Grand Finale to Summer

The day after we got home from our Family Reunion we headed to Portland, Oregon for my sister Suzanne's wedding.



The morning of the the wedding day we had a little pedicure/lunch shower in the great NW 23rd area of Portland.

The wedding and reception were at The Chinese Classical Garden in the Pearl District of Portland. This was an amazing location, a beautiful evening, a perfect ceremony. I was so touched by all the love surrounding Suzanne & David.


It was the hottest day of the year in Portland, yet these youngsters in their dapper new suits kept their jackets on for most of the night.


Izzy taking advantage of the amazing location.


Playing spies in the corridors of the garden.




On our last day we hit the Portland Saturday Market long enough to enjoy some cotton candy.


And finally, pick up some VooDoo Doughnuts!



We had to catch an early flight out of town and somehow I misplaced my wallet. I had to jump through a few hoops, but we were able to catch our flight. I can't wait to get back to Portland!

Reunited

We had a fantastic Family Reunion at the Reid Ranch in Duchene County. There were, at one point, I believe 94 relatives! This picture is of my mom's family!

We LOVED archery

and snowcones

Listening to family history

riding in paddle boats

singing and playing guitar

posing for pictures

The sisters (we sure missed having Lois with us)

square dancing was so fun!

The ride home. This was Henry's choice for breakfast! Superior parenting at work.

What I've Learned

What I learned on the last leg of our journey that would have helped a lot in the beginning.

- Find the baggage assistance area at the train station. They will take your baggage and help you pre-board. So much easier than fighting the crowds/escalators with two kids, suitcases, backpacks etc.

- Go ahead and erase the kid's iPods. You have all the apps on your laptop and you can add new episodes of Adventure Time!

- Every chance you get, ship something home, you never know if that was the last UPS store you will run across and you will have to abandon or carry some heavy/bulky stuff you've acquired.

- Sometimes it's worth spending $13 to watch a movie in the hotel room. A reward for kids who have walked miles and just want to lay around in their pajamas for the night.

- Every chance you get, do the laundry! You may not have access to a laundromat in the next city (I'm looking at you D.C.)

in General:

- Never forget to stop and enjoy. Ha ha, actually I'm pretty good at going slow and enjoying the moment. But as I'm writing this I'm tearing up looking at my kids and knowing that these moments with them are fleeting and how very very lucky I am to have this time to spend with them. Who knows, maybe they've learned a thing or two along the path.

- Notice what is around you in your regular day to day life. I was amazed to see how quickly commuters would walk by amazing views of the Capitol, Washington Monument etc. without even looking up!

- Our National Park Service is AMAZING!! Support them in anyway you can. Thank you to everyone who works hard to preserve our nations natural and historical areas.

- Little legs can walk long distances. Stop often for water & snacks.

What an amazing journey.

New York, End of a Journey, Izzy says goodbye to Pratt

We spent a good part of a day running around Central Park. Huge boulders are a dream for little boys.

Then we went in search of the birthplace of the modern cupcake movement. Magnolias. Yum.


The next day we wandered around Rockefeller Center and found Nintendo World!! Fantasy for these DS heads.


And the new Lego Store.

Kevin took the boys home and left me with a few days of bliss. If you get a chance to get to the Metropolitan Museum of Art while they are having the Bambu exhibit, go and enjoy! Amazing.

Friday morning, 7/30/2010, was the final exhibit of the art work created at Pratt's pre-college program. I was so impressed/amazed at the talent and quality of the work.

Izzy's projects on movement and observation from life and painting on cardboard.


Izzy's painting is the green face that her friends thought looked like the teen pregnancy poster on the subway. The painting was still wet when we packaged it up and shipped it home.

A youthful self portrait.



The painting in the center and the gray on the bottom right were both taken from the lobby when we were off having lunch.
The artists.

I caught this when Izzy crashed. She did, indeed, paint with her feet.

A highlight was catching up with Mike! I wish he lived in Utah.

The walk back to the hotel took us right past Johnny Utahs.

This adventure is over.