Summer Trip

My dad turned 60 in June which is pretty big deal. (Here he is above showing me his tractor.) So I made tickets to fly down (solo) and celebrate the big day. My boys stayed with some of my good friends who happen to have kids of their own who happen to be best buds with my kids. So it was like an extended slumber party. *Insert BIG THANKYOU to my girlfriends and my husband* who made my trip possible. For those of you with kids wouldn't it be fun to see our last trip pre-kids and first trip with kids. I don't think I ever considered the extra's that go into packing for a plane ride with little ones let alone the trip itself. So I felt a sense of freedom as I packed for my trip (leaving room for shopping items I would bring back :) ). So as I sat in the airport with no diaper bag, kid snacks, extra trips to the bathroom, running up and down the terminal to tire out those energy filled bodies...I drank my Starbucks Americano with cream and read a book. Alaska Mountains. My brother picked me up from the airport. My nephew was just waking up from a nap when we got to my brother's. My nephew by the way is adorable. He calls me "Annie Auntie," which melts my heart. He is the coolest little guy ever. My trip coincided with his 2nd birthday party which was extra fun for me :) My brother lives in Portland. I love Portland. It has great weather, great food, great shopping, great sibling and his amazing family :) The first night there we went out to eat at A Cena Risotorante. You know the meals that are so delicious that they are forever imprinted on your taste buds and live on in your memory as one of best meals of all time? Well this was one of the meals! I got to sit next to my little nephew who was a blast by the way. It is so fun to be an Auntie. The appetizer was morel mushrooms in a herb white wine sauce over crispy crostini bread with. It was a taste bud melody. We each ordered a meal and shared so we could taste everything. It may be an exaggeration to say I wanted to weep from the extraordinary meal, but it was close. This is eating at a little bistro the last day in Portland. It was also amazing. The cappuccino was fluffy and perfect. Odin is copying our sips and sighs as we enjoy our drinks. Ok so there was more than just eating out that was great, but that was a big part. We toured a mansion, went shopping at Title Nine...*insert cheering* I love Title Nine and it was my first in store experience. The gals were friendly and upbeat. My brother was graciously patient and my sister in law was a delight to shop with! Odin was cute as always. Yellow Rose from outside the mansion. Exploring the mansion My Dad and brother taking Odin to look for frogs. My Dad and Step mom live in Washington and have a great house that sits tucked back on the property complete with barn, garden, little stream, old orchard and two exuberant dogs. The landscaping that they have done is beautiful and their garden was worthy of many photos. Columbines are among my top 10 favorite flowers and these were gorgeous.

Josh taking Odin for a ride.

Bravely touching a slug. IKEA. I love IKEA. It is such a great place to get so many things. I will add pics of some of my items after I got them home. This is our shopping trip. In the 6 days that I had with my family they were full of great times. By the day I left we were in a routine...Odin woke me up with a knock on my door, "Annie Auntie, time to p'ay Odin." Which was followed by me getting up and sitting in the living room on the floor playing with the pretend food items. Followed by a trip to Starbucks to get a cup of coffee. At naptime I was awarded with the position of reading Odin his naptime books. It was a cherished position. The day I left he fell asleep as I was reading to him. They were precious times. I felt quite spoiled with how sweet Josh and Heidi were to me. They were amazing hosts. I was so sad to leave, but it is fun to look at all these pictures and be reminded of the sweetness of time with family.