Yes, it is true. We are officially Portland residents now. We just purchased a Subaru Outback - it doesn't get much hippier than that:) But we love the car...we've had it for 2 weeks now and it is a ton of fun and super convenient. We are finally able to haul around all of our camping gear, the canoe, our friends, the dog. A 2-door Honda Civic just wasn't cutting it. Anyone want to buy one? It's for sale!
October has been a great month. The fall hit Portland with the wink of an eye, but it has been so beautiful! It literally seems like one day it was 75 and sunny, and the next day there was frost on the ground and everyone's breath could be seen. Seasons are certainly not subtle, here. There was a tree at the park down the street that Wes was so excited to show me - on fire with reds, oranges and even pinks. By the time he took me down to the park a couple days later, most of the leaves had fallen. Today, they are gone. The poor tree has succumbed to the coming winter:) We were hoping to make it down the historic Columbia Highway to see all of the fall Colors, but I believe it is too late now. Oh well, there is still a lot of fall to enjoy. People in Portland seem to love fall. Everyone starts pulling out the rustic-colored sweaters, scarves and boots. The coffee shops start serving pumpkin, maple, and cinnamon flavored drinks. The grayness of the sky is pretty much ignored - eclipsed by the colors of nature and the people around. I know this all sounds kind cheesy...but we LOVE fall!
Another great thing about fall (October, specifically) is our anniversary! On October 25th we celebrated our 5th year of marriage. What an exciting milestone. Wes and I were talking tonight about how blessed we have been to have never missed an anniversary - despite all the odds that have been against us in the last few years! It's our goal to never miss an anniversary. We want to do all that is in our power to be sure we can be together on our special day. Tonight we recounted what we have done each year, so I will share that (it is another goal to never forget these moments). On our 1st anniversary, we had just moved into our condo in Hawaii. We didn't even have our furniture and our hardwood floors were only partially installed. We cooked ourselves a dinner and ate it on an upside down cardboard box that we decorated up nicely:) For dessert we enjoyed a Zippy's black forest cake with the words "I Love You" inscribed in gel frosting. For our second anniversary, Wes prepared an amazing gourmet meal for me as a surprise. I came home from work, and was greeted by Wes at the door with purple irises and asparagus cream soup. So ono! We enjoyed the evening at home. Our 3rd anniversary was spent, almost miraculously, in Japan. I flew out to Tokyo last minute in hopes that my arrival would be around the same time as when his boat pulled into port. I could have missed him completely! I spent two days in Tokyo without him, but we were reunited the day before our 3rd anniversary. We found an underground (literally!) non-touristy restaurant. Just happened to walk by a stairway down to a dungeon door on our way to find another restaurant, and we were intrigued:) It was like all talking and activity stopped when we walked in - we were obviously not regulars. Nevertheless, we were treated like royalty and enjoyed what may be the best meal we've ever had. Kobe beef, garlic asparagus with sesame seeds, sushi, samplings of all sorts of fish, and some things we couldn't make out...but devoured. The evening ended at a espresso bar around the corner where we enjoyed Japanese pastries and decorated cappuccinos;) Our 4th anniversary was spent here in Oregon. We drove east to Hood River to explore the Fruit Loop - a stretch of highway lined with a plethora of fruit farmers. We bought fresh apples and pears, jam, fresh apple cider and other goodies. We had unmatched views of Mt. Hood and beautiful weather. Wes packed a surprise picnic of cheeses, crackers and wine, but we were unable to enjoy it on the road before dark, so we had it at home with our cider. This year, the 5th year, we celebrated the day before our actual anniversary. The 25th fell on a Sunday, and Sunday's are quite full. I ran 9 miles with my friend Anne Saturday morning, then went home to wake Wes and get ready for the day. We spent the day at Portland Farmers' Market and Saturday market, where we sampled all kinds of tasty foods and bought a few fun trinkets. Finn was able to join us for the day, too, so it was a fun family trip! On our way home we picked up desserts and a good port from Whole Foods for the evening. We decided on sushi for dinner and went to our new favorite spot, Meeka Sushi, for a very filling meal, followed by our hand-picked desserts and port at home. I hope we never forget any of these moments!
Finn is growing like a weed. No weight for him now, but we hope to get him into the vet this week for his last round of shots. One sad story about Finn...he has the mange:( Poor guy. He is about finished with his 20-day supply of anti-biotics, but still has some hair-loss that he will be dealing with for a while. Most likely, he picked it up at the shelter when his immune system was too weak to fight it off. We only knew about it because of the hair-loss, but I am glad we caught it when we did! He is 15 weeks and 2 days old today and will be starting puppy kindergarten next week. He'll review basic commands like sit, stay and lie down, and (most importantly) he'll learn to not pull on the leash while going for a walk, not to jump up on people, and not to mouth hands! We are really looking forward to starting these classes. We'll keep you updated on progress once he gets started.
The night before Halloween, our church had a Harvest Party for the kids. Wes and I went, as greeters, dressed in our very last minute costume. Yes, that's right, 1 costume - we shared. We went as "Wessica" inspired by Genesis 2:24. Pictures to follow, don't worry. Halloween evening was spent with the Zumwalts. All of us are opposed to handing out candy to little kids. Too bad Halloween isn't like the old days when you could make homemade goodies and cider for trick-or-treaters. Now everyone is afraid of being poisoned. Odd, considering the kids are consuming insane amounts of high-fructose corn syrup and who knows what else. Hmmm...food for thought. So, we all decided to try a restaurant on Hawthorne called Arista. It was a funky, modern, Italian-fusion type restaurant. Pretty tasty. After dinner we hid in the dark at the Zumwalt's house. It was a good time:)
Wow, can't believe it's already November. Time flies. School is going great for Wes, though he is quite busy. A few papers to write this week, a couple of mid-terms to study for, and lots of reading to do. My job is still fantastic and my role keeps expanding. I am learning how to say "no" to projects, which is good for me, but I don't feel overwhelmed and I am still kept interested by my work. We are looking forward to having my mom and dad out to Portland in a few weeks for Thanksgiving, and to having Sissy stay with us for a few days. My dad and I will also be running the Seattle Marathon on November 29th, so please keep us in your prayers while we continuing building up to that. Go, Dad!
I'll post a new update, soon. Stay warm (unless you're reading from Arizona, in which case you should stay cool)!
We are really grateful for your blog. It makes us feel like we are with you guys on a regular basis. We miss you and so can't wait to see you guys for Thanksgiving. Our granddog will be grown before we can love on him ;)
Posted by: Mom | November 03, 2009 at 05:45 AM
Bummer, no pics of the first anniversary! I can't believe it has really been 5 years! Congratulations!!
Posted by: Kathy | November 24, 2009 at 03:43 PM