Ben's B-Day

It was great to go out and catch up with everyone on my birthday. We did pretty much everything I wanted to do. First we went to Kell's Irish Pub for some grub and brews. They even had on a few soccer matches so that I could watch some footie as well. The best part of all was that most of my friends were there to celebrate with me. Clint and Marla, Sean and Susan and Jake, Mark, Travis and Beth, and Craig and Nicki were all there with Alli and I.

Alli and I love Kell's!

Clint and Marla had a REALLY fun time.

Jake, Sean, and Susan

Mark, Craig, and Travis

Beth and Nicki

After that, we all went back to our place to hang out, have some cake and chill. The only problem is that we didn't have candles and I had to blow out imaginary candles. At least the cake was awesome! Funfetti cake with rainbow chip frosting! This is my favorite cake of all time! It's been the standard since I was really young and Alli makes it for me every year even though she always asks me, "Are you sure you just want rainbow chip cake?" My answer never changes. It's always, "Yes." We also watched one of my favorite shows called MXC...Most Extreme Elimination Challenge. There is nothing like laughing at cheesy overdubbed voices, jokes and other people's pain when they wipe out while trying to perform an obscure challenge. Chris and Nicole Langton also joined up with us at our place. Their gift...beer. And what type of beer did they bring? See for yourself.

Makin' a wish.

The Porter.

Thanks to everyone who was able to make it out and party. It was a blast.

Updates!

OK, so we are way behind on the blogging. We’ll see if we can’t catch up in the next couple of days…

But, first, Ben’s 31^st birthday! Ben is officially in his 30’s now – which has led to endless teasing on my part. We celebrated last night with homemade shepherd’s pie (who doesn’t love beef and veggies floating in rich, beer-touched gravy and crowned with mashed potatoes?) and My Name is Bruce (the latest Bruce Campbell movie – I must really love my husband!). Ben also received a new Bible (his old one was literally falling apart) and a USA Soccer jersey. Stay tuned for party pics from this weekend at Kell’s Irish Pub.

Also thought it was time to post a belly picture since we have, as of yesterday, only 9 weeks left!! Sorry I have not posted more belly pictures – it seems like the second trimester just flew by! I did go to the doctor yesterday and everything is still right on track and looking good. We started our birthing classes Tuesday night and spent the whole two hours talking about contractions – exciting stuff. Then next Thursday we are touring St. Vincent’s hospital where I will be delivering. That is going to be totally surreal!

Oh, and here are some pictures of the nursery/office – ‘nurfice’. Still needs a few more things – including stuff on the walls – but it’s looking pretty good! Kind of looks like a baby might sleep here someday.

Between my trip to California, outings to Target and Babies R Us, women’s retreat last weekend, an Oscar party with Chris and Nicole (thanks, guys!), birthing class, Care Group, and Ben’s birthday, we have been pretty busy! I’ll post the pictures from my California baby shower soon along with pictures from Ben’s birthday this Saturday.

Auction Fun

Last weekend, our friends Craig and Nicki invited us to join them at the Orphans Overseas auction. OO is a non-profit organization that is lead by our pastor's wife. Our friends Mark and Stephanie were also there with Mark's parents, who helped bring in a lot of the items for the auction. Little did we know that we were in for a treat. First was a silent auction with tons of awesome things to bid on. Then came an wonderful dinner. And during dinner, the auction was lead by a very young and talented lady auctioneer. Cool, huh? It was so nice to see people bidding on items knowing that all of the proceeds were going for the OOS Karibu Center. Although we weren't able to afford any of the auction prizes (the top item went for $12,000), we had lots of fun watching money get raised. Thanks again, Craig and Nicki!

Craig and Nicki

This was as high as I was willing to raise our bidding number.

