The City of Roses

We have arrived! The "City of Roses" is now officially our home. And what a grand, beautiful, diverse, quaint, weird, and bountiful home it is! Although at first we felt like it would take forever to settle in and become accustomed to this new area, it is becoming surprisingly easy by the day. We arrived Friday; had the movers unload the truck, and the grandparents bring the kids down on Saturday; and every single second since then we've been full-on unpacking our place here in Tigard. We've made quick progress due to some perfectly-timed naps for the kids (God.supplies.all.our.needs.), and our kitchen, dining, living, and bathrooms are now completely liveable. Obviously, we are pretty tired, but I wanted to share with you the fun introduction to the city we had with our friends, Aaron and Angie, on Friday night. 

After an amazing dinner at A&A's home on the eastside, we all suited up for the rain and hopped aboard the Tri-Met train to go across the river to celebrate the opening of Rose Fair in downtown Portland. 

Aren't they cute? Ang is due with their first babe and I'm dying to see that little face in just two short months. (doesn't she look fantastic, btw? slightly made me miss pregnancy)

 
 This night was the kick-off for the Portland Rose Festival, so music, carnival rides, food. and fireworks were to be had! Angie and I snuck off to the kettle corn tent, convincing them we needed in hot off the kettle. even if it did practically melt the bag. It was THE BEST of it's kind -- crunchy, sweet, salty, warm bliss.

It was a splendid show, and I had my mouth agape in awe the entire time (which was perfect since I was filling it with popcorn). It was a late evening, but I'm SO glad we ventured down for such a fab introduction to this city. 

How was your weekend? 

m

Material Girl

Did you know that Oregon has no sales tax?

We've had some big purchases on the horizon for a while, just waiting for the perfect opportunity to be welcomed into our home. Most of them are quite big, so we've been putting them off until after our arrival in Oregon. Now that our move is imminent (5 days), take a peek at the following list of goodies and dream some dreams with us!

1) Bunkbeds!

We can imagine our kids having some great quality time with each other or friends on this, and we love the built-in storage all over.

2) A convertible car seat for Eva.

I'm in love with this one, mainly for the side head support (read: pillows) and Target seems to sell it for a reasonable price. She is still fully in the weight range for her infant seat, so we have a bit of wiggle room until this needs to join our fam. Besides that, our Honda Civic Hybrid won't fit this seat rear-facing, so we need to upgrade vehicles first. Speaking of which...

3) A Honda Odyssey!

It only took one camping trip last summer for us to realize our current vehicle was not going to cut it for our growing family. We own a 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid (pictured below), and though it holds a special place in my heart, we will be upgrading her before the summer is out.

4) A cruiser bike

This teal blue number looks like it's meant for carefree rides by the sea, but has seven nifty gears for hauling my precious cargo to the park, to the library, to George Fox, to the grocery store...and beyond. And speaking of hauling cargo, take a look at what I have in mind for that.

5) A Croozer, to go with my cruiser!

This 3-in-1 beauty is made by the Chariot brand for biking/jogging/strolling, and I plan on using all three attachments like a mad woman this summer.

6) A Kids run-bike

 This trike has no peddles, perfect for little ones to learn to balance on. I love that it's not too girl-y or boy-like, so that both kids can enjoy it in turn.

6) New prescription and contact lenses

I'm looking forward to finding a great eye doctor, and getting new lenses ASAP!

7) MAC Eye Primer

To go along with the eye theme, this is one of my favorite products. I ran out of it at the beginning of this month, so it joined the ranks of things to buy asap.

Do you have any favorite things you think I ought to add? Your input is most welcome, but you must love it if I am to try it!

Hugs from rainy Seattle,

Mandy

Picture perfect

We've had a lot of big news this week! Matt got a job for George Fox U, and we'll be moving a week from today! This is such a tremendous God-send, as this means Matt will be working for the same Portland campus where he will be attending classes in the fall. Yay for tuition remission!

Pray for us as we live the upcoming, busy week, will you? Muchas Gracias. 

I don't have a specific goal in mind with this post, but I have a whole slam of pics to share with you. Enjoy!

We went to visit Bill, an older gentleman that Marty is caretaker for 3 days/week, to shoot some pool!

Ran up to Bellingham for a day to say hello to some of my family. I'm pictured here with my Grandma Frazer and Aunt Meri.

 Visited with a dear friend, Kristin, and her son, Josiah.

 Ate lunch at Cafe Veloce, the location of our first date and rehearsal dinner.

 Hung out with Gigi.

 Ate out on the deck.

 Went on a short hike in Granite Falls to Granite Falls. 

 Went for more walks around the neighborhood.

 Every day, we watch Eva grow up a little more. So bittersweet!

I spy the Space Needle.

 The kids have been real troopers, being carted around all day. Of course, lots of food helps.

And no day would be complete without chasing this kid around.

Have an awesome week, everyone. Much love,

m

Birthday weekend

On Friday, Matt and I drove to West Seattle for his sister Lindsey's birthday bash at an amazing little place called Urban Enoteca. The location had several rooms, but our event was held in the "Wine Library." We were given library cards and the idea is to check-out...wine! Four wineries were offering tastings in the library the night of the party. Our first (and favorite!) winery was one called Kiona. We checked out quite a few and were impressed with each and every selection! We lounged and mingled (no noise restrictions here!) while nursing our glasses. Lindz had some amazing desserts on-hand, while UE provided knock-your-socks-off hors d'oeuvres. Awesome, awesome party, and a great way to kick off our weekend! 

Matt with his card.

Checking out the selections at Kiona.

So, so good.

Wine barrels make the best tables!

Cheese and charcuterie

Dessert galore!

 The sibs: Matt, Janna, and Lindsey (things literally got a little blurry!)

Wine brings out the purple in people. Not kidding, most of us were wearing this color! 

 Those last shots were taken near midnight, after most of the other guests were long gone, so everything looked pristine as the staff readied things for the following day. We then spent the night with Lindsey at her West Seattle condo, and went home on Saturday for some time with the kids before going out to see one of my favorite music artists, JJ Heller. Whenever Kiel needs some calming down, I put this song on for him. He knows every word by heart.

On Sunday, we gathered with family in Granite to further celebrate. Not only was it Lindsey's birthday, but it was also Mother's Day!

 Kiel and Lindz needed some re-aquainting. They hadn't seen each other since November or so. ;)
 
  

As I write this, I'm sitting by the river while Kiel plays. He just offered me "special bread", also known as a rock. *smirk* Ta-ta!!