Sand in the City

JD and I had a blast going to Sand in the City in downtown Portland.  They truck in 4 tons of sand, dump it in Pioneer Square, and then have a building contest.  There were a lot of different entries that were pretty fun.  They were on a smaller scale than what was at Cannon Beach but we did see a couple of participants that were at the Cannon festival.  Some of the fun ones that we enjoyed were Dr. Seuss, Finding Nemo, Despicable Me Minions, and a cool rocket ship castle.  After our sand castle fix, we finally used the gift card that JD won at Deschutes Brewery.  It was kind of fun calculating things out to ensure that we spent $50 before we left, which is not super easy when we don't drink alcohol.  After appetizers, soup, lemonades, main entrees and desserts we were able to spend $51.50.  It was a super fun day and it was so nice being able to spend it with JD.

A Week With Aimee

Aimee and her friend Lisa came out to 'visit' this week.  'Visit' really means it was more so to take care of me with JD being gone.  It was a really good week.  Aimee and Lisa went and did lots of fun things during the day when I was at work like Silver Falls State Park, the Gorge, and other things that a very pregnant lady who is waiting for her husband to be back home shouldn't be doing.  Then these angels would come home and prepare dinner, clean, and spend time with me.  Our weekend was a lot of fun.  We drove out to the coast and were able to enjoy Cannon Beach and Ecola State Park.  We hit the beach at the perfect time for tide pooling and got to see crabs, starfish, anemones, and other creatures.  After the coast Allie, Lisa, Aimee, and I went to the Portland temple before having dinner together.  We had a relaxing Sunday going to church and hanging out, after dinner we went up to the International Rose Test Garden.  Monday we started out the day going berry picking.  We ended up with a ton of delicious raspberries.  Following the berry farm we went down town and spent a lot of time in Powell's City of Books Store.  I am so grateful for the help I received and the friendship I have with Miss Aimee.  It was a lot of fun having time together and showing her some of the things JD and I love about Oregon.

Speth Trip Day 4: Downtown Portland

The day started off with JD, Jeff, JaNae, Sye, and Jake going to the Portland Temple while Miranda slept in.  They got to go down town to see the sites.  Some stops included: Waterfront Park, Powell's Book Store, Pioneer Square, and VooDoo Donuts (a first time attendance for JD-I don't eat donuts so the only ones he has had are ones I have brought to him from coworkers that I didn't eat) they are a very famous donut shop with rather unusual names and toppings.  Portland has what becomes almost a month long celebration for the Rose Festival, and one of the first things that happens is the Pioneer Square flower art.  They put a design on display for about 2 1/2 weeks at which point all the flowers that were used in the art are sold.  After the downtown adventures I was able to meet up with the fam and we went to Washington Square Mall to eat dinner, but a stop at the Lego store was a must the picture on this post was what I saw when I walked into the store: three grown little boys looking at a box of Legos.  Miranda got to go see a Timbers game with her friend Joe who is playing on one of the reserve teams for the Timbers.  We ate at the Cheesecake Factory and it was delicious.  It was another busy but fun day.

  

Speth Trip Day 1: Church, Roses, Hoyt, & Pittock

The Speth's are here!  It was so fun meeting them at church, though it was weird saying most of a bench when we are used to just two of us.  We had a quick lunch and then headed up to the International Rose Test Garden, Pittock Mansion, and Hoyt Arboretum.

After our adventure we went back to our apartment and cooked the Papa Murphy's pizza we bought after getting home yesterday and played games.  We are all (almost all) now versed in Bohnanza, also known as the 'bean game'. 

Springtime in Portland

 We went downtown and walked the Willamette River today, and true to our past Portland experiences, there is always something weird going on.  This time we saw a very strong runner go by us wearing blue bunny ears, a few minutes later there were more runners one with cotton balls around the neckline and a bunny tail.  Another couple minutes passed and suddenly we found out we were completely surrounded by bunny runners, at least they were running slow enough we were able to realize that we were in the middle of an Easter themed race.  The blossoms everywhere are beautiful.  The one below is not a black and white it was actually taken in the Target parking lot when I was doing some shopping for a charity basket for work.

I am really enjoying spring here if you can't tell.

Portland

We went downtown today.  Portland is a much different place during the 'off season' but still as quirky as ever.  On the agenda was: Powell's Bookstore, Athleta (yay!), Willamette River Walk, and walk around Pioneer Plaza and Square.  We are finally offically in fall here.  Some of the trees have changed to bright oranges, yellows, and reds, with many more who have yet to even start changing.  I wish the quieter weekends with JD would last longer.  We have been super busy between him studying and my new job training. 

The Navigator

Today was a big day.  I drove through Portland, across bridges, along OR-10, OR-8, OR-26, I-405 S, I-5 N, I-84 E, I-205 N, OR-30 E, OR-30 W, I-84 W, I-5 S, and I-405 N.  I did this alone.  I did this without a map.  I did this without getting lost.  I did this in great time.  I DID IT!  I love maps and I love knowing where I am.  Moving here has been a little difficult in that I couldn't look at maps when I was driving, and I didn't know where I was.  Today was liberating to say the least.  Having a GPS would be easier, but then I wouldn't have victories like today and oh how good they feel!

Portlandia

We explored downtown Portland today and had a great time.  We started at Pioneer Square which was having an Italian Festival complete with band playing songs like "Amore"-when the moon hits your eye like a big-a pizza pie, that's amore- we went to the Old Town Farmer's Market, walked along the Willamette River, saw China Town, and went to Powell's City of Books.  I love Powell's.  Today's highlights included a 1st Edition Adventures of Tom Sawyer and 1st Edition Stuart Little (that is the one I am holding in the picture).  There was also a book from 1512 with a $4,800 price tag.  I love walking through all the rooms and levels and seeing all the different books everywhere.  It is awesome.  We explored Jeld-Wen Field a little bit and enjoyed the sites and sounds of all the people, there is definately a reason that Portland's Motto is: "Keep Portland Weird", there were plenty of different things and people to watch.

International Rose Test Garden

It is still so strange to me that we can drive to downtown Portland in 20 minutes.  After a long week, JD and I went to the International Rose Test Gardens for a change of scenery before he spent the rest of his Saturday studying.  It was overcast and cool, a very welcome change from the 100 degree sunny weather we have had the past week.  We had fun walking around taking pictures, sniffing roses, and looking at the names of all the different roses.  They have everything from Fragrant Cloud to Betty Boop to Ketchup and Mustard.  I was a fan of the Octoberfest Roses (second ones down on the left), and that was even before I knew what they were named.  It was a quick get away and it was fantastic.