Our Vacation: Part One - Portland, OR

So we just got back on Tuesday night from our wonderful vacation to the northwest. We had a great 10 days visiting friends, Ollie's mom and stepdad and Ollie's dad. We kept busy and there was never a dull moment. The kids loved seeing their grandparents and having some quality time together.

Since we were gone for a long time and did so many awesome things, I have tons (and I mean tons) of pictures. So I'm going to have to break the posts up. I'll start at the beginning. Our first stop was Portland. We arrived Saturday evening and headed to the hotel where our friends from Seattle were waiting. They had driven down to spend the night and the next day with us. It was so good to see my girlfriends. I miss them so much! Some things have changed since we saw them last. It was great to meet Alijah, Lanetria's son who was born a week before Anson, and it was neat to see how much L.J. (Cynthia's son) and Miles (Phea's son) had grown. It also meant a lot for them to meet Anson and see Genevieve again. Oh, and Genevieve was elated to see her best buddy, Miles (which I don't have a good pic of, waiting for Phea to send me some).

We spent Saturday night walking and dining on the waterfront. Then Sunday we headed out to Multnomah Falls for the afternoon to let the kids see some of the northwests beautiful nature. I was sad to see my friends go, but so fortunate I had a little time with them! That night we met up with my cousin Mary, who moved to Portland in February, at a local restaurant that was delicious! After dinner we got some ice cream and walked around a little neighborhood park. It was great catching up with her and seeing how happy she is in her new home! Lastly, on Monday we met one of Ollie's childhood friends, Mike, and his girlfriend Jessica, for a nice brunch before we hit the road. They were visiting from New York at the same time and had rearranged their schedule so we could have a little face time. It was a great meal and I know Ollie enjoyed seeing an old friend.