Try it again?

Perhaps the recent changes in our lives justify a second try at blogging? We will try! We woke up a little sore today after a great backpacking/mountain climbing trip to South Sister with the Runberg's. But before that, let's rewind a bit and update you on events from the Hynes household over the last ~10 months: Last October (actually on Paul's b-day) he was offered a promotion that would require a move to Bend, Oregon. Bend was always a place we said we would love to live, so after prayer and thoughtful consideration, we took the opportunity. CRAZY! After we accepted the job, reality set in. Paul had been also working at a church as the Worship Director, so we had to let them know that we had taken the job and would be moving in the summer. We also had to put our house on the market and attempt to sell it on our own. The months wore on and the summer came very fast. I let my school and district know that I would not be returning for the 2011-2012 school year, and the goodbyes started. It was A LOT harder saying goodbye then I think I imagined. We had built lots of good friendships with members of the community and church, and moving away from my family also hit me hard. Along with that, we hadn't sold our house. We had several lookers, but no takers. Making decisions as an adult is hard! We set the 31st of July as our move date. I was taking summer courses, actively searching for a teaching job and we were packing up our place so the first part of summer was very hectic (we also threw in some running events and camping trips). We decided to rent out our place in Albany and hired a property manager (and our renters moved in just a few weeks after we moved out; praise God!), and we found a place to rent in Bend. With lots of helpers, we made our 31st goal and drove the biggest U-Haul over the pass to our new home. Damon and Kristi Runberg moved from Corvallis to Bend about a month before we did and it was/is so nice to have friends already in the area! As we were unpacking, I continued to search for a teaching job. Those who are teachers know how hard it is to be hired as a teacher right now. I was fortunate to get on the sub list, but I was still looking for that full time job. I interviewed at a Christian School in Sisters, but decided it wasn't quite the right job for me at this time. A few more positions were posted for the Bend-La Pine School District towards the middle of August and I applied for all of them. I was fortunate to have a total of about 6 interviews. I was able to meet lots of administrators and several kind people through all those interviews. On the Monday that teachers were suppose to be back at school I got the call to teach a 1st/2nd blend at an elementary school in Bend! Oh man...lots of praise and relief flew out of me! I quickly made it in and began to set up my classroom. Students start back tomorrow and I couldn't be more excited to start the school year! Bend is treating us well beyond our jobs. We have enjoyed having guests almost every weekend we have been here, lots of running, floating the river, fishing, hiking, biking and community events. And yes, this last weekend we backpacked in and then hiked to the top of South Sister. Paul has wanted to do this with me for a while and now that it is only about 30 minutes away and we had others to do it with the timing was perfect. The weather was great, Kristi and I were troopers, and everyone had a great time. Thanks for taking a moment to get caught up and drop by again soon!

What you would find...

at our place tonight:

One lonely coffee cup since Paul has been out of town on business.

A sign like this in our yard. We are hoping to move closer to Paul's work so if you know someone who needs a cute/like new home in Albany send them our way! (Prayer for the sale of our house would also be appreciated.)

Papers to grade; life of a teacher.

And...

A cute dog named Duke. :)

Summer is my favorite!

We hope summer has been treating you well! We love summer for many reasons. One of those reasons is because of all the awesome things we get to do outside. At the beginning of summer we ran relay style from Lake Oswego to Eugene Oregon. We had a blast, Paul doing about 20 miles total and Ashley doing 12 miles, and can't wait to do something like it again.

Another reason why we love summer is because of weddings! We have attended several weddings this summer and of course Paul had the pleasure of singing at a couple, too. We have a few more weddings to attend this year, including his brothers in San Diego, and couldn't be happier for everyone.

Ashley had the chance to travel to Australia to visit a teacher she teaches with who is doing an exchange for a year. She had a wonderful time seeing lots of amazing Australia things and visiting Diantha and her family! Being able to set her own schedule is another plus of summer! :)

We also love to be on the water during the hot summer months. Thanks for friends with pools and boats we have been able to enjoy lots of time in the water. Our garden is growing pretty well and we have been able to enjoy it's produce over the last couple of weeks.

That's a snap shot of our summer and all the fun things we get to do when it is so warm!

Up Early

Paul and I woke up super early for a training run this morning. We ran about 6 miles as the sun was coming up. We are training for legs in the Epic Oregon Relay, which runs from Lake Oswego to Eugene. One of our friends won an entry after completing the Eugene Marathon. I am excited for this race, I don't think it will be very grueling running wise as my longest leg is only about 5 miles, but for other reasons I am a bit nervous. For one I am not use to running by myself. I, except when running at the gym, always run with someone. I like running with others; I think it helps pass the time. Another difference is that I will be running one leg in the dark. I have never ran in the dark. I am always very aware of my surroundings when exercising on the road (just ask Paul, if I ride my bike on the road I always have my bright yellow biking vest on) and running when drivers aren't able to see you as well makes me a little nervous. I am sure it will be fun and that we will have some good stories. We will definitely let you know how it goes.

#2

I ran my 2nd half marathon this last Sunday down in Eugene. My brother-in-law and I ran it together (Paul trained with us but couldn't do the actual race because of church). It is such a beautiful course and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a race like that. Our time was 2:10.11, which is quite a bit faster than my time about a year ago. Now that my legs have rested for a few days I am excited to find my next challenge! :)

It has been a while since our last post, and many amazing things have happened. The first big thing was that Paul's sister, Mary, got married! On April 10th Mary and Tim said "I DO" in a beautiful ceremony in Salem. It was a weekend full of family, love and God! We were so blessed to witness and be apart of this union.





We had our first garage sale as a couple this Saturday and were pretty sucessful. Our neighborhood was doing it so we put a few of our things out and stayed pretty busy.

I am all registered for masters classes this summer. I am hoping to be done in about 2-3 years, which means I will probably take 1-2 classes per term. I was excited about going back to school until I realized just how expensive master programs are! It is about double what undergrad courses cost and the other bummer is that I don't have a choice if I want to keep teaching I have to get my masters within 10 years of initially getting my teaching license. Oh well...

The half marathon is one week away! We did a good training run last weekend and I think I am ready to go. Paul won't be doing it with me this time since the race is on a Sunday, but I am running it with my brother-in-law.

We can't wait for summer and the warm weather! We love being outside and doing activities outside and summer is so enjoyable here in Oregon. We are excited to take advantage of our backyard and the little things we added to it last fall.

We went up to Portland last weekend and rode some of the Hynes horses for a bit.



It is a busy time of the school year with programs, carnivals, and end of the year projects. I can't blieve we are almost done with this school year!

Cheers!

こんにちは

That title is suppose to read "hello" in japanese! We hosted two japanese girls for a few days as they were visiting Oregon and the school I work at. We hosted two boys last year and had a blast so we were really excited to do it again. The girls only stayed with us for 3 nights so we didn't get to do many amazing things, but we had fun.




Easter went great! Paul worked very hard getting his worship team together, a chorus and childrens choir. Praise the Lord that no one got sick and his efforts were appreciated!


Mary's wedding is tomorrow! Family has arrived and the pre-wedding activities have started, and we are looking forward to tomorrow.