Oregon

There aren't really any words to describe my love for the this state, or the people who live here. I feel like it's such a part of me. It's where Eric and I met, and were married. It's where I found a church that I loved/love and believe in. It's where I learned to be a follower of Jesus. It holds such a special place in my heart. So imagine my elatedness when our dear friends, Tony and Kelly Gambino, joined us for the first part of our trip back to this lovely state! We ate good food, we laughed (a lot), we went wake boarding, and floated the river. It was pretty magical, I must say.  Here are a few (and by a few, I mean a ton of pictures. There were just way too many good ones to pick just a few) pics showing just what an awesome time we had!

The ladies at the Tin Shed in Portland. 

Eric and I in Powell's Bookstore

At the Doug Fir for my birthday dinner. Yay 26!

Portland

Stumptown Coffee. Yum!

Gorgeous Kelly enjoying her coffee.

The four of us at Multnomah Falls. 

The few from the almost top of Multnomah Falls

Another beautiful view.

We pulled over on the way to Bend from Portland to check out an air show. One of the coolest things ever!

Love.

Kel and I right before I tried wake boarding for the second time. I was terrified

Eric getting some air, doing what he loves to do.

Me after wake boarding.




My love and I on the boat.

My other love (Grey Parnell. I waited 6 long months to meet this little guy).

Eric and Tony being...Eric and Tony.

Listening to Elliot play some sweet live music.

My attempt to get all of us in the picture without moving. I think I succeeded fairly well.

Kelly and I at the show.

Friends.

Kelly is attempting to photo bomb our picture, and I thought it was hilarious.

No words needed.

Last night in town.

Oh I miss it already! What a lovely way to end the summer. Now it's back to grind. My focus is finishing school. Just three more months until I'm finished...

Soiree!

One of the events that Toni & Guy does each year is called The Soiree. It's an avante garde hair show in which all the students have free reign to create whatever they want hair-wise and really showcase their talent. The theme of this years event was the seven deadly sins. There were seven groups each based on one of those sins. My group was sloth. Each of us had a model and we did their hair and makeup. The show sold out and my model was a hit! I never thought that fantasy or avante garde hair would ever be something I would like, but it's actually so much fun! There are no rules or boundaries, or "correct" ways to do things. If you can imagine it, you can pretty much do it. I worked with an awesome girl, Erika, and together we worked on the queen of the sloths. Here are some pictures from the event courtesy of the amazing Tony Gambino:

Yes, that a giant collar made from hair. And yes, it lights up. 

Our model, Sofia, was absolutely gorgeous inside and out!

Erika and I with Sofia at the end of the event. 

I've got another fantasy show coming up in just a few weeks. It's a competition between some of the local salons around Albuquerque and...us, a school! I'm super excited/nervous/asking myself what in the world I've gotten myself into...but it's good. And it's gonna be a blast. Nick Arrojo from What Not to Wear will be there (which makes me even more nervous!) but I'm excited to learn from more experienced hair dressers and to have fun doing it!

Nutshell

While in NY, I didn't get a whole lot of video. Typically I get a ton! But this trip really was focused on family time (plus I forgot my phone once or twice hahaha!). So this video is short, but I think it's our trip in a nutshell. I hope you enjoy!

New York from Lindsay Parnell on Vimeo.
*Song: Early in The Morning by James Vincent McMorrow

New York!

After six months of pretty much nothing but school and work, I got to go on a little vacation! Hallelujah! 

Eric's brother's family lives in Webster, NY and his family decided they wanted to have a little reunion there with them over the fourth of July. (We hadn't seen them since December!)  

It was nice to catch up, and see upstate New York. 

Here's a little photo recap. (And by little I mean kind of big):

One full day of nothing but this. I do love traveling!

Eric had been craving this place for, not only our entire relationship
(no sandwich could ever compare to Rubino's...), but for 10ish years.
He finally got his fix after a decade of being deprived.
It was pretty delish, I must admit. 

Eric and Josh at Robino's.

Eric's family rented little campsite for us to BBQ and roast smores. We also celebrated Josh turning three!

Roasting mallows. 

Jake helping Uncle Eric build the fire.

Josh pulling his chair right up to mine. 

Took a long walk along this guy. 

Stopped for some pictures of course!

My love and I.

Bill and Sharon.

This is probably my favorite picture from the trip. (Okay, one of them) Jacob in a tunnel at the Eerie Canal giving me his best cowboy pose. 

The entire fam stopping for ice cream. 

This was a frequent occurrence. The only person missing is Bill who was on his phone right there with them. 

On the fourth. We took a pontoon boat onto Lake Ontario.
Ate some delicious BBQ and watched the fireworks over the lake.  

Lake Ontario. And Bill...

Some more Lake Ontario. 

We went to a children's museum for the kids one afternoon.
They had a whole toy section which showed the history of toys dating back to the 50's.
They also had a classic arcade section which we spent a good chunk of time at.
FYI Tron was a hard game to play...I died like a million times. 

Eric did pretty good. He got a top score!

Coffee break of course!

Took a little day trip to Canada to see Niagara Falls. 

In front of the Falls that you can't see...

That's more like it. I really wanted to go on one of these boats,
(all I could think about was Pam and Jim getting married
on The Office and it kinda made me want to go on it more!)
 but it was seriously like 100% humidity there and somewhat miserable.
The falls were breathtaking, but man was it hot. 

From behind the Falls. 

Niagara Falls. 

Man I love vacation! 

Fun was had by all. 

Sad it's over, but happy to be home.