exchanged vows. We were young and excited about a new story that was about to emerge.

Now five years later we have a house, careers, and of course a toddler named Collin.

It's easy to overlook each other when you have a baby. Life as we know it pretty much centers around our son. Days can become routines, comfortable and at times, exhausting.

Relationships change and evolve when you have a child, it takes strength, communication and lots of understanding to support each other as partners while you take on the new role of parent. To me, it's also critical that we see each other as individuals--as the people we fell in love with before we became parents. Sometimes it takes alone time to remember that!

We're fortunate that we have parents in the area who are willing to watch the little guy. For our anniversary weekend, Collin got to spend a weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Hanada while Mike and I went to a quiet B&B in Carson, WA in the Gorge. The first day of our weekend we spent a few hours touring some Hood River vineyards and passed the hills, mountains and lush forests that I almost forgot were just 45 minutes from our house. It was hot but not crazy inferno hot like the days before and we sipped on some crisp whites while we breathed in that fresh mountain air.

From Summer 09

We stayed in a cute cabin decked out in log furnishings (rustic luxe!) and slept in a very comfortable oversized king. Breakfast was home cooking done right and filling enough to get us to dinner. A bonus, we weren't forced to socialize with other couples as everyone had a private table.



We headed to Wind Mountain which I read had an awesome view of the Gorge and was a "moderate" jaunt of 1,500 vertical feet but just 2.5 miles round trip (not as much as the nearby Dog Mountain which was about double). Seeing as at 10 am it was already 85 degrees we didn't really want to be hiking at peak heat time so we opted for the smaller mountain. This was definitely not a toddler friendly hike. The trail was uneven and some of it was just rocks. And it was up, up, up. Not a lot of breaks. As the B&B owner said, it'll definitely get your heart moving. Still once we got to the top (with poor Mike dripping in sweat) we were rewarded with a panoramic view of the hills and the Columbia. It was also nice to be alone up there. We sat in silence, catching our breath and looking at out at one of the most beautiful parts of the world.











We then went on a recommended drive by our friendly B&B owner. After ending up in a circle and lost a few times we found our way to Panther Falls, a place we would have never known about. We wandered around the rushing falls which were small compared to nearby Multnomah but still gorgeous and not filled with people. After that we drove up a bumpy gravel road to seek out some ice caves and relief from the heat. Course we didn't have a flashlight or a fleece with us so when we found the caves, we stepped inside for a couple minutes, enjoyed the cold break and then promptly left so we didn't slip in on the ice in the blackness and end up broken ankles.
Finally we stopped at a small cafe next to a gas station (would have overlooked this place if the B&B owner hadn't told us about it) and had delicious huckleberry smoothies. Our day ended with a nice dinner in Hood River and a last night giddy and alone. Just for a minute we could pretend it was the old days. Mike also surprised me with a pretty diamond solitaire necklace and I gave him the gift of freedom...basically a plane ticket and a weekend away of his choice.





I missed my little guy and was happy to wrap him in my arms when we picked him up Monday. Spending time apart from Collin is so important once in a while to help give our relationship a refresher. It also makes me appreciate how much I love and value being a mother. Finally, our short nearby trip made me realize how I take for granted that we live in such a beautiful place--I'm determined to take more day trips to the Gorge for hikes, picnics and drives and share the amazement that this region has to offer with Collin.