I finally touched down in Portland late in the evening on June 1st. I was back in the USA! And boy, did I jumped right back into life in the Pacific Northwest!
Kris was in Vancouver visiting his mom the weekend I got back, so on June 2nd, the three of us got up early and went to the beach (screw you, Jetlag!). We drove to Seaside, Oregon, and dipped our feet into the Pacific Ocean, then we drove up to Astoria, OR, and explored town for a while, enjoyed a few beers, and climbed the Astoria Tower (more towers, hooray!!). While it was overcast at the beach, it was beautiful and sunny in Astoria. We had a great day of adventuring and finished it all off with a family dinner at my parents' house. It was an excellent way to transition back home.
 |
| At Seaside |
 |
| Astoria Tower |
 |
| The view of the Astoria Bridge spanning the Columbia River |
 |
| At the top of the tower! |
During the week, I started working for my folks, doing home improvement projects around the house and garden. It's a nice way to stay active, help out my parents, and save some money before grad school.
The next weekend, Kris' mom and I took the train up to Bellingham together and met up with Kris for a weekend with Kris' younger brother, his girlfriend, and their baby girl. That was the first time I had met Kris' niece, and she is just a cutie! We had a lovely time cooking together, going to the farmers' market, playing in the sand along the lake, running around the lake, and laughing lots. Kris' family is awesome!!
More work around the house during the week, and then the following weekend was Father's Day weekend. That Saturday, the whole family went to Cannon Beach, OR (I guess it's been a bit of a beach month, haha). My sister and brother-in-law even brought their adorable Dachshund puppy, Elsa. We got the biggest kick out of introducing her to the sand and the ocean and teaching her how to swim. She loved it, and we enjoyed a beautiful, warm day on the beach. There was even a local sand castle competition going on!
 |
| Cool clouds hovering on the hillside. |
 |
| Photo stalking my sis and Elsa :) |
 |
| Elsa at the table during lunch |
 |
| Amazing sand castle cupcakes! |
 |
| This was pretty impressive at about two meters tall. |
 |
| Ahhhhh... THIS is summer. |
I spent Saturday morning (yesterday) exploring the local farmers' market and the annual Recycled Arts Festival downtown with Kris' mom, and then my uncle, my cousin, her husband, my sis, and bro-in-law came over and had a delicious BBQ steak dinner at our house. It's so great to be able to catch up with family and share stories, memories, and lots of laughs.
 |
| Random picture of Scout, our family cat. She's pretty cute :) |
This coming week, I'm looking forward to registering for classes for the fall at DU and heading to Los Angeles for a week with Kris!! Sun, more beaches, and new places to explore for the 4th of July and Kris and my 4th anniversary; you can't go wrong!
Comments
Post a Comment