The Coombs Family

Caleb had me tricked into thinking I was going to Mindy's for a nice peaceful dinner. We got stuck in horrible traffic on the way down, but I wasn't too worried since it was just us. Then I got to her house and realized she had a bunch of people there and they were throwing me a surprise party. Tons of friends, food, and cute decorations. Thank you to Caleb for planning the fun evening, Mindy for opening her house to us and our friends, and to my family and friends who came to celebrate. You guys are very kind!

We went to the beach because it was so hot, I couldn't get comfortable. It's been in the 90s and we only have AC in our bedroom. I didn't really want to spend the weekend in the bedroom so we headed out to the beach. It was fun hanging out in the nice cold weather, lots of sunshine and good food. We stayed late and watched the sunset curled up on the beach with some blankets. Sometimes the spontaneous trips turn out the best.

This is the announcement that my new boss just sent out to my work. I just got a huge promotion and I'm really excited to start!!  ~Renae HR Team, I'm pleased to announce that Renae Coombs, Return to Work Consultant in the Portland Service Center, has accepted the Safety, Risk, and Wellness Coordinator position in Human Resources. Renae joined SAIF Corporation as a Claims Adjustor in the Northern Claims Division in 2002; she was selected as a RTW Consultant in July 2006. Prior to starting her SAIF career, Renae earned her bachelor's degree from Western Oregon University; she also worked as a Department Manager for Nordstrom for five plus years. Wellness is a major focus of Renae's life: in addition to her career at SAIF she is a fitness instructor and currently teaches a number of morning and evening classes in the Portland area. Although her new job will keep her busy, she still plans to teach fitness classes from 5:30a.m. to 6:30a.m. every Tuesday ...

I finished my first full marathon today! I almost didn't get to run the race because traffic was such a nightmare in downtown. I knew the streets would be blocked off, but i didn't expect to run a mile before the marathon started. I could not find the packet pick-up location and it ended up being about 10 blocks from where I was dropped. I started the marathon late which meant I didn't get to run with people who ran the same pace as myself. I ran with the 6 hour pace group which are mostly walkers. So I passed a lot of people, but it was very congested. I ended up finishing the marathon in 4 hours which was my goal. Caleb was my hero and helped me get to the marathon in the morning. He then met me at two different locations with new socks! It was so exciting seeing him waiting for me cheering me on. It makes  huge difference to have the support on the race day. Around mile 16 I started to get really stiff and slowed down quite a bit. By mile 22 my right knee wo...

We planned a trip to Palm Springs California. We stayed down with my grandparents. They are in a retirement village and we got to stay at their friends house who were gone. So we had a house to ourselves and lots of sunshine. We played tennis, went shopping, swam in the pool every day, and hung out with family. My sisters family went, my parents, and then us. We left on the day of our anniversary and went to Six Flags. We rode every single ride there. No lines because it was during the week too. Some rides we just got to stay on and keep riding. Oh baby did I get sick! I had to lay on the ground after the ride and get my barrings again. I get so disoriented and dizzy. Caleb can ride them all day long. We got on this one ride called the "X Factor" and we were riding backwards, spinning, looping, and I almost blacked out. It was so crazy. Caleb just stayed on and kept riding it but I had to pass out on the ground for awhile. That ri...

ALASKA! We went to Alaska for a week to do some major fishing. We went to go fish the red salmon and do some site seeing. My parents, Rhoda & Trevor, Grandpa Walker, Uncle Gordon, Uncle Carl and his son Fletcher all went together. They had a particularly bad year for fishing however. The main reason that Caleb wanted to go, and we weren't having much luck. Caleb caught the biggest fish and he did catch about one a day. Not what we were hoping for though.  We hiked up to a glacier that was just amazing.  It was pretty cold, but the view and the water was incredible. We hate some huge king size crab legs. My goodness are they huge. It cost us $120 for a huge box of the biggest crab legs you have ever seen. We stayed with a family and didn't have to pay anything for rent. We just each gave them some money at the end to thank them for their hospitality. The mosquito's are a little too intense for me. You can keep your crazy bugs Alaska. No thank you! It was very beau...

This year it was my turn to make the plans. Caleb was very romantic on our first anniversary, so I decided to be a little more adventurous. We stayed at Mt Hood Inn for a week and went snowboarding four days in a row. It was so much fun. We have been hitting the mountain a lot and have lots of gear, so it made for a great week. We had a suite at the Inn and had a nice huge soaking tub in our room. We took lots of baths after a long day of riding. It was really nice to spend all that time on the mountain with Caleb. We got plenty of time at the park, riding the country and through the trees and even tried the half pipe. I didn't ride the pipe, but I did watch Caleb. He taught me how to slide on rails which is very scary and fun. I am even starting to do small jumps now and get my board off the ground a little. The rails are very slippery and I want to go slow, but that makes it worse. You just have to hit it, and hope you don't die. I went too slow on the first mailbox and end...