Where In The World Are Jeff and Sarah Carr???

For your information, the title is meant to be sung, a la Carmen Sandiego. At the time of press, Jeff and Sarah Carr are in Logan, UT. Sarah is blogging; Jeff is studying. But this was not always the case, dear reader! The month of July has been a trip-filled one.

For the 4th of July, we went to Sun Valley. The nature, food, and company were incredible. Jeff got some good tennis-playing in, and I biked! I almost never exercise (although I did buy an exercise ball that I mostly like to hop around on), so we're lucky I'm still alive after biking 8 miles. We had a blast, as we always do. I really adore my in-laws, and even though Rachel claims I don't love her (I do! I do!) and Amy always beats me at Ticket to Ride. I have no issues with Steve and Cindy, mostly because they never win Ticket to Ride. Hee hee.

I know and love all of Jeff's family, but he is quite unversed in Lougee/Olsen ways. In fact, many of my extended family had not ever met young Master Carr. It is because of this that we spent almost a week and a half traveling in the state of Oregon.

I love Oregon. It is probably my favorite state. It has lakes, the ocean, mountains, cities, and the biggest and best bookstore in the world. It also has its idiosyncrasies, to be sure. Hippies galore, weird traffic signs, and laws forbidding you to pump your own gas. But all in all, my heart just swells when I am in Oregon.

My parents are both from Oregon. (Actually, listen to this: my parents were both born in Logan, UT; moved around to spots in Idaho and Oregon; grew up about 3 hours away from each other; they BOTH served LDS missions in Lansing, Michigan; and both attended the University of Oregon. They never met until my Dad's final year of law school, after my mother had graduated.) Almost my entire extended family lives in Oregon. That'd be real simple, but my family lives allll over that stinking state. We drove about 4 hours every day last week. Oregon is a huge state with bad roads and lots of mountains. I have included a map outlining our trip.

That's a spicy meat ball!!

The driving was excessive, but we had a great time. We saw some beautiful things, and some weird things. (The weirdest on this trip was the man with a mini VW van toting an even smaller VW van, although I once saw a man in Portland without a nose and that will forever be the strangest thing I have seen in that state. And the most horrifying.)

The outcome: my extended family met Jeff! I think they liked him. They treated him like a nice young man with a nose, so that's probably a great start. Maybe even more importantly, Jeff got to see the state that means so much to me. It's weird, but I love him more now that he has seen Oregon.

-Sarah

PS. Sorry for the lack of blogging. I've been pretty wrapped up in school and work. That equals sleepy Sarah, which means I start blogs all the time but never seal the deal. Also, I look back on them and they are mostly about being sleepy. Things should get better soon- this is my last week of classes.

PPS. I have recently been to about 10 thrift stores throughout Oregon in search of two movies: Babar: The Movie and The Bernstein Bears: Too Much Birthday. I have since ordered them on Amazon, but have no reassurance that they come with the special beep at the end of the VHS (did I mention they are videos?) that an autistic friend/brother of mine so greatly desires. If anyone has these, gimme a holler.

PPPS. I have added a slideshow of Oregon and Sun Valley photos for your viewing pleasure. Basically everything is in Oregon unless someone is in a Sumo suit.