And it was a trip long in the works. Long on my "list" of places to travel, high on that list, too. We just had to sell the old house first, get settled in the new house, start our new school year. And also wait for flights to not cost $2000 total- because as much as we love our friends dearly, that's a lot of money. SO...when I just happened, and I do mean randomly happened, to check flights late one night back in October (this was when I was wallowing in my Fall of bad luck...sprained ankle, Zoey's death, car accident- I needed something happy on my radar)...and bam- I was staring at $64 flights!! Holy moly! I could fly my whole family out there for $500!!! Yippee! I couldn't believe my good luck. I needed that. I texted Patricia the next day first chance I got, basically: hey what are you doing MLK weekend- can we play? Patricia and the kids were ecstatic! Then began the 3 month long wait for our trip...
We finally flew out Saturday January 16th! I could hardly believe we were finally doing it- we were finally heading to Portland to see our friends. I don't think I really believed it was happening until we pulled up in front of their house and saw their super happy faces- then I believed it!
Saturday
Our flight was bright and early- 9:10 AM! We made it. It was close, though- we walked up to our gate just as they were boarding- yes, boarding!! Ben thought that was tight- he's right, in a way, but I thought it was perfectly timed- NO waiting! We got on the plane with some happy and excited kids. Annabel LOVED looking out the window the whole flight out- it was all so fascinating and awesome for her; she even brought her binoculars on the plane so she could look out the window- so cute. Daniel, going from previous flight experiences (he got sick both the last two times he flew, always two hours after landing, which was weird. I still to this day believe the last time we flew, he had just caught a stomach bug, because Annabel also got sick that trip- remember our fun Disney trip?), believed flying made him sick- so he closed his window and would not look out at all. (He turned out to be fine this time- both ways. Phew! This opens doors for more trips- yay!) Anyway, the kids were well entertained with tablets, activity books, and so on. The flight felt long, I think mostly because we could all hardly wait to be there, but we managed just fine.
We landed, ate lunch, grabbed our suitcases, picked up our car rental, and we were on our way. Our friends live about a half hour away from the airport...so it wasn't long now! I'd estimated we'd be at Patricia's house at 2:00 and man I nailed it- we were there at 2:00 on the spot. The kids couldn't get out the car fast enough and once they were out, I never saw them again- they ran in and were off and playing! Daniel was so cute, as we pulled out of our driveway that morning- 6:45 AM (before sunrise- which by the way, the kids loved watching the sky glowing brighter and brighter with each minute, the pink contrails were amazing- they looked like lasers in the sky, so cool)- he said, "We get to see their whole house. Not just on a screen." It was the perfect description. We'd been given a tour of their house on Skype, but now, we'd see it in person. So the kids played, Patricia and Joe gave Ben and me a tour of their wonderful home, and then we sat and chatted away. Oh how I've missed that!
Dinner was a family fave...Red Robin! So fun! Our hotel was the next stop- we basically fell in bed dead asleep at 8:00 that night!
The best part- we got to wake up and see our friends again the very next day!!!! Our Portland trip was already SO wonderful and we were just one day in!
Ready to go!
Look closely...Annabel and I spotted these circles of rainbows in the clouds from our window- so cool!
Only once we landed did Daniel look out his window!
Mustache mouth at dinner!
Sunday
Oh Sunday, how do I begin. It was the most amazing day. Main goal- hitting the beach!!! (Yes, we know it's winter.) Our family started the day by swimming in the hotel pool (the kids' must-do when staying at a hotel! We made sure our hotel here had a pool, and continental breakfast!). Our friends met us up at our hotel that morning after church and we headed out for a day of sightseeing. Ben and I were curious about the Evergreen Air and Space Museum down in McMinnville. Patricia had heard great things about it and they'd never been, so it was a perfect place to explore together before heading out to the main destination of the day. And wow- this place was cool. (First, we had lunch at a really delicious little cafe in cute downtown McMinnville- Wild Wood Cafe. Their homemade bread- amazing.)
We spent a loooong time at Evergreen- so many neat planes to check out, the Spruce Goose is there (so cool!), and then they had a really fun kids' area to play in. And that was just the first building. The next building was the Space building. The kids had fun running from planet to planet on the walkway there and then they hopped in place on the sun laughing all the while because, you know, the sun is hot hot hot. Anyway, we could have spent a lot longer in the Space building, but, we'd been there long enough as it was, it was getting late and we did still want to get to the beach, before dark preferably, and the kids really couldn't wait any longer to go to the beach anyway. So we zipped around in there- felt a rocket take off (leaning against a wall- pretty cool!), used flashlights to look under a really tall rocket that started two floors down that's how big and tall it was, and they even had one of those flying airplane amusement rides that the kids begged to go on and LOVED! And then we headed to the coast.
