Sunday, October 19, 2014

Columbus Day in Oregon!

My last real blog post was as we left for a long weekend in Eugene, OR. 

We arrived Friday around lunch and were joined at CAFE YUMM by BreZaak and Krista. Arielle and I love this place.  The "men" all went to either Wendy's or the sushi bar and brought their options back to Café Yumm. I went inside of Jamba Juice and bought a few drinks so we could all enjoy their outside seating. LOL A big bottle of Yumm Sauce purchased at this spot has been bringing enjoyment all week.

We decided to enjoy a leisurely stroll along the  Willamette River.  The walk along the river borders several community gardens, local parks and the Eugene Rose Garden.  I do LOVE the beauty of the Northwest.  It is also pure joy to meet up with the adult Gherkins.








The girls slept at Krista's and the rest of us enjoyed the hospitality of my brother Will and his wife, Sherri. Their granddaughter Harmony was waiting and waiting for us to "make contact." When BreZaak needed to get back to homework and "life," we called Sherri and dropped Stacia off to play. The rest of us went to visit with my parents and my cousin, Lori. We continued our visiting over dinner at Denny's.

The evenings and early mornings netted visiting time with Will and Sherri - a bonus over staying at a local hotel.  ::grin::  Below, Zander, Stacia and Harmony pretend to be interested in a Duck Game.

Stacia and Harmony
 Saturday, Michael and Will visited a couple of RV centers. We're looking for a stabilizing something or other for The Caboose.  Krista, the girls and I visited a couple of stores looking for Duck fan stuff....we all met back at the house to watch the Ducks (U of O) beat the Bruins (UCLA) 42 - 30. 

Saturday night Mom and Dad, Lori, niece Nadia and her boyfriend Seth, nephew Drew, BreZaak and Krista all converged at Will and Sherri's for dinner. Great fun.

Sunday we went home for church -  Calvary Open Bible Church (scroll down to see Pastor Bre - she's our eldest Gherkin).  We attended first service and then drove across town to Lively Stone Fellowship - Krista's church. Michael spoke.  Both sermons were great!  Feel fully revitalized spiritually we headed to Tio Pepe's for lunch. Rebecca, Michael's sister, met us there and we enjoyed another fun family dinner.  We enjoyed this spot. I like any restaurant with a vegetarian section on their menu - makes it really easy to adapt to vegan. LOL 

After lunch the kids and Michael and I spent an afternoon loving on each other....and enjoying Skinner's Butte.  Below is a mountain top view of the area.


Note the Three "Os"  - Autzen Stadium
 Gherkins on the Butte
 
Gherkins on the O
 
Sliding down the freshly painted O



Krista and the younger kids went on down to Skinner's Butte Park and we had a bit of quiet talk on the top for the Butte with Mrs. D.  We all met back at "the whale." This whale was in the area when we were kids. Mom used to bring Will and I to play on the whale.



 
Mom, Dad and Lori met us at Dickie Yo for a Sunday evening treat
 
Games and Football rounded out the evening


It always feels like a juggling act when we go home. We'd like to see all our friends (but rarely have time to touch base with friends), we love spending time with siblings and parents and our KIDS.....I know there is never enough time to do ALL you'd like to do - but I think this trip was a nice balance between time spent alone with our kids and extended family time. We did our best.

We drove home Monday and jumped into a shortened week early Tuesday a.m.

Choosing Joy!
©2014 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

AND we certainly did enjoy every second we spent with you! Looking forward to Izaak's graduation in December. AND then next August for Mike's farewell ceremony or whatever it is called. love/prayers - mom.