Portland and the Pukes

After a few weeks of not having much to blog about, it seems as though we have a lot of catching up to do. Last things first:

As I type this, Nick is (hopefully) putting the finishing touches on our flooring upstairs. If we'd known from the start that it would take over 2 months from purchase to final installation (and that labor costs would more than double), I'm pretty sure we would've just opted for carpet. But, all is almost said and done now, and the Pergo is a beautiful improvement from the worn 1970s shag that had no shag left in it. Although Nick's been great, I'll be glad to see him turn in his key and leave today. I'm ready to move into my whole house instead of being a basement-dwelling, storage-locker inhabitant.

We went to Portland last weekend for Chris' birthday, at least that's the excuse we'll use. You'll have to check Picasa for all the pictures, but here are some highlights from the trip:



A view of the river and some of the skyline. We took the MAX train downtown, to the zoo, and everywhere in between.





Mount Hood, with IKEA in the foreground. We bought Ally a little table and some chairs. We bought Chris some spatulas and tongs.





Portland's mini-Chinatown. We decided to save the gardens for a warm, spring day in the future.




Old Town Saturday Market, also open on Sundays. We didn't buy anything, but we saw some cool crafts and some yummy-smelling ethnic foods. And some hippies. (They weren't yummy-smelling.) And an old man dressed as Jimmy Hendrix. And a dog as big as a horse.

We visited the zoo and saw, among other animals, the EAGLES!

On the way home we stopped at Multnomah Falls. It's the second largest continuously flowing waterfall in the United States. True to most Native American legends, its existence is linked to the literal self-sacrafice of a beautiful Indian maiden. Apparently some of the new movie Twilight was filmed at the falls. We didn't see any ghost virgins or vampires, but the natural view was still worth the short hike up the hill.


Did I mention Ally was sick the whole weekend? Looking back at the pictures, I guess I had missed a few clues that she wasn't feeling so well. Ally doesn't usually love to be strapped into the stroller-- especially when there's so much to see. She usually eats more than just crackers and water all day. I guess the one clue I didn't miss came up when she puked all over me. But, Ally is such a trooper and seemed to enjoy the trip anyway, just with less energy than usual. I can't believe my sister-in-law Erin had to wait 3 years for the joy of child puk-isodes. I am thankful for washable clothing and stainsticks. Ally is thankful for cuddling. We are all thankful that the "Yucky" is gone.