Checketts in the News

This week was kind of fun because Andrew and I both made the newspaper.

Andrew was recognized on the front page of the Eugene Register-Guard Sports Section because his recruiting class was ranked second-best in the nation. He has worked so hard and done such a great job and it was fun to see the article in the paper. Go Ducks!

The next day, I was in the Register-Guard as well when an article I wrote for the hospital was published in the "Your Health" section. In short, I said to eat MORE...fruits and vegetables that is. One tip that I learned from writing this article was to make fruits and vegetables half of what you eat every time you eat - that's a good challenge!

Mom and Dad Visit Eugene

(a.k.a. The Best Weekend of Their Life)

Who's coming to visit next?

Mom and Dad came to visit us over Labor Day weekend and we had a wonderful time. I miss my family so much and wish we all lived closer together. Maybe someday, but in the meantime

COME VISIT!

Food

One of the fun things we did over the weekend was to eat at some of the delicious, interesting and unique culinary delights we have here in Eugene. We went to the Farmer’s Market and enjoyed a fresh, local and delicious feast of berries, goat cheese, bread, green chilies and corn . We went out to eat at some of our favorite restaurants like the Laughing Planet Cafe (Cuban Bowl: black beans, brown rice, sweet potatoes, and plantains), The Pizza Research Institute (potato and pear pizza and the daring "Chef's special") and of course Prince Pucklers...on more than one occasion (the best ice cream in the world).

This is Andrew eating a piece of the "Chef's Special" at The Pizza Research Institute. It had slices of corn on the cob, broccoli, curry cauliflower, mushrooms, zucchini strips and so much more. It is always different (pretty much whatever they have on hand in the restaurant) and it was delicious. The potato, pear, pesto pizza was also a hit. I know it sounds weird, but come visit and you'll love it. I promise.

Flying

I think every one's favorite part of the weekend was when Dad flew us to the coast in his fancy, schmancy new plane, Kilo Hotel (I liked his old plane, Golf Alfalfa too, but Kilo Hotel has cruise control and flies fast as the wind). We flew over the ocean and enjoyed the amazing views from our first class flight. We toured a beautiful lighthouse on the beach and then went to an ice cream parlor in town and got ice cream for the first time that day. Apparently deliciously gooey, double scoop ice cream sundaes are standard fare after every meal when my husband and my dad get together (much to the dismay and distress of their almost Registered Dietitian wife/daughter, I might add).

Andrew and Michelle at the Heceta Head Lighthouse beach

Football

It was so fun to have Mom and Dad here on a recruiting weekend when they could be a part of all of the festivities, energy, excitement and craziness of our life on these intense recruiting weekends. On Saturday night we took the recruits to the UofO football game and we had a great time.

If you got in a fight with one of them, I'll bet he'd win.

Dad smiling as 60,000 fans cheer for him. He's a pretty big deal.

Even though this was all fun and games for the rest of us, Andrew was working hard the whole time. Andrew is such a hard worker and is so good at everything he does. He did such a good job this weekend that all of the recruits committed for next year.

Go Ducks!

Hiking

Last, but certainly not least, we got to spend lots of time hiking in the beautiful Oregon outdoors. We hiked to the top of Mt. Pisgah and looked over the country side and we hiked around Silver Falls and saw some magnificent waterfalls.

It was a fantastic and perfect vacation. I felt so happy and loved having my parents here. Come again soon!