Last Days in Portland Pt. 2

As our time in Portland wound down, I tried to pack in all the activities that we could with as many people as would join us.

We celebrated our 5th anniversary a bit early, and in May went to the Columbia Gorge Hotel for a night. A very generous friend had offered to watch Cee for the night and it was fantastic just being the two of us. I do believe it was our first night without her where Mark and I were actually alone together.  The hotel is from the 20s and overlooks the Columbia River. Apparently it was the place to be back in those days and hosted several famous people of that era.  The views were amazing and the interior was vintage - we had to ride the old style, manual lever elevator which requires an operator. We ate dinner at the hotel restaurant which was complete with a 90 year old lounge singer who loved to share pictures of him with celebrities of the era.

5th Anniversary at Columbia Gorge Hotel

Columbia Gorge Hotel

The next day we went on an anniversary hike to punchbowl falls which was a lot of fun, and of course, beautiful.

Anniversary Hike

Punchbowl Falls

For mother's day Mark cooked breakfast - experimenting with Eggs Benedict. It was his first time poaching eggs but they came out quite well.

Mother's Day Breakfast. Looking beautiful right out of bed!

Over Memorial weekend, we joined two other families on a hike near Cape Lookout. Although one person had done the hike previously, it had been a few years and was a lot more difficult than anticipated with all the little kids in tow made especially so by all the mud. We all made it to the top and enjoyed a beautiful view of the coast and ocean before heading back down. The kids were troopers and we celebrated afterwards by heading to the Tillamook factory for their delicious grilled cheese sandwiches and ice cream.

At the beginning of the hike

Moms and Kids

The Cape looked over nothing but ocean.

Cee found a tunnel in the bushes

Our friends, the Alders, threw us a wonderful goodbye party with an Oregon/NW food theme, which included Crater Lake root beer, Voodoo doughnuts, Oregon strawberries and other delicious items. Although we still had a couple weeks left, it was good to spend time with all the friends we'd made over our time there.

To pack it in even more, I decided, with the help of two friends, to throw a last-minute girl's night. We did a Little Black Dress Mocktail Party. The three of us made a few "mocktails" while the guests brought some appetizers. As always, it was a lot of fun chatting with the girls and I miss everyone a lot! Thanks for indulging me and my themed party nights.

Girl's Night!

A couple other activities included going OMSI for the first time, which was really cool but I think Cee would have enjoyed it even more if she'd been a year or two older. Cee and I went to the strawberry festival at Lee farms; it was basically the same as the pumpkin festival we attended there back in October, but this time Cee was joined by most all of her little friends and had even more fun. We also went as a family to Groveland Acres and picked strawberries to make some of my yummy jam. A few nights before leaving, I was joined by three lovely ladies for dinner and a shopping trip in which the mall just didn't stay open late enough so we decided on getting frozen yogurt afterwards. It was hard to say goodbye!

At the Strawberry Festival.

As mentioned in the previous post, I made a quick weekend trip to Denver, CO for a friends wedding. I did her wedding flowers so it was hectic, but my sister joined me from Utah, which made it a lot more fun. Our adventures included staying up and talking the entire night and deciding to head to the hotel's breakfast at 6am before crashing for a few hours, a disc or two of old Dr. Quinn episodes, and a walking-trip (since we opted not to rent a car) to find a nearby restaurant for dinner one night. Although the immediate neighborhood around the hotel seemed a bit desolate in that regards, a few blocks away we found a tiny mecca of what looked like delicious restaurants. We decided on one called Lola and it was quite fantastic. My friend's future husband was our chauffer from the airport and to the wedding rehearsal and so it was great to get to know him a little bit. Their wedding and the flowers turned out beautifully. I was so happy to have been able to attend, but disappointed when I realized I didn't get any pictures with her (and I think only one picture of me and my sister together).

Amber's Bouquet

We had the 20-week ultrasound the week before we left and found that we would be having a baby boy join our family in November. I (and Mark somewhat as well) had been hoping for another girl and though I didn't feel as though we had planted that idea in Cee, she likely picked up on it and had been saying that she was going to get a sister for the few months previous (we would try to tell her that she might get a brother instead). Cee came with us into the ultrasound room and when she found out that she would be getting a brother instead of a sister, started to cry and was saying "but I wanted a sister". It was so sad that it made me start crying a little bit too, even though I knew that I would love this boy just as much as I would have a girl and that it was what was best for our family. Unfortunately, we didn't have any boy names solidified and wouldn't decide on one finally until the birth (boy names are hard!).

