A Day in Portland

Below are a few photos we took in Portland... Which happens to be my favorite city ever! Seattle gets second:) We had started the day off with our good friends who live right outside of Portland, and then met up with my wonderful and talented friend Moorea. I know I've blogged about her before. She's brilliant! And beautiful. Inside and out.

    Everything about Portland to me, is perfect.  Its right by the river and its surrounded by trees. I'm used to L.A. which isn't half as clean as Portland, and there are very few trees surrounding it.  The atmosphere  is wonderful and you hardly ever meet a mean person.  Everyone is just different in Portland.  Or I want them to be... I think that everyone needs to visit. Or even live. I hope and pray that if we move to Oregon we get to move to Portland.  I love it. 

  We spent another day in the city, just Leif and I.  We were there from about 9:30 until 7pm.  And we weren't tired yet. Every time I go into the city I get on this high and I don't want to leave.  The shopping is amazing, the food is even better and I really enjoy the people watching you can do.  People say Portland is weird, I say its awesome. 

Day 1 in Oregon!

   Here are a few pictures from our first day in Oregon. It was also my 23rd birthday! We stayed over night in some little town close to Redding.  At first I was really unsure about it because we found this couple on couchsurfer and I was sure we were going to get murdered. We got off the freeway and had to drive back into the woods and it just got darker and darker. I was not a happy camper.

   I made Leif go in first and he was greeted by the sweetest little woman. I was relieved and slept pretty well that night. The house was beautiful and I kind of hope I have a log cabin house someday. I also think that the next time we drive up to Oregon we'll stop over in Redding. Its nice taking a break and waking up totally refreshed and ready for 7 hours of driving. 

    It was wonderful to be back in Oregon. I love it more and more each time we visit.  My mother in law made me enchiladas and a cake!  Best enchiladas I've ever had. And my birthday cake was pretty awesome too:) I got to blow out these super cool candles and I hope I can find candles similar for Riley's 2nd birthday.  It was a good way to celebrate my birthday. I loved it. 

    I was happy that my two sisters and my father in law were finally able to meet Beck. That was one of the best parts of the trip. It never gets easier living apart from family. I pray that sometime soon we'll either be able to move back to L.A. or up to Oregon. I really want my kids to be close to their grandparents.  They grow up so fast! 

Roadtrip

  We're heading out from Oregon this morning.  I have a good amount of photos to post.  So bummed my camera died before the wedding... But I doubt I would  have taken many pictures. I was too busy enjoying the awesome people, dancing and my champagne:) I am a little sad though because Leif looked  amazing in his tux.  Ugh and now that I think about it I wish I had had my camera when we visited with our dear friends the Moshers. Okay, I'm done kicking myself over it!

   I'm leaving Oregon feeling blessed, inspired, rejuvenated, refreshed, hopeful and full.  The people we spent time with here have touched my life in so many ways. I am thankful for my family here and for the friends Leif has kept over the years.  It blows my mind that all the groomsmen have been friends for as long as they have and continue to have strong relationships. Even with Leif who lives in another state. Friendships like that are rare, and should be cherished and held on to. I feel honored in a way to have been brought into this circle of friends.

   [oh and I posted a sneak peak of my in- laws over at my photo blog!]

Pray we have a safe journey down with little to no problems. 

Christmas in Oregon.

Riley's first time in snow.

Leif and I drove up to Oregon on Christmas eve to surprise his mom:) The drive went surprisingly well! Riley played and slept most of the time. I've been so excited about this trip and wanted to blog about it, but since my mother in law reads my blog that wasn't possible. We've been having a lot of fun up here and its great that Riley is able to spend time with her grandparents and aunts. Here are some pictures from the last few days:

At Silvercreek Falls

Hanging out at the rest stop

Us at Ventis.

I'll post more later, most likely when we're back in California:)
So thankful we're here!

Some pictures from Oregon

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our trip so far. We're probably headed back tomorrow, so if you live in Southern California, come visit us this next week. :)










Alot of these were pictures we took at Riverfront park today in Salem. We left Riley with my mom and took some polaroids and walked around in the freezing cold. The wind was so strong it almost knocked Margaret over. It was a good last day in Oregon. We're sitting in a coffee shop right now, checking email, blogging, and getting ready to go to a movie. Oregon will make a good home someday, but for now, we're heading back to California. We'll see you all soon.

I caught Margaret dancing today while we were taking pictures. Look. :)

Riley's first trip to Oregon

We've been in Oregon since the 28th of December. Originally I had taken off work through January 20th, but my contracting company decided not to pay me my holiday pay while I'm taking paid family leave, so we probably have to leave this Friday, a week and a half early. Oregon's always fun when I first get here, but I start to miss home. It's not so much that I miss California; I just miss having my own home, my own bed, a place where it's just Margaret, Riley, and myself. I'm still hoping we can move up here, but who knows if that will work out.

We haven't been able to take many pictures up here so far; we've just been relaxing, visiting friends here and there, and taking a break from everything. Here's a few photos of Margaret and Riley (you can click to make them bigger). They both get prettier every day.



This is the 3rd or 4th time Riley's managed to poop on me. I swear, no matter what I do, she finds a way to hit me almost once a week. Sorry if the picture's too graphic.


This is one of my favorite pictures of us. We took it at some outlets on the way to Stockton. I love my daughter. It's amazing how much she grows every day.