Keepin' it weird

Flash mob freezes in place outside Powell's books, then melts away

Ben's Birthday in Goonie-ville (Astoria, OR)

For Ben's birthday I told him I would take him on a weekend get-away anywhere he wanted to go. My soon-to-be 30-year-old husband chose Astoria, or Goonie-ville as some people call it (Astoria is where the movie The Goonies was filmed). Well, I said anywhere, right? So off to Astoria, I mean Goonie-ville, we went. We had a great weekend with amazing weather. There were too many pictures to post, so I decided to try a slide show. We went through Astoria, Fort Stevens State Park (the Northern-most point in Oregon), and crossed the Columbia River to visit Washington's Cape Disappointment State Park. So here's our weekend in Astoria, oops, I mean Goonie-ville.

You can roll over the images to read the captions (I'm new to this slide show thing).

Happy Birthday, Ben! The big 3-0!

Sunset Women's Retreat

Friday morning I decided to go on the Women's Retreat with Sunset Presbyterian Church - quite the spontaneous decision since the retreat started that evening in Cannon Beach. It turned out that all the girls from our Care Group were going on the retreat, and what better way to get to know those women than spend the weekend with them at a retreat? We had a fabulous time together and the retreat was wonderful. Thanks, ladies, for a great weekend!


Here we are at lunch on Saturday at Bill's Tavern and Brewhouse. From left to right: Suzi, Stephanie, Kristy, Nicki, me, and Tege and Katavia.


The beautiful coast right outside the Cannon Beach Christian Conference Center.

Me and My Monkeys

Even though I didn't know what to think about teaching fourth graders, I have to say that I am actually really enjoying it. Sure the kids are way more whiny than 6th graders, but they are all coming into their own as individuals which is a ton of fun to watch. I am usually cracking the whip in the classroom preparing them for the 4th grade writing test, but we recently took some time off to have a Because of Winn-Dixie party. After eating egg salad sandwiches (which Alli and I stayed up till 12:30 the night before to prepare), pickles, punch, and lozenges, we were all able to spend some quality time together. But after talking with them and learning more about my students, I discovered one minor detail...They're all a bunch of weirdos! But you know what? That's OK. It just makes it a little easier to fly my "weirdo" flag out in the open...not that I was ever trying to hide it in the first place.

The last couple of weeks

Not too much has been going on these last couple of weeks. We have just been trying to keep warm and enjoying the changing weather...rainy days, bright and sunny days, and snow flurries! What a change for us!

Last weeken we wanted to drive out west of Beaverton and Hillsboro to check out Hagg Lake. Ben was under the impression that there was some sort of wonderful disc golf course at Hagg lake. Even though most of the lake was closed, we were able to drive all the way around it and find out where this so-called disc golf course was. The sad thing was that all Ben could find was holes 1 and 18. I guess Oregon disc golf players don't need directions to move from hole to hole. Maybe we will have to visit again when it is a little warmer.



I also wanted to post some pictures of my latest project. When we moved to Oregon I decided to really work on learning how to knit and I ended up making a scarf for Ben. I also wanted to learn how to crochet, so here is my latest project. It is a clutch-style purse made out of a dark red yarn with some sparkles in it. Super cute!

Snow Day (and Autumn)!

Ok, so I should be in the Blogger Hall of Shame for not posting about Christmas and New Year's... However, until then some pictures of our first snow day and Autumn will have to suffice.

Yesterday we woke up to snow! Actually is was sort of snow-ice and put the schools on a two-hour delay. What a first! Here's a picture of the snow from our bedroom window. Yes, I did jump out of bed and grab the camera.


Well, some of you (you know who you are, Aunt Alexis!) have been asking for some pictures of Autumn. Since I am a stay-at-home mom for now with Autumn, I had plenty of opportunity to get some super-cute pictures.

How to make it through the holidays.

Although it was a flurry of hellos and goodbyes, I think Alli and I managed to see most of our friends, family, and relatives all in one fell swoop. It was very nice to actually pick up a guitar and play (with the boys and my dad) and not have to do things solo. All the joy and excitement helped us keep going, but the one thing I found that kept me going through this holiday season was a large cup of coffee. I had to use up all of my Christmas Starbuck's gift cards to purchase it, but I discovered the SUPER VENTI!

Our Christmas 'tree'

We opted not to get a tree this year since we will be in Fresno/Visalia the week of Christmas (plus, we weren't sure if Autumn would tear it to shreds). So to get some holiday cheer in our apartment, I found this beautiful wreath at the New Seasons Market (Oregon's very organic version of Whole Foods and 'the friendliest store in town') and we wanted to share it with you. Merry Christmas!

Our adventures east of Portland

Well, we finally made it east of downtown Portland (excluding the airport). After a crazy storm with lots of flooding and some snow, last Saturday turned out bright and beautiful. We took that as a sign to get out of the apartment and do some more exploring.

After a quick stop at Panera for yummy cinnamon bagels, we headed east to the Columbia River Gorge and Multnomah Falls - the second tallest year-round waterfall in the U.S. By the way, how lucky are we to have now seen the first (Yosemite Falls) and second tallest year-round waterfalls in the U.S.? I think that's pretty cool. Anyway, a 45-minute drive and we were at the falls. Now, once you are at the falls you can walk up to a cool bridge (see pics below) for a great view of the falls. You can also climb to the tippy-top of the waterfall if you are so inclined. Ben was so inclined. Did I mention that the waterfall is 620 feet high - which means 1 mile of switchbacks up the side of a cliff? And did I tell you that you actually climb higher than the waterfall and then go down some more switchbacks to get to it? Well, now you know. So after some complaining and really crummy hiking shoes, we got to the top. Ok, so it was pretty cool. There is a viewing deck at the top that actually hangs over the top of the falls so you can watch the water go over the edge and drop about 620 feet. Makes one a little dizzy.

