Here are some things our days were filled with...
Local commerce, music and produce.
Candyland (niece Emerson's first time).
Golf. I liked it the first few times that I played, but now I fear that I am really hooked!
Yummy food!
Gorgeous views.
This is the view from the site where Mike and Tanya are about to start construction on their new house! Incredible spot just outside of a small town and not too far from Spokane.
Sleeping! I really should have taken a picture in my bathrobe for all the time I spent with it on!
Ice Cream. Ann got my favorite (and hers)--Tillamook Mudslide. I think Em liked it ok, too.
Hanging out.
Have I mentioned all the delicious food?
Flying in Brody's plane. Though I battled queasiness on this windy ride with bumps galope, it was a spectacular adventure. More on this flight later!
Working on the lake cabin--Mike and Tanya had done lots and then the boys went back for a work day while we were there. The floor used to be battleship gray and the ceiling was covered in stained whitish tiles. It's becoming a bright and cheery little place.
Looking cute. Well, that was mostly just Emerson.
Golf cart rides! Em yelled instructions: "Faster!" "Slower!" "Go right!" (pointing left). "Go slowly, Tia Mia!" And she showed her approval through giggles.
Playing. Silly Uncage.
Exploring little towns. 
Oh, and eating.
But no matter how fabulous our time away is, my heart swells with joy each time we come around this bend and see Mt. Hood for the first time. It is a clear sign that we are almost there--home.
Jessica moved to Oregon from Nashville about a year ago and we met through a friend of a friend. After our first coffee at Ava Roasteria where we knew we had lots in common, we've visited over many cups of coffee, enjoying getting to know one another and introducing each other to new favorites in the area--she said I would love Insomnia Coffee (I do) and I insisted that she try the milkshakes at Burgerville (she did). And now she is heading East again to attend graduate school and be closer to family. I'm thankful that our lives have intersected for this short period of time and that I'll have a friend in Pittsburg and Nashville when I ever get around to visiting those places :) I'll miss you Jessica!
We were downtown Portland a few weeks back on what was quite possibly the first really gorgeous day of the year and we weren't the only ones! The Rose Festival was in full swing and folks were lining the streets all over downtown in preparation for the Starlight Parade, which began after dark. Thankfully, it seems that all our walking was against the crowd and we got our of town just before the real craziness began. Seeing the parade would have been fun, but getting a good night's sleep before church was better! We enjoyed such a lovely walk around the city and enjoyed some local Pizzicato Pizza and ice cream sundaes from Burgerville--fresh strawberries are in season, mmmmm......
Dinner at 
A musical drama depicted the doomed marriage between local law enforcement and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). Numbers included "Ice Ice Baby" and "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga. So great.
Always taking pictures. My kind of girl.
Eliser and Justin and I with my "new" bike outside the amazing pupuseria we recently discovered:
Breakfast with Evan at our place. Eggies McScramblins. Mmmm.
I recently visited a friend who lives with her husband and kids on one side of a duplex whose other half is inhabited by her brother and his family and have been thinking ever since about how great it would be to live next door to any of our siblings and their families: Justin and Lil, Rose and Robert, Scott and Hilary, Mike and Tanya. Maybe we live in a giant house together. For now, we are dispersed: California, Michigan, Oregon, Georgia (soon to be Chicago!), Washington. But man oh man, we'd have a great time!