america's drive-in...

i would consider myself proud to be from the pacific northwest. i mean, i grew up here and i embrace the culture, for the most part. but, for a while now there's been something missing. so, i fully support whoever decided to correct, what i can only call a huge oversight by the fast food community. SONIC has finally come to town!!!

i guess i should clarify by saying that it hasn't exactly come to my town, it came to hillsboro which is actually about 45 minutes away. but, after two years of the commercials taunting me, causing me to salivate, not unlike pavlov's dog, do you think i would let a little drive stand in my way? heck no! so, a friend from work and i set off on a sonic burger adventure, with our motto being, "just because we can." the crazy thing...we apparently weren't the only ones craving cherry limeades at 7 pm on a monday night, because we found ourselves in a line of cars waiting for an open stall. someone asked me today if i would do it again, drive all that way for a hamburger? the answer...yes!!! there's just something about it. a comfort thing maybe. or, maybe it's just because i can, when a week ago i couldn't. i will definitely go back. besides, i'm dying to try the cheesecake bites!

the thing that made the whole adventure even more exciting...the christmas ships. apparently every year, the boats in the marina decorate for christmas and parade up and down the columbia river. as we were crossing the bridge, we saw the ships. for a second i actually became one of those "looky lou" drivers i hate so much. those people who slow down on the bridge to check out whatever is on the river with little disregard for the people around them. anyway, we took a chance, pulled into a park, and got a show. it was pretty cool! just another thing that makes this place i live in unique. here are some pics!

oh, christmas tree...

to me, the holidays are all about traditions. the things you do every year to celebrate with your family. as i get older, i feel like the lines around those things that i loved so much grow thinner and thinner. some of them i've outgrown. (i mean who wants to sleep on the floor in front of the tree on christmas eve when you're pushing 30? am i right?) but, some have just fallen by the wayside, or have been forgotten.

so this year, my roommates and i are trying to create some new traditions. we went and bought a tree, from the same guy we bought it from last year. we joked about how some day we'll learn his name, so that next year we can say "hey joe, the christmas tree salesman guy, how's the wife and kids?" and then five years from now, we'll go to buy our tree and he'll say, "hey girls, i set one aside for you, just the kind you like." he'll refer to us as "the girls" as many of our friends are prone to do. ok, maybe none of that will ever happen, but isn't it the season of hope?

anyway...here are some fun pics of our christmas tree adventure.

jess...pretending she could actually pick that thing up by herself. i'm pretty sure we chose the biggest one on the lot, it was real heavy.

joe looked at us kind of funny when we asked him to tie it to the roof of ang's car, but he did it anyway, cause that's just the kind of guy joe the christmas tree salesman is.

note to self...when you're the tallest one in your household, always vote no for the largest tree on the lot, even though we have 9 foot ceilings and have the room for it. Or maybe that should read...BECAUSE we have 9 foot ceilings and EVEN THOUGH we have the room for it. if you could see the bottom of this picture...you would find my tiptoes balanced precariously on top of a step stool.

so, the tree is now complete and our house is decked out for the season. i guess as christmas gets closer, we'll keep our eyes open for other traditions we can start. oooh, maybe caroling?