Portland

Dave and I at Crown Point- overlooking the Columbia Gorge.

Dave and I at Wahkeena Falls

Okay, this post is going to be chock full of pictures so I hope you are ready. :)

Dave and I went to Portland for the weekend to visit my family. Yes (most of) my family was in ONE place during the SAME weekend. Jamieson is about to head to Iraq so it was a chance for all of us to get together and wish him well and just enjoy ourselves.

Let's see- Friday evening Dave and I flew out. After some last minute catastrophes (we needed to find somewhere new for Pookie to spend the weekend) Dave and I made to the airport in the nick of time- to find out our airplane had been delayed an hour (I hate flying and delays don't help). We finally made it to Portland where my Dad picked us up and drove us to our hotel (with a stop at Jack in the Box). It was so good to see Mom and Dad (Tom) and Dad (Greg) and McKenzie, Doss, and Jamieson. What a group we were! It was a pretty early night for Dave and I- the boys (Doss and Jamieson) went out drinking and everyone else went to bed.

Saturday we woke up early and headed out to the Columbia Gorge for some pictures and hiking. McKenzie and Doss were both working that morning- so the five of us (Dad, Mom, Jamieson, me and Dave) crammed into Mom's rental car- which I think fits 2 comfortably. I love the Columbia Gorge- it is really just so beautiful. The first stop was Wahkeena Falls followed up by Multnomah Falls. We ended with a visit to Crown Point.

Dave at Wahkeena Falls

Jamieson, Me, Mom, and Dad (Tom) at Wahkeena falls.

Jamieson, Dave, Mom, and Dad at Wahkeena Falls

Dave and I at Multnomah Falls- Bro snuck in the back at the last minute.

Jamieson, Mom, Dave at Multnomah Falls.
I also made Dave hike up to the bridge (in the background) with me.

And then that afternoon was OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry). I love that place. They were having a Da Vinci exhibit- they had some of his notebooks and a lot of his inventions. The entire second floor was pretty much devoted to the Mona Lisa, which was a little bit overkill, but oh well. The fun part has always been the hands on "learning" stuff. I learned that my brother is a much better engineer than I am and that Dave makes some pretty awesome paper airplanes.

Dave and Jamieson playing with balls.

Dave shooting 2 liter bottle into the air
(using water and air to build pressure in the bottle)

Saturday ended at DeNicolas- our family's favorite pizza place. I had been waiting to eat pizza here since we first started planning the trip to Portland. Unfortunately, I got really sick right before dinner started (seriously, as they were putting the food down in front of us). I managed to eat about 1/4 of a piece of pizza before my sister had to drive us back to the hotel. Boo. It was another early night for Dave and I, but by that time we were pretty exhausted.

Sunday Morning was Easter Breakfast. We all managed to get up and out at a pretty decent time. After breakfast we had enough time to hang out at my sister's place before my dad drove Dave and I to the airport.

Dad (Greg), Jamieson, Doss, McKenzie, Henry, Dave, me
(That fuzzy thing up by Doss's head is Henry- their dog.
Henry looks like an Ewok and sounds like one too. Possibly the cutest dog ever- after Pookie)

And the flight home was pretty chill.

And the big thing- Bro got his The Giving Tree Tattoo - so the set is now complete. :)

And we're back...

Dave and I in front of the Eiffel Tower (at the Paris Casino)

So Vegas was a success. :) It was good to get out of town and enjoy ourselves for the weekend. We did a lot of walking and I did a lot of eating. :) We didn't take nearly as many pictures as I would have liked, but oh well.

Let's see... the drive down was pretty uneventful. We had good/clear weather on the way down- lots of sun. It was fun to see the temperatures rise the further south we went. :) We left 30 degree weather and arrived in 70 degree weather. The other fun part of the drive down was watching all the cars that went speeding by us get pulled over. :)

We stayed in the Venetian- we had a nice, big room and we could actually see the Mirage's Volcano from our window. We saw the tail end of one of the eruptions. Saturday was pretty quiet for us... we walked over to the Planet Hollywood Casino and got dinner at the buffet there (it was recommended to us by one of Dave's friends). There were so many people on the streets that it was hard to walk anywhere quickly. The casinos themselves were also pretty packed. Dave and I opted for a quiet night in our room to relax. We did catch the Bellagio Fountain show- that was just amazing! I wish I had taken pictures, but I don't think it would have come out very well.... The guy next to us proposed to his girlfriend and she accepted, so that was kind of cool. :)