Brother

Last, but definitely not least, Mark finished his coursework early and defended his dissertation so that he could leave for officer training at the beginning of July. It was a stressful last couple of months for him but he did it and was given some great feedback from his mentors/professors.

Over our four years in Oregon, we made great friendships and grew to love the area. We miss it more than we thought we would. Maybe one day we'll be back!

Daddy Daughter

Fun times with Cee and Daddy. In May, a couple of Mark's friend's from school asked him to go caving with them. It was a day I had to work, so Mark decided to take Cee with him.  Heather didn't know what else to write so she is having me (Mark) write the rest of this blog.  I only have limited time so I will try to be brief yet comprehensive.  In Ape Caves we first took the "easy route" which was about 3/4 of a mile to a dead end.  This was in fact easy because the cave was huge, large enough to fit cars down.  Even though the hike was easy it was dripping to the point Cee said it was raining inside the cave.  We had fun turing out the flashlights and experiencing complete darkness, then playing glow in the dark frisbee in the cave.  When we returned to the entrance of the cave we had a little more time and so we decided to do the "difficult" route because it said it was only 0.5 miles to the end.  We found out later that it was 1.5 miles to the end and the number 1 had been scratched off the sign.  The difficult route was considerably more challenging, especially with a backpack with a child in it.  We scrambled over boulders and at one point had to scale an 8 foot lavafall.  As we descended into the cave it got tighter and tighter to the point that we had to take Cee out of the backpack and pass her through holes to one another.  She was quite the little trooper but became so tired that she fell asleep in our arms.  On my urging we decided to turn back when the passageways got too narrow to keep passing her through.  Looking at a map later we were pretty close to the end of the cave but I think it was a good decision to turn back because Cee was soaking wet, cold, and asleep.  On the return trip I wrapped her in my clothes for added warmth.  Overall, it was a great outing and a lot of fun.  I'm glad I went and Cee had a blast too.  Topside there was snow on the ground and Ceci had fun making snowballs and throwing them at Danny and Bjorn.

Bjorn, Danny, Ceci, and Mark at Ape Cave

Inside the cave

Now back to Heather...

In June, I went to Denver for a weekend to do flowers for a friend's wedding and it worked out perfectly that the daddy-daughter campout was that same weekend. Mark took Cee and they had a lot of fun, the highlight being shooting marshmellows from plastic tubes.  Cee is a great little camper and had a ton of fun playing with the girls all night long.

At the campfire, looking around at all the action.

Shooting the marshmallow gun.

Riding her friends bike

Picking her nose for a picture (it was the best of the bunch)

Faces of Cecilia

As I mentioned in the previous Seattle blog entry (just posted below the video if you haven't seen it), Cecilia went through a phase of taking pictures of herself and also asking us to take pictures of her doing silly poses/faces. Here are some funny ones she took back in April.  Love this girl!

Last Days in Portland pt 1

Here's some video from June 25, 2011, part of our last weekend in Portland. We were attending our friends' baby's birthday party.

Third Time's the Charm... in Seattle

In the beginning of May, we decided to take a little mini vacation to Seattle. We actually had to get some registration and paperwork done at the nearest AF base, which happens to be in Tacoma, so we decided to make a trip out of it and see more of Seattle while doing so. We had only been up there once, during our first year in Oregon, for a concert. You can read about it here if you're so inclined. To summarize, we basically left Beaverton too late in the day (and we didn't even have a kid yet!) to see any of the sites and drove home directly after the concert. 

Well, turns out our second trip was even more of a bust. We got a hotel room for a night so we could get the driving done when Mark got home on Friday and have the full day Saturday to see stuff and get our errands done at the base. We got a great deal on Priceline's Name Your Own Price (I <3) and stayed in the Westin, which was lovely and had great views. The next morning, we woke up, went out for breakfast, took a swim at the hotel's lovely pool, and decided to get our errands done with first just to be safe (since things on base close about 4). We drove to Tacoma, arriving around noon, and to make a long story short- didn't get to leave the base until about 4:30 or so. We were about to head back up to Seattle, but decide to scrap it because a lot of the "sites" would be closing by the time we got there and the restaurant at the Space Needle was fully booked that night. So we basically went to Seattle to stay in a hotel (guess I should be happy that it was a nice hotel). I was really disappointed and Mark felt bad that things had taken sooo long on base. He knew he would have to return to the base in about 3 weeks to pick up some things he'd ordered, so we decided we would give Seattle one more try at that time. 

