Perfection in Portland

From the start of our trip, Portland has been a little Mecca we have been looking forward to.  Besides the excitement of taking in the beauty of the Pacific Northwest, Portland is home to one of my very best friends.  Stephanie is one of those forever friends.  You know the type--the kind of friend you could talk to three times a week or once every six months and though one phone call may last longer than the other, you are always in the same, comfy best friend place.  I have been blessed to have quite a few forever friends--you know who you are--and I love you all!  I can't quite put my finger on exactly when Stephanie and I met, but we grew up going to the same church, serving on Appalachia Service Project together each summer, and playing field hockey in high school on the same team.  With the arrival of my Little Little, and some big transitions in Stephanie's life, we haven't been as in touch as we would have liked.  So, my entire week last week was spent having girl time and catching up.  To put it plainly, it was perfect!  We were also finally able to meet Isaac, Stephanie's boyfriend, after only hearing wonderful things about him since they met.  How great are these two--they actually installed a 30 amp electrical outlet on the outside of their house so that we would be able to stay with them and keep the RV charged.  Who does that?!?!  Well besides my mom and dad, who else does that!?  We arrived late Sunday afternoon and were excited to find out that Stephanie and Isaac would be hosting the weekly dinner they enjoy with their friends every Sunday night.  Of course, Little Little had to get ready for the party, so a bath was in order.  In fact, this was the first time he took a bath like a big boy without his baby bathtub tiny little basin.  (On a side note, Stephanie is an extremely talented and humble photographer. She will always blame her incredible shots on either her camera lens or just dumb luck.  All of the pictures in this blog except maybe one or two were taken by Stephanie, and I am sure you will agree with me that she is amazing!)

Steph, though she has no children, instantly recognized the need for "first big-boy bath" documentation.  A natural!

All dressed and ready for the party, Beckett discovered a new toy!

I love this toy!  Thanks, Dad!

Gimme!

I could not figure out how to close the toy once I opened it.  When given just a minute, Beckett promptly closed it!

We enjoyed a fabulous dinner of chicken cordon bleu, cooked by Isaac, and had a wonderful time meeting some of Stephanie and Isaac's closest friends.  It was so nice to be in a house and meet some fun, new people.  

Throughout the week, we started our mornings late, took our time getting ready, and had fun playing with Little Little, who was quite cranky due to the arrival of his first two teeth.  (I think we managed to convince Stephanie and Isaac not to have kids for about 12 years :) )

Family time with Coop keeping guard

Assuming the typical mealtime position

Swings are for naps, not cute little smiles, Little Little!

But, who needs a swing, when you have Stephanie?  She is WAY more comfortable!

I wish I could keep her.  Beckett does too.

And since it is fall and all, Beckett had to have his first playtime in the raked leaf pile.

What is this???

Leaf pile changed to big, green blanket once the leaf pile became a baby snack

Mama's get tired sometimes, too.  Thank goodness for comfy boxer butts!

Flying baby!

One of the highlights of our visit to Portland was when Stephanie and Isaac took us hiking to Multnomah Falls, the second highest (at 620 feet) year-round waterfall in the United States.  This was the most breathtaking hike yet.  Chicken Dog started the trip showing his true colors, terrified in the covered bed of Isaac's truck, with his head as far through the window as he could make it.

Poor Chicken Dog

Looking up at the amazing view

Standing on the bridge seen in the picture above

This is the top of that gorgeous waterfall.  Quite dizzying if you ask me.

Trying to get Chicken Dog to drink from the little pool of water.  Sadly, he lived up to his name.  No water for him.

Ok, so here is where this blog entry becomes painful.  The hundreds of gorgeous pictures Stephanie took are clearly too many to post on this blog that is quickly becoming its own book.  So, I am forcing myself to only choose a handful.  But to make myself feel better, I will post some more of my favorites on Facebook later.  Ok, back to prettiness!  After we reached the top of the falls, we ventured off on another trail that was completely off the beaten path.  We left the tourists behind and entered a world of solitary beauty.  Our eyes were met with moss covered rocks, bubbling creeks, and what seemed like endless waterfalls.  Oh, just look--pictures are much better than my banter!

Green-ness and waterfalls everywhere you look!

My forever friend

Little loves the outdoors and his cool ride!

Doesn't it seem like it's from a storybook?!?  It doesn't seem real!

One of the many waterfalls we enjoyed on our hike

The hike provided amazing views of Columbia River Gorge below

Looking at these pictures make me want to go back again right now!  Sadly, we had to leave, but more fun was to be had!  This fun involved baking homemade chocolate chip cookies for Isaac and the other firefighters at the station.  

Steph pretty much did it all, and I snacked on the dough and fresh, out-of-the-oven-best-cookies-I've-ever-tasted while trying to keep my fusser happy.

I even got a nice tour of the firehouse and Beckett got to see the firetruck and engine close up.  Lucky baby!  Another of my favorite events was when Stephanie and I took Little Little to pick out a pumpkin at the pumpkin patch.  I am a firm believer in picking the perfect pumpkin at all costs.  We were there to get Beckett his first pumpkin, so since he isn't yet at a good age to pick his own, I took this responsibility very seriously.  My rules for a good pumpkin are that it must be orange (no green!), it must be round enough so that it can sit up on its own (no crookedness allowed!), and it must have a nice stem.  It took us a while, but we finally found Beckett the perfect little pumpkin--straight off the vine.  Have you ever picked a pumpkin from the vine?  It's prickly!  Owie!

Even the pumpkin patches are beautiful in Portland!

That's a lotta pumpkins!

My lil' punkin

Some Beckett sized pumpkins!

The fun just continued as Stephanie and Isaac adopted a sweet, little puppy whom they named Camden.  Beckett and Camden became friends...until puppy discovered baby fingers are fun to gnaw on.  After that, Chicken Dog gladly took over as number one puppy friend.

Puppy, meet Beckett.  But, be careful--don't nibble too much!  Sometimes he's a dragon!

Watch out little puppy!  I am a fire-breathing dragon!

Mommy got me the perfect pumpkin!

Enough with the paparazzi!  I am trying to focus here.

And of course, my favorite!  He never stuck his tongue out until this week when he started getting his two bottom teeth.  Perfect timing for his costume, of course!

If you made it through this book, thank you!  As you can see, Portland was a fantastic time for our family.  Thank you, Stephanie, Isaac, and Camden for welcoming us into your home, cooking for us, giving us a big, comfy bed, an awesome shower, and pretending that you didn't hear our screaming baby every 2-3 hours each night for a week.  You are the best!