Taking the Bump to the Beach

With so little holiday time left until the baby comes, Alli and I took a short trip to the beach on Monday. Since we have been to Cannon Beach quite a few times already, we decided to go to Seaside instead. But before we took off, we made our way to Panera for a pastry ring. (Thanks Grandma Ruth for all of the Panera gift cards!) When we got there, it was beautiful. 60 degrees, clear skies, and no wind. It was such a good time to walk on the beach and talk. Since it was Monday, most of the tourists had already left to go home. Only a few others were out and about on the beach, which made it nice and quiet. We couldn't believe how blue the skies were. But the best part was thinking that this would probably be the last time we would go to the beach by ourselves. Even though the bump came along with us and enjoyed the views as well, we began to get really excited about the future trips to the beach with a little one. And the best part of it is that Monday marked 100 days to go. Alli was very happy that she had finally made it into the double digits.

So many choices when you get the pastry ring!

Lewis and Clark mark the end of the main strip at Seaside.

Another pic of Seaside.

Seaside taggers claim "FIBER". Must mean Seaside has "regular" hoodlums.

Us at the beach.

The bump's view of the beach.

Enjoying the sun.

Ben's Music

Ben's been working a lot lately on his music and has also been working on a site where he can share his music with anyone. The site is drop.io/portermusic. There's also a link to it on our Websites We Like area on the side. As of now, he has three of his new songs posted and is currently working on two more. It's kind of like a blog, so you can also post comments and do stuff like that. Enjoy!

A white Christmas filled with comfort food and the bump!

Merry Christmas everyone! We are enjoying our first white Christmas. However, this means that we are also celebrating our first Christmas alone since we weren't sure about the road conditions between here and Uncle John and Aunt Alexis'. Oh well, we have had a very nice and quiet Christmas - I'm sure baby will make sure that future Christmases aren't quite so quiet!

Yesterday we went to the 3pm Christmas Eve service at Sunset and then came home to make our very own comfort food Christmas. We ate all of our favorite holiday foods - brie with blackberry preserves and crackers, cranberry juice with 7 Up, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, Hawaiian rolls, cranberry sauce (the kind shaped like the can - the best), and Ben's famous turkey rub on some Cornish game hens. Yum! To finish it all off we ate the rest of the pumpkin and chocolate bars from Rose and Tyler (thanks guys, they were awesome!). A little National Lampoon's Holiday Vacation and a fire and the evening was complete. We also gave Autumn her present a little early so she would have something to play with and wouldn't drive Ben crazy at night anymore.



Oh, and as my little gift to all you bloggers out there (you know who you are), here's a picture of the baby bump.


Hope everyone had a great holiday! Love you!

Getting Ready for Baby

With all of the snow keeping us in our apartment, I couldn't help but do something. Since Alli has begun to nest and talk about the baby room, I thought I needed to do some nesting of my own...which means moving around furniture. Since the side room is going to be the baby's room, everything had to go but the desk (we'll keep it in there since there isn't any room out in the main area).


We also replaced the coffee table (all those sharp edges) with puffy squares of black leather that hold all kinds of goodies inside of them (great for keeping future toys in). This also makes lots of floor space for a future crawler/blanket/play area.


The bookshelves went in our room.


I had to rearrange my guitars and comics so that they only took up half of the closet instead of spreading out over the entire closet. And lastly, Autumn now thinks that we have created a wild and crazy new area for her to play... Kitty Jail!


Needless to say, it actually has helped me mentally prepare for our future child. Now everything is almost in it's right place. Gotta get ready for baby, right? I guess we'll see when he arrives.

My favorite snow/holiday picture so far...

Pioneer Courthouse Square sits at the center of downtown and is sometimes called "Portland's living room". There is a statue there of a man holding an umbrella (pretty appropriate for Oregon, don't you think?) called Allow Me. Here's a picture that I found on the Oregonian's site this morning.

Snow, Ice, Snow...And It Just Keeps Comin'

Here are the latest pictures from our warm, cozy apartment. We have yet to brave the snow much yesterday and today. Ben went out yesterday morning to buy a 7-day feeder for the fish in his classroom and to take the garbage out. Then this morning church was canceled, so that's about all we have done. Lots of tea, movies, and blankets this weekend. Us poor, little Californian's have no idea what to do! Fortunately, neither do the Portlanders! Here's to the possibility that work is closed tomorrow!