The kids couldn't wait to get to the beach! The drive there was beautiful. We got to the beach after an hour's drive from the museum. You can literally park right there on the beach. We hopped out and ran onto the sand to check it out. It was not warm out at all. It was cold cold cold. It is Winter after all. Did the kids mind? Not. One. Bit. Just as I thought. Oh my gosh did they have the most fun there. Patricia had loaded up her car with all their beach toys- kites, buckets, etc. And the kids enjoyed all that. (And looking at the pictures now- I've decided all kids must have a yellow beach bucket- it's just so cute and such an awesome pop of color.) It got darker and darker as they played and we looked on. We flirted with the tide coming in, trying to check out a large piece of driftwood floating in, most of the time we got away from the water, but one wave pushed the water in waaaay up and we all got soaked. (That's okay, most of us had either water shoes on, or at least a change of shoes available... Ben was not most of us. Hair dryer it was the next morning.) Anyway, we were all laughing so hard at having got caught in the water, wet pants, wet shoes and all. It just added to the fun, really!
This beach is a really neat beach, too. We were at the beach in Pacific City. So much to see there, we really didn't even explore that much, given the late hour and the coldness, and the kids were just having such a good time in their little spot, it was all perfect as it was. There's a really neat huge monolith a mile off shore- the Haystack Rock- such a cool rock. There's a cliff right there with layers of different rock colors and a huge sand dune next to it. There's another part of the shoreline with rocks all over the place (we didn't get down there). We saw mist and fog and far-away-rain (thankfully, our hour and a half on the beach was one of the rare times during our visit that it didn't rain on us!). We loved our beach visit. It was really awesome.
My kids have now seen the Pacific Ocean! How amazing is that?! (Annabel is particularly impressed, having learned about that ocean in school!) I was reminded of this quote I read somewhere- something about how when you step in an ocean, you're suddenly part of something truly global, something larger than anything on Earth, something so much bigger than us and larger than life- it was kind of amazing to reflect on that while were flirting with the tide. I'm SO glad we still went to the beach, even with questionable weather and even with the later hour. The drive there alone was worth it, too. So pretty!
The kids crashed in the car on the way back through the mountains toward our hotel- they. were. out. Such a big, amazing day we had! My sweet memory of the trip- Annabel, after stumbling down the hallway to our room at the hotel, half asleep, looked up at me in her sleepy haze, stepped forward and gave me a really big hug. Melt my heart. She walked in the room, silently lifted her arms up as if to say put me in my jammies, curled up in bed, and went back to sleep. Daniel- stumbled even more down the hallway, stumbled into the room lion in hand, picked up bear and kitty, then basically landed in bed and continued sleeping. It was too funny. He woke up the next morning and to his big surprise, was still in his clothes! He shrieked with laughter- he thought this was just too funny! He did NOT remember falling in bed with clothes on. I got a kick out of this.
Annabel will tell you the beach was her favorite part of the trip.
Daniel is already planning our next trip to Portland- in the SUMMER, Mom, so we can go to the beach again when it's WARM, Mom. Patricia said yes please when I told her this! Give me another cheap flight and we're there. :)
Pool time!
Collecting bubbles in the hot tub!
Cute, delicious little cafe. The kids' menus were printed inside of actual story books! So clever.
Evergreen- this place was HUGE!
Ansel LOVED Ben. He was like this the whole trip! So cute!
Inside the Spruce Goose.
Cutest picture!
The kids' play area was so fun!
The Spruce Goose- this isn't even all of it!
Flying from planet to planet on the way to the Space building!
Cutie pie!
Now that's a big rocket- again, that's not even all of it!
Two floors down...there's the bottom of that rocket! They are all trying to look up under it.
Best friends.
Let's go flying!
On our way to the beach, before we hit the mountains...so pretty and mystical.
Look at that view! That's looking South down the beach.
Family pic in front of the Haystack Rock.
The view looking North.
Awesome shot of the Haystack. So mystical.
See?- Ansel's holding onto Ben nice and tight.
Beach fun!!!
Annabel was chilly. That's Ben's hat. And she wore her socks for gloves. (I did bring their hats and gloves, I promise, I just kept leaving them in the hotel room.)
Flirting with the tide.
I love the movement in this picture.
Yellow bucket- I've decided we must have one next time we go to the beach!
This picture takes me back. Those fingers raking the sand. Yep, my heart went straight back to Annabel's first beach trip when she was one.
Almost dark. Still playing. Not a care in the world. Oh to be a kid at the beach.
Fast asleep. Sign of a great day.
Monday
We took it a tad easier on Monday. Monday was Portland day. Patricia and I headed to my #1 must-do on this trip- Powell's Bookstore. And what a bookstore! Wow. Just wow. We were there two hours and could have easily stayed much longer. We wandered all over. Looked at kids' books. I limited myself majorly here, being the person who had to fly it all home, but I treated the kids each to two books- Sophie Mouse book 2 for Annabel (super cute series!) and a book titled Bink and Gollie recommended by Patricia for Annabel (which Annabel LOVED!), and for Daniel- Galaxy Zack (which he recognized immediately- "I've seen this at the library!"- and he LOVED it!) and another one titled The Kindgom of Wrenly, which gets great reviews and has been on my list, too. So fun! And then we wandered some more, ending up in Literature for books for me. We went up and down each row, looking high (really high- they actually have ladders all over the place because the shelves are so high there are that many books!) and low. We only made it up to letter M (to my chagrin) because then we had to grab lunch at the cafe there before heading out to meet the husbands and kids at Oregon Museum of Science & Industry (OMSI). I treated myself to a book titled Human Being by one of my favorite authors, Christopher Morley. And treat is the right word- these are old books, we're talking 1930's, and I picked up a pretty special copy. I figured I wanted to do it right. It was not outrageously priced at $18, but it was twice the price of the other copy they had. I couldn't wait to get home and start reading it; it's an interesting read so far, slow going but gosh there are some noteworthy quotes that I just love. Anyway, our bookstore adventure was a fun trip and quite a highlight for me. Patricia and I both just love to read and love to talk books (we're always swapping titles for us and the kids!), so this was just the perfect outing for us two. I'm so glad we had a chance to get out just the two of us.