Here are some pictures of the falls. I know I told you it was bright and beautiful that day, but the sun had already gone to the other side of the cliff by the time we got there so the pictures are a little dark.

Spontaneous waterfall on our way to the top - very pretty.

Ok, so here's the view from the top. We are literally standing over the top of the waterfall and watching the water fall. You can see the bridge and all the tiny people at the bottom!

A view of the gorge as we hiked up the side of a cliff.

Happy Thanksgiving

The Band Who

All I can say is WOW! Sunday night we went to see TRAVIS, with opener Maximo Park, at the Crystal Ballroom expecting to see a great show. The only thing was that it wasn't great...it was awesome! After seeing them many times (this being the fourth), I couldn't believe that they were better than the last time we saw them. With the addition of all their new material off The Boy with No Name (whose name is Clay - Fran's son), the set seemed to flow well - shifting from old to new. Not only did we have a front row view, but we enjoyed Fran's mustache and chest hair up close (see the pic). Andy rocked out in the middle of the crowd...literally in the crowd and on the floor. Dougie shook his hips the entire night and made all the ladies swoon. And Neil played the stoic drummer all too well. Set list included As You Are (my personal favorite), Battleships, Turn, All I Wanna Do is Rock, My Eyes, a sing-a-long version of Flowers in the Window, and the most appropriate song for Portland, Why Does It Always Rain on Me. The funny thing about this is even after seeing them four times, I still wanna see them again. Hopefully sooner than later.

Great Northern = Great Show!

Well it's about time Alli and I went out and dove head first into the Portland Music scene, so we began our month of music. After hearing so much about the bouncy floors at the Crystal Ballroom, we decided to go see some shows there. First up was Great Northern, a guy/girl rock band with a piano/synth flare, along with their opener, Robbers of High Street. Not only was the show great, but GN rocked out way more than they do on the CD, which was very satisfying since their music can tip-toe on the thin line of mellow pop. And yes...the floor does bounce. Up next, Travis on the 18th. Yipeee!

Look out knitting world - here I come!

I learned how to knit about two years ago. However, I was never very motivated to continue. Now that we are in the Pacific Northwest, I decided it was time to pick up knitting again. I really had not learned very much the first time, so I bought a book and 're-taught' myself how to knit from start to finish. Here is my first creation - a scarf for Ben.

The Portland Zoo

Ok, so we are running a little behind on the blog posts...

Two weekends ago Aaron, Christa, and Charlotte (check out their blog here) were back in Portland. It seems this summer we all traded lives when they moved back to Fresno and we moved to Portland. While they were here we joined them on a trip to the Oregon Zoo. The zoo is in Washington Park and is beautiful! It seems like the zoo has been built into the park rather than on top of the park. On top of that, the day was beautiful! We took tons of pictures, so enjoy!

The meercats in their little nest.

A hippo. He's so happy because he just ate his weight in twinkies - this guy is huge!

Ok, I know this is horribly blurry, but it's a bald eagle! So cool.

In the lorikeet exhibit, you can get a cup of sugar water and they will sit on your hand and drink from the cup. It's pretty crazy.

Here's an elephant...

...and here's me eating an elephant ear. By the way, my eyes are closed because of the yummy cinnamon and sugar fried goodness.

The zoo's amphitheater.

The zoo from above.

And here's us enjoying the zoo!

Two for the Price of One

Although we had already set up house, we thought that we were still missing something. Our fish didn't (or should we say couldn't) make the move up to Oregon, so today we went to go find some new ones. While recording our (SV's) first album with Jared and Lazz, I was introduced to the wonderful world of fresh water African cichlids. Jared had many different species and swore up and down that they (even though they are highly aggressive and take more time to maintain) were the best and most beautiful fresh water fish to keep. So today we added three new members to the Porter family (an electric blue cichlid, an electric yellow cichlid, and a red zebra cichlid). The funny thing we didn't realize about the tank was that we wouldn't be the only ones enjoying the fish. Yes...Autumn loves them too! Sad to say, this is our new kitty's drug. She has already spent hours in front of the tank trying to find out what those colorful little things are. I just hope that our cat doesn't go through withdrawals if one of the fish dies.



Mmm...fish.

A little local flavor

After a minor 'snafu' with our new computer (including sending it back to Apple and getting a brand new one), we are back online.

Well, now that we are 'Portlanders', it is time to do what the locals do...

A couple of weekends ago, we rode the Max (for the first time, hooray public transportation!) from Beaverton to downtown Portland to visit the Portland Saturday Market. And what a market it is! I have never seen so many pop-up tents. I was expecting more of a farmer's market (I guess I could have read the website a little better), but this was the buying and selling of all things handmade. While it was not what we were expecting, it was very cool. We found some really neat items, along with some very strange items. Here is a picture of the Skidmore Fountain and the front of the market - this picture does not do that market justice - it's huge!

The next weekend I had to work. 'Aw, too bad' you say? Nope! I had to attend the Portland Timbers soccer game in downtown Portland. During halftime I went onto the field to present a check from First Tech to a nonprofit organization we support. Bummer, I know. I also had to take 8 other people with me. So...Ben, two friends from his work, Uncle John, Aunt Alexis, Joanna, Hillary, and Daniel (Hillary's beau) joined me for an awesome soccer game. We had tons of fun and got to see Timber Jim (who pumps up the crowd with a chain saw) and the infamous Timber Army! Needless to say, Ben was in heaven.

Here are some pictures of the game and the Timber Army.

The Timbers kicking butt in the quarter-finals before losing in the semi-finals. Oh well, not a bad season.

The Timber Army going crazy.

Ben wearing his Timber pride scarf.

Can you see me?