Yeah, that's a little more snow than the picture from our last post...

Notice the ice from the freezing rain this morning!

Sweaters and Snow

Alli and I went to our first Ugly Sweater party for the Sunset worship team. We went as the annoying couple who dresses exactly the same...same colors, same types of clothing. But Jay, Tyler, and Julie definitely took the cake for having the nastiest sweaters in the whole group.


Meanwhile, we got our first snow of the year.


It was nice to have an extra Snow Day to chill as a family, but the following day Alli had to go to work and bring home the bacon. So Autumn and I did this...


Tomorrow is even going to be yet another snow day for Beaverton School District. I guess I can begin cleaning out the side room for the baby. Oh well. So much for Spring Cleaning. It's Winter Cleaning time!

It's a boy!

So, what do you think?

Face and hand

Full-length

Feet!

More feet

Arm and hand with super cute fingers!

Pics from the last post

For some reason I couldn't get pictures in that last post, so here they are.

Our tree. Isn't she pretty?

Shaken and baled and ready to go in the Fit!

The finished product! Definitely my favorite tree we have ever had.

Nicki, Stephanie, Tege holding Zachary (Stephanie's little one), Tara, June, and me at Evening in December. The crowns came out the party crackers at our table.

Holy updates, Batman!

It's been a while, so here goes...

1. Nicki's Birthday: I (Alli) and a bunch of other girls from our Care Group got together a few Friday nights ago to help Nicki celebrate her 30th birthday. We surprised her with a party planned by her husband, Craig, complete with yummy Italian food and a personalized in-home wine tasting. The guy who did the wine tasting was amazing! He brought different wines and cheeses from different regions in France (some of which he has visited). He was extremely knowledgeable and has some great stories about each winery. Thanks, Tege, for letting me smell your wine since I wasn't tasting!

2. Clint's Birthday: The next night Ben and I went out to the Raccoon Lodge for some good ol' pub grub and to celebrate Clint's birthday (one of Ben's friends). We had a great time with Clint and Marla, Sean and Susan, and some of Clint's friends. Ben also wants me to mention that he introduced Clint to the Skull Splitter.

3. Praise Night with the Rockson's: We started off the Thanksgiving festivities the night before with Praise Night at church. Ben and the worship team put together and awesome night of worship and we brought along the Rockson's (one of Ben's past students and her parents). I think it was a fantastic way to start a season of thanksgiving (and the team rocked!).

4. Thanksgiving: Thanksgiving started out with me making WAY too many rolls. I bought some super yummy frozen rolls and set out quite a few thinking they would be on the small side like Grandma Abraham's famous rolls...3 hours later they had risen to gigantic proportions! I didn't know what else to do, but cook them all. Needless to say, there was no shortage of rolls at Thanksgiving or for the next few days. The rest of that day we spent at Uncle John and Aunt Alexis'. We had a great time with the family and all of their friends - this is the third holiday we have spent with the Cryder's (they're beginning to feel like family!). That afternoon was pretty typical: stuff ourselves silly, Ben falls asleep, we all play some games, and then we take a break to eat dessert. Thanks Uncle John and Aunt Alexis for having us over!

5. Sushi, Wii, and Guitar Hero with Clint and Marla: That weekend we met up with Clint and Marla and grabbed some sushi at Hot Pot n Sushi. We stuffed ourselves on raw fish (I ate fake crab and veggie rolls - wee!), and then went back to our place to watch Clint and Marla duke it out on Wii boxing. Funniest thing I have ever seen and I'm pretty sure that Marla kicked some butt. After some Wii sports, lots of bowling, and some sweet tunes on Guitar Hero we called it a night. Thanks so much for the laughs, guys!

6. Lunch with the Wright's: So a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...I (Alli) used to live in Salinas, CA. My family left Salinas and moved to the valley in 1990, so it has been a long time since I have seen anyone from there. Until Thanksgiving weekend. My mom talked to an old friend and we all realized that they don't live too far from us. We thought it would be fun to get together. Greg and Judy were good friends of my parents and I used to play with Jenny...19 years ago! After church on Sunday, Ben and I headed out to their house for lunch. We had so much fun! The Wright's were just the greatest hosts and it was so fun to see Jenny and meet her new husband, John. We had a great time reminiscing, laughing, and just getting to know each other again. It was great to catch up with them. Thanks for a great time and yummy lunch, Wright's!