Sunday we walked the entire length of the strip and got breakfast at the Luxor. This gave us a good chance to really see the casinos in the day light (Vegas looks so different during the day versus night!). It was nice because there weren't nearly as many people on the sidewalks so it made it easier to walk and see everything. We headed back to the Venetian and started gambling. :) Dave and I played the slots the most but we really had fun with the video poker. The table minimums were a bit expensive, so we stuck to the machines. :) Dave is quite the poker player and won a fantastic amount of money in a very short amount of time. Good for him! We then walked back down the strip to play at the New York (just for something different) and finished with dinner at the Bellagio Buffet (I was just loving that!). We then finished our night back at the Venetian. On our way up to the room Dave convinced me to stop and play a few rounds of Roulette and I ended up winning about $50! Whoo hoo!

Sunday Dave and I were out the door pretty early- we wanted to get back to Salt Lake. The best part about trips like these is seeing another town and then realizing how much we love home. :) We were happy to be on our way back to Salt Lake.

Over all it was a good time. :) We're looking forward to visiting Vegas again- sometime. Probably not any time soon, but one of these days. I'm not sure where the next place we'll try to vacation is, but I want to try to go Yellowstone, Disneyland, Portland, and some of the National Parks in Southern Utah. Maybe the Grand Canyon too.

And we're back...

(Haystack Rock)

Dave and I went to the Oregon Coast expecting/hoping for rain and clouds and wind and general storminess. Instead we got what was probably the most beautiful day I have ever seen on the Oregon Coast. Warm temperatures, clear blue sky, no wind... it was beautiful!

(Pookie did not like the cold water)




Friday, Dave and I loaded up the car, grabbed Pookie, and started on our way to Oregon. The drive there was pretty relaxed and went surprisingly quick. Pookie slept pretty much the entire way. She has claimed the driver's seat as her own- it doesn't matter who is sitting there, Pookie will be in that person's lap. We got into Portland, unloaded our car full of stuff for Kenny and Doss and then went out to dinner with Dad, Pam, Kenny, Doss, my Uncle Tracy, and his new wife. It was good to catch up with everyone, but it went way too quickly. We stayed Friday night in a hotel room that didn't allow pets so we had to sneak the Poo in. :)

(Dave sneaking Pookie into the hotel room. He zipped his jacket up over the bag but Pookie's nose would pop out every few feet.)

Saturday morning, after breakfast with the family, Dave and I headed towards the Oregon Coast. I almost got us lost in Portland, but managed to get us back on the right track. :) The drive down the coast was beautiful, but we didn't spend as much time driving along the ocean as I had expected. We stopped in Cannon Beach and in Tillamook and finally got down to Newport in the late afternooon. As Dave and I were walking along bayfront Newport, trying to figure out what to eat, we got a phone call from McKenzie. Probably the most confusing phone call ever because it was so unexpected.

(McKenzie and Doss at Mo's Annex)

As we were walking by Mo's Annex (good chowder) McKenzie called and asked what we were doing. We told her we were trying to figure out what to eat fo dinner and she suggested Mo's Annex and said that they were there. It took me a little bit to figure out that McKenzie and Doss were also in Newport and eating dinner in the restaurant we were walking right by. :) It was a great surprise. So we ate dinner with them and walked along the bay front and watched some sea lions.

(Sea Lions chilling on the dock. Kinda looked like the were doing Yoga)

Our hotel room sucked (it was too loud and we couldn't sleep very well) and the clock was set wrong. So Dave and I were up and out the door an hour earlier than we thought it was. Due to the early morning hour (and my crankiness) we decided to take our time and head back to Utah on Sunday. We took a different route that would take us by Cascadia- a favorite camping spot of mine. That was awesome! We made the Poo pretend to swim (held her above the surface of the water so that she would doggy paddle). And the rest of the drive took forever.

Anyway, that was our weekend. In short, Dave and I spent the entire weekend in the car and only half the day at the Oregon Coast. PS: If you look closely you can see the beard that Dave is trying to grow!

The self portrait. :)

It's like my Friday

Well, my week is finally coming to a close. It has been a long, exhausting week. I will be glad to finally get home this evening. It was one of those weeks where it seemed like everything came with a struggle- nothing could go quickly, or easily. I would have to go back and forth and fix mistakes (mine and others) and it seems like I have spent most of the past few days just trying to find these errors. Boo.

