This last weekend was a great one!  Perfect NW weather, great mix of family time and task completion!  Here are the quick highlights:

Friday:  Halle was off of school so we got an early start out the door to Oregon.  Stopped for a couple hours in Portland for me to have a meeting with Ron Marrs, Youth Ministry Prof and friend from Western Seminary.  Elisabeth and the kids got to take in the Lloyd Center for lunch and some shopping.  Then, on the road to Eugene (where Elisabeth’s sister lives).  Unique experience with a waitress at El Torito (for some reason she couldn’t grasp that we had 6 of us, but insisted on us sitting at a 4 person table… ????)… Stayed up way too late watching the M’s pull out an extra-inning win.

Saturday:  Will doesn’t like sleeping in new places, so we didn’t get a great night of sleep; but we took turns with morning naps, so that helped.  In the afternoon I took the kids for a walk and Prince P’s (Ice Cream) so that Elisabeth and Anne could do some shopping and prep for Audrey’s birthday on Sunday.  After a great time with the kids I was able to sneak off to Starbucks and get a few hours of work done, including a fantastic talk with our contact in Kauai.  Saturday lunch and dinner was fajitas (leftovers for dinner)… I love Mexican food!  Went to bed somewhat early (11:00ish).

Sunday: Took off in the morning to do some more study and work on the devo’s for the mission trips, it’s fun to see the crowds at coffee shops on a Sunday morning, always wonder about church habits of those in the shops.  Had one or two conversations as people saw me studying the Word.  After Anne returned from her church I took Audrey out for her own Daddy-Daughter date.  We went to Old Navy (where she was to pick out her very own shirt) and then to a park.  We bought the rest of the family about an hour of time to set up for Audrey’s Birthday Formal Tea (lunch).  After a great birthday celebration (complete with presents) we cleaned up, went back to Prince P’s and then said our goodbyes for our drive home.  

On the way home we discovered that Portland has a Five Guys (Burger joint) as well.  Just off the 205 we happened upon because of a strong desire to use the restroom… low and behold, a Five Guys served a couple purposes!  Made it back by about 10:30 with three kids sawing logs in the back!

Monday: A great night of sleep (much needed). In the morning we went out to breakfast with our friends Jess and Alisha (and kids).  The afternoon was spent getting some work done and preparing for hosting a BBQ at our place.  The Schlauds and Heiders came over for a fun evening with some good food! 

What a fun unofficial beginning to the summer.  Much to do this week, but thought I’d take a few minutes to review and celebrate the weekend that was!

Grace,
Brian