7. Our first Oregon tree: So since we were in Fresno last year (and because Autumn was a teeny, tiny kitty) we decided not to get a tree. But because we are sticking around this year, we thought it was time to get our first Oregon Christmas tree. By 'Oregon tree' I mean that Ben actually had to cut it down. We went out to a farm in Helvetia (out in the country northwest of us), grabbed a saw, and started down the hill to the trees. They had Nobles and Grands to choose from and they were all beautiful! We finally found the one we wanted and Ben set to work - I did my job as a pregnant lady and stood back and watched. Ben made quick work of the tree, and with the help of the guy in the diesel cart, we got it back up the hill. After going through the shaker and the baler, the tree was ready to go home. By the way, old dude, our tree totally fit in our car! Getting it up 2 flights of stairs was another story...pivot! Anyway, we got it all set up and decorated today and it looks awsome!

8. Evening in December: Last night I (Alli) met up with most of the Care Group ladies to attend Evening in December at our church. The event stated with a marketplace full of vendors with super cute handmade items (it's a good thing I don't know if I'm having a boy or a girl because I would have spent way too much money!). The rest of the evening we were at a very nice table hosted and decorated by Tege and Nicki while we watched a children's fashion show. It was so fun and the whole event was to support Orphans Overseas - a great charity run by our pastor's wife. The evening was just lots of girly fun and I was so excited to spend more time with the CG ladies.

9. Baby update: Stay tuned...I have an ultrasound on Tuesday where we will get the 'tour' of our baby and find out the gender! I'll post pics as soon as I get them.

Here are some pics from the last few weeks. Enjoy!

(Ok, I can't get the pictures to work so I'll post them later.)

Fall Colors

We love the fact that there is an actual Fall that lasts longer than a couple of weeks here in Oregon. Although I do miss looking off the old patio in Fresno and watching that one tree change colors (you know the one, Chris) while spectacular sunsets blazed in the pre-night sky, that one tree pales in comparison with the oodles of colorful trees in the area. With all of the mixtures of colors, you can't go through the day without saying to yourself, "Man, this is beautiful!" Here are some pictures from our apartment complex that will give you an idea of how colorful the great state of Oregon really is. Enjoy!

The Harvest Fest in Hood River

Last Saturday, Ben and I decided it was time to get out and see the fall colors. We decided to check out the Harvest Fest in Hood River. Hood River is a small town about an hour and a half east of us on the Columbia River - also known for some of the best windsurfing in the world. We started our day at the actual Harvest Fest on the waterfront complete with an assortment huge apples, caramel corn, roasted almonds, crafts, and music. We then headed south on the 35-mile Hood River Fruit Loop to visit a few of the local farms. The farms offered a variety of activities - baked goods, flowers, fresh cider (and anything else you can think of made from apples), wine tasting (which I could not participate in and Ben decided not to make me watch him taste the yummy wine), tons of fresh produce (apples, pears, pumpkins, gourds), activities for kids (including a corn maze which was to be the highlight of my day, and turned out to be a corn-path and Ben and I were the tallest people inside), lots of yummy food, more crafts, and...alpacas. The alpacas were so cute and for just a few quarters, we got to hand-feed them treats. There was even a mama with her baby who nearly bit our hands off she was so hungry - feeding a baby must be hard work! We ended the day by wandering through Hood River and barely making the last tour of the day at Full Sail Brewery. It was a fabulous tour and we each got a Full Sail pint glass. After sharing some fish and chips in the restaurant overlooking the river and a brownie (actually, Ben had the beer sampler and I ate the brownie - only seems fair), we headed on home.

Columbia River

That's a huge apple!

Gourds!

Mt. Hood

Mt. Adams seen through the corn not-a-maze

Alli scratching the alpaca's pomp