"How can we speak of Democracy or Freedom when from the very beginning of life we mould the child to undergo tyranny, to obey a dictator? How can we expect democracy when we have reared slaves? Real freedom begins at the beginning of life, not at the adult stage. These people who have been diminished in their powers, made short-sighted, deviated by mental fatigue, whose bodies have become distorted, whose wills have been broken by elders who say: “Your will must disappear and mine prevail!” – how can we expect them, when school-life is finished, to accept and use the rights of freedom?”

-Maria Montessori

August 14th-20th ( Tour de Fat & Other Stuff)

On Saturday the 14th we headed downtown to see the bicycles and performances at the Tour de Fat Festival. Here's a little bit of what we saw...

We also had the pleasure of seeing this man. He made
a bologna sandwich using
only his feet. It was very
impressive. He picked
a woman from the
audience to eat the sandwich
after he had finish making it.
I really wanted to
be the one to eat the
sandwich, but Dallas thought

it was a bad idea :)
And just in case you were

wondering, that is a pickle
between his toes.

We left the Tour de Fat and headed down to a
warehouse where Dallas played some
music for a biker rally.

Next we went down to the Rogue Ale Public House to have drinks. One of my favorite things about Portland is all the local breweries and especially the samplers of beer they have at the restaurants. Yum Yum Yum....

A few days later we headed up to Pittock Mansion to take some photos since it was a clear day. You can see Mt. Hood from the top. I got a few good ones of Mt. Hood which I'll post later. But for now here is a photo of Pittock Mansion and a view of the downtown.....

We had lunch at this cool place that we've been seeing for the past few weeks, but hadn't really had a chance to try. They made delicious tacos and the place had a really nice atmosphere.....

On Friday night Evelyn and I played with some glow sticks. First we lined them up in a rainbow and then Evelyn made a smiley face and some other shapes while I took some photos. It was pretty fun. I really love the second from last photo. Night photos are so fun!

Pretty Awesome: August 10th-13th

Dallas and I have been absolutely loving it here in Portland. I saw my first Portland rain the other day. It was just a sprinkle, but more will be here soon.

I'll start this post off by sharing a few photos from the Arboretum...

The Arboretum is pretty neat. All the trees were labeled and there were plenty of trails to walk around on. We'll definitely be headed back to check it out again.

On August 11th, Dallas had his first paying gig in Portland! It went really well. Dallas is enjoying the music scene and is finding plenty of opportunities to play.

Friday, August 13th was a glorious evening. Not only did we get to go see Mary Ellen Mark give a lecture and slide show, but we also got to see Chris Cain play at Duff's Garage! It was an evening full of inspiring music and beautiful photography. What more could one ask for :)

Night shot from Friday the 13th... love the moon in this one.

Cannon Beach, Ice Cream & Photo Booth.

So far Portland has been pretty good to us. We've been enjoying lots of running, juggling, music playing and sightseeing! On Saturday we headed to the coast and spent the day at Cannon Beach. It was pretty chilly down near the water, but the scenery was well worth the drive.

You can't go wrong with Ice Cream!!!

Dallas and I made a visit to Voodoo Doughnut on Sunday and lo and behold there was a photo booth...

Needless to say, the photo booth made my day :)

The Neglected Blog

Well...I have been pretty bad about keeping this thing up to date. I'm not surprised. It's hard to keep up with facebook, e-mail, my website and the blog. I am going to try to do a little better from now on, but I make no promises :)

Alright, I suppose I left off the back in December. After we got through Christmas we made a trip out to Hawaii to visit Schuyler and then to Japan to visit Mason & Emily. We had a great time. I posted a number of pictures on my facebook which if you haven't seen I suggest you take a look at them.

Also in the last post I announced that Dallas and I had decided to move to Portland. I can happily say that we have made it here. We left Fayetteville on Monday, July 12th and got to Portland on Thursday, July 15th. We made a stop in Boulder to visit Dallas' aunt Karen. We also squeezed in a wonderful dinner with Michelle and David while in Boulder. Boulder is a beautiful place, I always enjoy myself when I'm there.

Both Dallas and I were so relieved to finally get to Portland. We traveled through Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho and Oregon!! Thankfully both our cars made it and so did we.

Our first few days in Portland have been pretty nice. The weather has actually been a little chilly and everyone here seems to be pretty friendly. We have already been on a city long bike ride and ran through Forest Park on the west side of town. We also checked out the Saturday Market in Downtown. It was very exciting and we had some yummy African food.

This week Dallas and I begin the search for employment. Wish us luck!

Here are a few photos...

Dallas and tree in Downtown.

Break dancers at the Saturday Market

Funky band at Saturday Market complete with random dancer to the far right.

Saturday Market: Lefty the One-Armed Guitarist. He was pretty good :)

Multnomah Falls: We stopped on our way to Portland to check out the famous waterfall.

Portland, The Beard & Unknown Hinson.

In case you haven't heard the awesome news...



Dallas and I are moving to Portland, OR!!!

I have decided to become certified in Montessori Education and also get my graduate degree. I'm really excited!! I think moving to Portland will be a wonderful experience. At this time we are planning to move this summer in order to go ahead and get set up before the program starts. That's our plan for now...I'll update everyone as I know more.

On November 22nd I celebrated my 26th Birthday with an Unknown Hinson concert in Little Rock, AR. It was a wonderful time. Dallas and I got a poster signed and our picture taken with the Unknown Hinson. He is by far our most favorite country singing vampire :)


In other news Dallas decided to trim the beard back. I didn't realize how long and crazy it had gotten until he trimmed it. For those of you who are sad about the disappearance of the beard...do not fret. Dallas has already started growing a new one :)




This will probably be my last post for awhile. Christmas time is getting near and then Dallas and I go to Hawaii and then Japan at the end of December. I will definitely be taking tons of pictures and videos and will have a wonderful blog post to share when we get back in mid January.

Take Care :)

Halloween, Landry's & 5x5

First off, let's talk about Halloween!! This year Dallas went as Fidel Castro and I went as Che Guevara. We had a great time! Many people stopped to talk to us and ask us questions. I also got to have a fake beard which was pretty fun :) Best Halloween costumes ever! Viva la Revolution!!

On Friday, November 6th, Dallas played a show at Landry's in Fort Smith with R.J. Mischo. It was a great time. The band sounded wonderful and Dallas had an excellent time. Also, my mom, grandma and grandpa got to come see Dallas play. Everybody really enjoyed the music and also the great food!






Last, but not least. This year Dallas and I participated in the 5x5 competition at The Arts Center of the Ozarks. This year we each donated two pieces. I did photographs and Dallas made some "modern" paintings. The pieces for the show are all donated and then sold off in an auction type style to help raise money for the Arts Center. As you can see by Dallas' photo he gets really excited about modern art :)