Anyway, we are off to the Oregon Coast tomorrow. I am so excited (have I mentioned it enough already). On a side note, I got a bonus! :) Right in time for our trip. What good timing. I have lots of packing and cleaning and getting ready to do this evening after I get home from Michaels. I have a bunch of bananas that are prime for banana bread so I am going to make the effort to bake that up to take with us.

I remember when I was younger that my mom would always try to get the house clean before we went on vacation and I never understood it. Why clean the house when we are going to be gone? Well, I'm going to try to clean the house before we leave. It will be nice to come home to a clean home. :)

Anyway.... I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Friends in town

I'm going to meet up with my friend Manu and his wife this evening. I am more excited to see them than I expected. :) Dave and I are going to go out to dinner with them this evening. They will be in town until Sunday so hopefully I'll have a chance to show them around the valley a little too!

Last Hurrah (Before School Starts)

Well, Dave starts school today. After realizing yesterday afternoon that there was a major conflict between his class schedule and his soccer games, we had some last minute reorganizing to do. And his schedule looks pretty manageable now. :) This semester Dave is taking Physiology, Physics, and Math 1070 (a stats class I think). Only three classes but it's considered full time! Next week Dave will start shadowing a member of the Physical Therapy department so he'll have a chance to really learn about the program and everything that is involved.

On Saturday Dave, Pookie, and I went up into the Uintas to Mirror Lake. I had heard that Mirror Lake was just beautiful, but I'm a little disappointed. It was really crowded- lots of people fishing (my sister's husband, Doss, would probably have a lot of fun with this place).

We got out and walked around the lake (which was fun) and also went off and hiked a little bit elsewhere (where there were not so many people).

Pookie was a good watch dog- except she kept barking at all of the fishermen (here's Dave trying to get Pookie to be quiet).

I was able to take a lot of good pictures though. :) Enough pictures to annoy Dave too.

By the end of the trip Pookie was pretty tired- she just curled up in Dave's lap and slept the entire time. :) It was pretty cute.

Cascadia

This past weekend I met up with my family in Portland, Oregon and we drove about 2 hours south to this park called Cascadia. It's a well known family secret- we've gone down there since I was young (it was discovered when my dad was a kid). It's a great place- small campground, lots of trees, hiking, and swimming. The only catch is that the water is snow melt so it is COLD! But so much fun.

It was good to good to see my siblings again- lots of fun. I'm looking forward to the future when weekends like this become more common. McKenzie, Jamieson, and Doss will be in Portland for the remainder of the week, but I had to return to Utah last night.

Going back to Portland is always interesting- I never know what to expect. Will I hate it or enjoy it? This last time was good, but I was ready to get back home to my husband. :)

Portland, Oregon

Well folks, I am off to Portland, OR for the weekend. I am pretty excited actually, aside from the flying part. My brother, Jamieson, and my sister, McKenzie, and her husband, Doss, will be meeting me out there. Our dad and his wife live there so it will be kind of a mini family reunion. Definitely the first time in years that we will hve been all together like this. It should be fun. Sad to say Dave will not be coming on this adventure with me. :( Stupid gas prices. Although, I did try to convince him to call in sick to work so that we could drive out there today. He didn't go for it (bah, work ethic). So Dave will stay home and take care of the Poo and relax all weekend while I go out and enjoy my siblings.


I think we are going either to Cascadia (a beautiful campground about 2 hours south of Portland) or to the Oregon Coast. Either sound wonderful. It will be great to be surrounded by trees and water and forests and all that good stuff. It is a nice change from Salt Lake City. :) I'll be taking lots of pictures. :)

Distance

Dave flew to Phoenix, Arizona last night. And I slept like crap all alone. :( It's amazing how our lives have become entwined- the other day I told Dave that the hardest thing about being with him was when we had to be apart. :)

So Dave and the majority of the family flew to Arizona last night. They were supposed to leave at 5 PM but the plane didn't leave until around 9 PM. The airline treated everyone like crap and, in general, everyone was not in a good mood by the time they left (Good Job US Airways!). It was supposed to be Nick's fun night out but I don't think they did much by the time everyone got in. Sad.

Rant: I hate flying in to Phoenix, Arizona. It seems like every flight into or out of that airport is delayed for at least 2 hours (just enough for someone to miss their connecting flight). Every single person I've talked to has not had a good experience flying through that airport and the general rule seems to be: avoid Phoenix, AZ airport if possible.

Dave gets back tonight (hopefully it is easier to get back here than it was to go).