We planned things a little better the next (third) time. We arranged it so we could leave early in the day and stop at the base on the way to Seattle so we wouldn't have to spend time backtracking. We got the base and Mark picked up his things and made it to Seattle in the early evening. This time, we stayed in the Hotel Monaco (again love Priceline!). It was also a lovely hotel, but I have to say that I preferred the Westin overall. After checking in, we headed out the Space Needle, where we had dinner reservations that night. We were early, so we were able to spend some time walking around the area where the below pictures were taken. Cee was really into posing and we got some funny shots of that. She also wanted to take pictures of us, and she actually got a really good one of me and Mark. 

When it was time, we headed back the Space Needle and they took us up to the observation deck first (included in the price of dinner- which is why we decided to eat there). We stayed out there for a bit and enjoyed the great views before heading up another level to the restaurant. It was a nice place, although we've definitely had better food. It probably would have been better for us not have had Cee (especially since she wasn't on her best behavior), but it was a cool experience with the restaurant doing full rotations as you eat. 

Observation Deck of the Space Needle

The following day had gorgeous weather (yay!) and we headed out to the Seattle Aquarium and Pike Place Market. It was a really cool aquarium and Cecilia had fun, although she wasn't as adventurous at the touch pool as she had been when she was younger at the Seaside Aquarium. 

Standing at the edge of the touch pool

Cecilia and Mark on a Sea Otter bench

The Pike Place Market was fun, but very crowded. We mainly just browsed, but I had a delicious salmon burger for lunch and Mark had some type of fresh seafood cocktail. We also got a few pastries to try and found wooden rings which we bought for our upcoming 5th Anniversary (which happens to be the year for giving wooden gifts). Mark likes to wear his, although mine is a little bulkier than I prefer. My favorite thing was all of the flowers at the market. It was tulip season in the NW so there were some incredibly beautiful varieties of tulips and I wanted to buy them all (sigh).

Outside of the market where you can see a bride and groom taking photos behind us.

Afterwards we walked back the hotel and began the drive back to Beaverton. Mark would have liked to go to the Experience Music Project, but we just thought it would be too boring for Cee, so we'll have to make it back there some day sans children. 

Hawaii!

As a graduation/5th Anniversary trip, I decided we needed to make a trip out to Hawaii to celebrate (plus I wanted to go before we left the West Coast). We figured we'd need to bring Cee along, as there wasn't anyone in Oregon who we'd want to have the burden of watching her for a week, so we decided to ask Mark's mom, Adrienne, if she'd like to join us (not as a babysitter, but just to help out so we could get a little time to ourselves). Cee had so much fun and I was really glad she came, although I do realize she won't remember any of it, but we will so that's good enough. 

Adrienne flew to Oregon the night before so we could all fly to Honolulu together. After the plane ride (which Cee did pretty well on), we got our rental car and headed straight to our first activity because the condo we were renting was on the other side of the island. After some trouble, we found the right beach for the Atlantis Submarine boarding area. They shuttled us out to the submarine and we found we'd been upgraded to the larger, nicer sub, so that was nice because it didn't make me feel claustrophobic at all. I thought we took a few pictures of it, but couldn't find them with the others (I'm thinking they might be on Mark's phone). It was really cool to see the ocean life and along with a sunken ship from that perspective and we even saw a few Sea Turtles. After the sub ride, we had dinner at a restaurant on the beach and then headed to find our condo. It was dark by the time we got to the North Shore/Turtle Bay area, but found the place without too much difficulty. 

The next morning, we woke up and headed straight to the Dole Pineapple Plantation. We arrived before the majority of the crowds and were able to get on the Pineapple Express (a train that takes you around a portion of the plantation) right away. Although there wasn't a whole lot to do here, it was cool to see and the pineapple was good. We ate lunch there and tried the famous Pineapple Whip frozen yogurt (not as good as I had imagined though). Afterwards, we headed to a beach on the North Shore and relaxed for the rest of the day. 

