Portland 2022, the first five days

There is not much opportunity to blog this week, but I will at least attempt to start here on my phone - which I always find to be very frustrating.

Before we left for the airport Saturday afternoon I said goodbye to my tulips  not sure what they will look like when we return on Monday. 

We flew from State College to Detroit and had a short layover before we headed for Portland. That flight is at least four hours long, so I was feeling a bit sleepy at some points. There was cloud cover the whole way, so I was not able to get pictures even though I did have a window seat.   But it was really cool that it just kept staying  daylight no matter how late it became, because we kept going across time zones. As we got close to the Portland airport we got the greatest view of Mount Hood.

Jeremy and the kids met us at the airport and we were at their house soon.  We had pork carnitas around the dining room table.  Their friend Christy was here along with her dog, a sibling of Jeremy and Mike’s new dog Lillie Mae  

We had so much fun playing a new game, BlockUs, after dinner.  

All those fun things, and I didn’t take one picture of anybody!!!  I did, however, take pictures of some rooms - the new wet bar that Jeremy installed, the guest room, and the living room with the new rug. 

 

We stayed up so late talking.  I probably didn’t fall asleep before 1:00 am, which at home would have been 4:00 am!

On Sunday morning Brennan could hardly wait for me to sit with him so we could do “funny faces” with Snapchat filters. 

While we sat there Lillie Mae was checking me out and suddenly decided I was alright, lol!

I loved sitting on the back porch and taking in the beauty. We enjoyed a slow, relaxing morning. 

After a late brunch we all loaded into their SUV. Our first stop was a tuxedo rental store. While the rest of them were doing business I had fun pulling things out of a dollar bin for Brennan to try on. 

From there we went to Oregon Zoo. What a wonderful afternoon we had!!  The weather was warm and sunny, but not humid. The walkways were nice, the habitats and animals really interesting. 

Part way through we stopped for a delicious lunch.  Later we sat for a long time watching the elephants.  They had at least five big ones. 

The best part was the train ride at the end.  I didn’t even get a picture of it. 

At home Tasha and I got busy making apple pies and the guys grilled hamburgers. Their friend Mark joined us for dinner and the evening. All that, and the only picture I took was this one at the fire on the porch. 

On Monday morning Dick and I walked Brennan to school. It was a brisk, beautiful morning.  The dogwood trees and azaleas are vibrantly blooming everywhere!!

Mike works as director of special services at a preschool, so he was gone most of the day Monday. Jeremy can work remotely and was busy with phone calls, emails, etc.  I started sewing leather straps for Jeremy’s other bench. You can see the one bench he already had completed. 

It was fun to FaceTime with Destiny. They were having a cookout in their backyard and invited their next-door neighbor and her two little girls.

After Jeremy and I picked Tasha up from school, we took her for a haircut. She was very happy with it and we thought she looked adorable. Dick played a lot with Brennan. 

In the evening their friend Tom arrived from Richmond Virginia. They had all been friends in Florida and have stayed good friends. He is here for their friend Megan’s wedding.  Below you can see the picture I took of Jeremy, Mike, and Tom in 2008.  We got good laughs out of that!

I made meatloaf, which was requested by Tasha, and roasted sweet potatoes and veggies for dinner that evening.  I don’t think there were any leftovers!

On Tuesday I put a pork roast in the crockpot and later made it into pulled pork. Of course I made sure we got coleslaw for our pulled pork sandwiches and they were a great hit. Jeremy had seen a picture of a salad made with red beets and Gorgonzola cheese, so I made that also. I forgot to take any pictures, so Jeremy took pictures of the very empty dishes to prove how delicious everything was, lol!  He also got a picture of the old cook!

We enjoyed sitting by the fire on the back porch for quite a long time that evening. 

Wednesday was a gorgeous day right from the beginning. I got more pictures on our walk to school with Brennan. 

There was a landscaper here all day Wednesday. By the time he left, Jeremy and Like were at the wedding rehearsal, so I went outside to take pictures to send to them. 

As you can see, seven-month-old Lillie Mae is everyone’s big baby!  She is such a sweetheart. 

This is Thursday now, a cool rainy day. The day of Megan’s wedding.  Megan has been a friend of Jeremy and Mike since at least 2010 when they lived in Florida. She actually got a job and moved here to Portland before they did. She’s the one who baked our scrumptious 50th anniversary carrot cake in October.  I wish this were a sunny day for her, but thankfully the wedding and reception will be indoors.  But she was planning for outdoor pictures.