The visit

I'm a little sad. And a little drunk.


But I am a lot happy and grateful. Thank you, D and G.


Thanks for the sake.
The groceries.
The games.
The chopping.
For holding the baby while I cooked.
The compliments.
The cheerful "Good morning!"'s
The passing on of family heirloooms.
The books.
The ability to go with the flow.
The word play.
The hairspray sacrifices.
The late night.
And, finally, the invaluable and simple understanding, as only a family can offer.

one week just wasn't quite enough...

Blake's dad George and his dear wife Gigi stayed with us this past week. They were the perfect guests! Didn't hear a peep, helped with dinner and cleaned the kitchen every night! They even filled up the Suburban with gas. We tried to sell them on Portland the whole time they were here--of course, it is more complicated but we all do wish we lived closer (they are in Fresno.) Of course, they got to see us in all of our glory--rowdy kids, irritated parents, B and I argued for a few of the days....but George just said "Fuck it! you guys are doing a wonderful job. None of that matters. We had a great time." Aw, shucks....are you sure you can't handle 300 days of rain??

Our itinerary:
Sunday--they arrived, had a nice steak and salad dinner
Monday--we sailed but there was NO wind, me and G took the kids to the beach
Tuesday--Body Worlds at OMSI, then lunch at Bay 13 in the Pearl, Blake gave Mayan bangs without asking me, he slept on couch;-)
Wednesday--stayed home for the 4th, G made jewelry with the girls while I got my botched wax fixed, had ribs, coleslaw and watermelon salad
Thursday--D and G went to Forest Grove to the famous sake maker SakeOne, I played at park with girls then B and I kissed and made-up, went to our new favorite sushi restaurant
Friday--Multnomah Falls and picnic, made quick chicken sandwich dinner then Blake, D, and G went and saw the Moody Blues at the Arlene Schnitzer
Saturday--Blake took D to Music Millenium, then made a quiche for lunch, met with photographer Amy at boat for a family shoot including a lovely windy sail, D made us ppast with leek, cabbage, and fontina for dinner
Sunday--they were gone before we awoke *sob* (that was the plan though--they didn't just disappear!)


Photo highlights:

our guest room is ready to recieve

blake reading an old family letter

scoping and hoping for some breeze

deep thoughts from the bow

a bustling family dinner

D and MG waiting for sushi

a picture perfect lunch

how's your food, B?

the sushi stuffer

a man, his iced coffee, and a waterfall

what a cute pair!

my new favorite Lou-B self portrait

easy, breezy, beautiful...cover girl!

what a lovely mist

i heart nature