The following day, we headed back towards Honolulu for a breakfast tour on the Makani Catamaran. This turned out to be Adrienne's favorite thing, but not mine. I normally don't get seasick (as far as I know), but after about halfway into our tour, I was not feeling very good. I'm not sure if I would have been sick had I not also been pregnant but by the end I had made use of their puking buckets, along with 2-3 other people onboard. So much for it being a breakfast cruise! It was really nice in the beginning though and they stopped at one point to feed fish (which you can see in the pic below) and we saw a few Sea Turtles again. 

Cee and Grandma stayed here most of the ride

For the rest of the day, we spent our time at Kualoa Ranch. This place is beautiful! They have a number of different activities there, but we decided on the Secret Island Beach Tour and the Movie Tour. This area was used by the military in WWII, but is now one of Hawaii's main filming sites and has been used in dozens of movies and television shows (like Lost). They have a lot of memorabilia you can look at that's stored in an old bunker and then they drive you through the main areas used for filming. It was pretty cool. 

A scenic view of the ranch

The famous log/branch from Jurassic Park where the main characters hide at one point.

The Secret Island Beach Tour was one of my favorite things (in part because we were the only ones on the tour that afternoon). They took us on a boat across a large lake to a private area of the beach that the Ranch owns. They leave you there for a few hours (there is an employee on duty as a lifeguard however), and let you swim, play on the beach, relax in the hammocks or make use of the kayaks. It was a fabulous afternoon! 

We made sure to make it to the Polynesian Cultural Center for a day. There was a lot to see and do there, and we didn't take very many pictures. We strolled around the different villages and tried out some of the activities and saw a few of the shows before we headed to the Luau. My favorite thing there was definitely the Taro rolls. Yum! After the Luau, Cee fell asleep in the stoller and stayed asleep during the entire Breath of Life show, which was nice so we could fully enjoy it (although we had to take her out of the stroller and lay her across our laps). It was a really fantastic show, another of my favorite things about the trip. 

Cee and Mark showing off their tribal tattoos 

Adrienne and I learning some hula steps

We didn't get a picture with our leis from the Luau, so we took one from the deck of our condo the next day. 

One of the mornings, Adrienne took Cee to a beach while Mark and I went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. I had never been snorkeling before, and it definitely took me a little while to get the hang of it. Again, this place was amazingly beautiful. It was quite shallow over the reefs while we were there and I ended up almost laying on the coral at some points, which was painful and left me with some scrapes. When we found some good areas though, it was a great place to see all kinds of fish/ocean creatures. Even though we did use a lot of sunscreen, we learned it is far from waterproof and ended up with major sunburns on our backs and the back of our legs. It was a a major ouch the next day! 

Beautiful view of the bay

After snorkeling, we picked up Cee and Adrienne and headed to the Sea Life Park. We got there only an hour before it closed, but decided to check it out (we had Go Oahu cards so it was included). We were able to catch the last show of the day that featured dolphins, sea lions, and penguins doing tricks and Cee loved it! We strolled around after the show, but most exhibits were empty/being cleaned for the day even though the park hadn't even closed yet so that was a little annoying, but it was really empty in the park. 

We were able to get away one evening and attend a session at the Laie Hawaii LDS Temple. This had been one of my favorites from when I was younger and I had always wanted to see it. It was even more beautiful in person, both inside and out. 

On our final day, we made it out to Pearl Harbor. While we waited for our tour time of the Arizona Memorial, Mark and Adrienne did a tour of the USS Bowfin Submarine. Young children weren't allowed inside and I was happy to stay out with Cee as I was quite sure I'd feel claustrophobic in there. Mark learned he is definitely too tall to ever live on submarine. 

While Cee and I were out and she played around with some of the large weaponry. 

We also had time to tour the USS Missouri, which I felt was quite similar to the USS Midway that we had seen last summer in San Diego, but I know Mark really enjoyed it. 

The Arizona Memorial was definitely worth the wait. I don't think I'd realized the the memorial is built on top of the ship and you can see it beneath you (oil still leaks from the ship, which you can see, and I thought was fascinating). It was a special place and made me thankful for those who risked and lost their lives during that time and was made even more emotional as we were only a few months away from embarking on our own Military experience. 

Love this picture-

On the Memorial with the USS Missouri behind us

After Pearl Harbor, we rushed to Diamond Head before the park closed. We made it in time and hiked up to the top (there were a lot of stairs!). The 360 degree view from the top was awesome and a great ending activity to our Hawaii adventure.