Carmen was born and raised in Hood River. She grew up helping her parents in their successful Photography business. “Growing up around a small business and watching my parents have control of their time and involvement in our lives helped me realize that this is what I wanted for my family someday.” Carmen and her husband, Kevin, have 3 little boys and love living here in the Gorge where they can enjoy all the uniqueness that Hood River has to offer. After going to college and small business classes, Carmen started a Wedding Coordinating business and, for 12 years, enjoyed helping to plan the perfect wedding for brides throughout the Mid-Columbia. In the midst of the wedding business, her attention to detail and order led her to start a home cleaning business in 2000. “I have always been an organized, detail-oriented person and when I saw the potential I knew this was the small business for me. I never dreamed that this would turn into such a wonderful thing, cleaning over 100 homes a month during our peak seasons.”

Though “A Gorge Life” keeps Carmen very busy, she allows enough time to be the Homeowners Association Manager for the Mosier Creek Condos in Mosier, OR. With her husband, Kevin, she is also the shipping and handling coordinator for the Int’l SUP (stand-up paddle boarding) Company, KeNalu. Carmen’s community involvement includes being an active member of the Community Service Sorority, Alpha Gamma, and volunteering at her children’s school.

Stacey lives in Hood River with her husband and 2 kids and her sweet yellow lab. She grew up in the Yakima valley and then moved with her family to Ozark, Missouri, to continue to work with her family business. After a few years in the Midwest, she and her husband quickly realized that the Midwest and the family business was not their path in life and they were ready to go back to the West Coast. "We often visited Hood River because it was the most beautiful place we had ever been and had all of our favorite things to do here." They knew this would be the right choice for their family so they left Missouri and were Hood River bound.

"Living in Hood River and raising our family here has been a very rewarding choice for us. The quality of life you get here is priceless." Stacey met Carmen shortly after moving here and they clicked right away. They have been working together with A Gorge Life since 2006. "My job is very rewarding for me because it allows me to help people with things they might not have time for and it always makes them happy. I've always enjoyed making people happy so this was a perfect fit for me. It also allows me to be a mom (which is my most important job) and volunteer at school and other things that I enjoy doing. My job at A Gorge Life gives me the quality of life I'm looking for."