OMSI was a fun place to check out with the kids. It's just filled with science play activities and exhibits. The kids had a ball there, doing this and that all over the place. We were there a few hours, too, and had a great time all around. The Earthquake House was a hit- the kids wore out that machine! The loved the ball maze on the wall in the ball area. They loved making their own creations to float in a tube of wind. The brain teasers hall hurt my head- I can't do those! The kids had fun trying... We all loved the building blocks that made arches- team work needed and oh so fun!
After we were done there, the kids and husbands headed home, while Patricia and I stopped at Papa Murphy's to pick up pizzas to bring back. We were excited to be having our long-lost much loved favorite pizza again! (There aren't any locations near us anymore, haven't been for a few years- it was a very sad day when we pulled up to ours only to discover they'd gone out of business. Daniel bawled his eyes out- I remember that day so well. It was heartbreaking for him, for us.) The kids ate their pizza and then had the most fun playing and running all over the house- that was a really fun night. They clearly needed some time to just let loose and play play play again! It was fine with us adults- we chatted away, polishing off the rest of the pizza!
Another great day in the books!
Brain teasers!
Let's move on! The girls were so sweetly holding hands.
Team work!
Almost there- and they did get all the way up, I just missed that picture before it fell down!
Annabel using her leg energy!
Earthquake house! Blurry picture, but I love Daniel's expression and Ansel just standing there is too cute, too.
Ball maze fun.
Hard at work making things to fly up the wind tube. This was really fun to do. We were here for quite a while.
Playing back at home! This was a very familiar sight- the boys having a blast with the Playmobil toys.
I tried to go take a picture of the girls in Delilah's room, but I caught them having just turned off the lights, hiding behind the door, trying to sneak out to sneak up on the boys. I love these adorable smiles!
More play time!
Tuesday
Tuesday was our day at home to just relax and play. I shared packets of my new chai latte with Patricia (and now when I have a cup, it takes me back to my time with her!) and we chatted the day away. We made lunches, the kids played and we chatted some more (Joe worked, but Ben was perfectly happy to sit and read, enjoying a day off of work, and now and then, Ansel would find him and play!), and then around 1:00 we headed out to SubZero for a unique ice cream treat, customized and made fresh with liquid nitrogen to freeze it up! So fun to watch! And yummy to eat! The kids loved this treat! They'd been waiting all trip to have this ice cream. (And Voodoo Doughnuts, which sadly, did not make it on our agenda this time. We'll just have to come back!)
For dinner that night, we met up with Ben's cousin Nathan who lives right in Portland. We finally got to meet his wife and we had a great couple hours chatting away, enjoying a delicious dinner at a pub near their house. It really was a nice visit and a nice change of pace for the day. Patricia and I could feel the kids winding down that day, having enjoyed being together immensely, but feeling clearly fulfilled. Still, we weren't quite ready to say goodbye and our flight home the next day didn't leave until mid-day.
Toys, toys, everywhere. Also, let's just play anywhere!
The girls had fun playing games.
And building blocks.
And hiding out in Delilah's loft...which you enter in her closet. Neatest little hideout!
Ice cream time!
This little cutie was back in Ben's arms!
Dig in!
Slowing down, making projects now- so sweet!
Wednesday
Wednesday. Wednesday. It came around, as days do. The day to go home. Sadly. But really, we were all so fulfilled and so thoroughly happy with five really great days together. We didn't have to leave for our flight until 11:00, so we had plenty of time to soak up another couple hours with our best friends before it was time to say goodbye. The kids ran off and played as they had been for the past four days. Us moms chatted away some more- we never ran out of things to talk about. We also had a great time just sitting and watching the kids play. It was bittersweet at this point, knowing there was an end in sight, knowing just how wonderfully the kids had all played together. We wanted to just ignore the fact that we were leaving and it would probably be a while until we'd all be together again. Still trying to ignore that- it's not working so well. Time is funny that way. Just a few days later, it had already felt like a year again; it feels so far away that we even went on our trip. We're trying to hang onto the wonderfulness of the trip- because it really was the. best. I knew 2016 was going to be a good year...it's started off fabulously!
Best friends.
The mountain finally decided to show it's face to us as we headed to the airport- so cool!
Goofy girl. All right, all right, let's get home.
Well, my dear friends, thanks for the memories, thanks for letting us come play for five days, thanks for everything...we loved every minute of our trip!
Until next time...
