A Weekend in Portland

With so many things having happened over the past few weeks, everything is starting to blur together into one big fantastic memory. April has been an incredible birthday month for me and it's hard to know where to start remembering it all. So I guess it's best to start chronologically, therefore I will begin with our weekend in Portland.

The day after my birthday(a Wednesday) we left town and ventured up to Portland. Ryan was attending the Oregon Dental Association conference Thursday & Friday so I packed up the kids and we tagged along for the fun of it. There's nothing like trying to tour a city with three kids in tow.

We stayed at the Staybridge Inn and Suites near the airport. I would definitely recommend this hotel. It wasn't fancy or brand new but it was nice and clean and you can get twice the room for your money, PLUS an amazing breakfast every morning. AND, get this, dinner!(Except on weekends) Yes, all of it included in the price of the room.(a low price) We were very happy with our stay and will be staying there again on future trips.

Since Ryan was attending the conference I had 2 full days to keep me and the kiddos occupied. Flying it solo is sort of what I do on a daily basis but though staying around the hotel was a safer, less chaotic choice I was feeling rather brave and decided we would tour like some crazy tourists would and see some sights I had been wanting to see. Actually bravery had nothing to do with it---I think I may be completely crazy.

Day 1
Adventure # 1.
Portland has a beautiful array of architecturally influential homes in it's history. Most are privately owned but there are a handful you can tour. One such home is the Pittock Mansion. It's open to the public and I would recommend it to anyone who admires architectural and interior design. It's very eclectic architecturally, incorporating Turkish, English, and French designs. The floating marble staircase was stunning and the house was incredibly progressive when originally built and included features like a central vacuum system, intercoms, an elevator and indirect lighting.

The Pittocks were very loyal to their home state and they hired Oregon craftsmen and artisans to work in the home. Plus, they used Northwest materials to build the house. I was enamored with the beautiful details. The final estate included the mansion, a three-car garage, a greenhouse, and the gate lodge servants’ residence, all situated on 46 acres of land almost 1,000 feet above downtown Portland. The view is definitely part of it's majesty-


It was every bit as beautiful as I had hoped. The weather was particularly beautiful and though I would have liked to take an "official" tour of the home, my self guided tour with kids in tow was enough to curb my appetite for beautifully designed spaces.(for a while)

I packed Evelyn on my back in a carrier and had a free hand for both the boys---just in case.


The view(especially from the parlor) was amazing.


Overall, the kids did great. I was overly strict about staying right next to me and they were generally as equally impressed with the big, beautiful home as I was. We toured the house first so that when they became tired, hungry and generally bored with our outing we were outside touring the grounds and they were able to be rowdy boys again. Picture one: bribed and posed. Picture two: True feelings shine through.


Day 1
Adventure #2
By the time we finished at the Mansion it was past Noon. So, we rallied back at the van and I decided to try and hit two wants with one stop. Food and shopping =Ikea.

Oh Ikea, how I love your ability to produce furniture with a modern aesthetic for a great price. A little bit of design for the masses never hurt anyone.

Seeing no reason to bring my camera into Ikea I left it safely hidden in the car. Unfortunately I happened to miss some priceless moments of the trip.
-maneuvering a stroller, plus a tray and 3 children through the cafeteria lines was...difficult. My years as a waitress served me well and no major accidents occurred, though we came close, twice.(Ha Ha)
-Eating in public by yourself is one thing. Eating in public by yourself with 3 little people is another. Two highlights from this lunch *
* When Evelyn managed to pull herself close enough to Russell's food and grab a huge fistful. After tasting her delectable stolen fare she then put the rest of it into my drink.
* We bought two hot dogs. I put ketchup on one and mustard on the other. Sam complained he wanted BOTH ketchup and mustard on his hot dog, but before I could solve his problem he took both hot dogs, flipped them both upside down onto the table and swirled that ketchup and mustard together. Genius.
-Samuel insisted on going into the play place they have for kids. I had the time and the reason(shopping with only 2 kids) to do it, so we waited a short(ha ha) 15 minutes for him to go into the play place. Much to Russell's dismay, he was half an inch TOO short to go with his brother and a melt down ensued. After Sammy was taken care of I shopped for at least 30 minutes with Russell in melt down mode. Aah the looks I got--priceless. I was not about to end my shopping trip before it even began, besides, I waited an eternity to get Sammy into that play place and by golly he was going to get those 60 minutes. Luckily Russell fell asleep the second he finished crying(about 32.7 minutes after dropping Sam off) and stayed asleep for the rest of the shopping trip.

These excursions took up the entirety of day one. After a little bit more window shopping nearby and a stint at Jamba Juice(love that Caribbean Passion) we headed back to the hotel for dinner(free!) and a much anticipated rest. Though most of my experiences feeding the children by myself in public were somewhat of a comedy act I'll spare you the details---it was messy.

Day 2
Adventure #1
The best part of our trip was the opportunity to see good friends. Reba and her husband(with kids in tow) made the trek to Portland to met up with us and it just made my day! It was so wonderful to see them. The weather was again, perfect, so unfortunately everyone else decided they wanted to be at the zoo too. So we altered our plans on the fly and ended up viewing birds and hiking at a preserve maintained by the Autobond Society of Portland. I think the kids had a great time hiking the little trails(especially speedy Clark) and I enjoyed the opportunity to see some of my favorite people. Love you guys.

Noon is not a great time for picture taking but who cares. Love it-stark shadows and all.




I love this photo-- Clark is on the move!




Funnily enough, we ended up at Ikea again, for a late lunch, early dinner. The perfect, family friendly spot to try and chat before we parted ways. (Did I mention our hotel was just down the street from Ikea?) I am so grateful they made the trip to see us.

Day 2
Adventure #2
The pool.
One of the many requirements for our hotel patronage is the requirement that it needs to have a pool. Preferably an indoor, heated pool.
The kids were anticipating a dip in the pool even before we left home so we had to fit it in somewhere. It was the one thing I refused to do solo so I waited for Ryan and we went swimming Friday night after the conference ended. The pool was nice, and though it was heated, it was still too chilly for me to enjoy. Evie and I sat on the sidelines watching the boys play and dipped our toes into the hot tub periodically. I took no pictures but we didn't swim very long. I just mention it because the boys were so enthusiastic about it that the anticipation was enough to drive a mother crazy.

We headed home Saturday Morning and made a stop in Corvallis to see some more friends. I feel so lucky to know the Swensen's and we are so grateful for their hospitality. Catching up with friends is such a treat. It makes me realize just how much I miss my friends, especially those far away. Thank you for letting us stop by and say hello. It was the perfect ending to our trip.

Traveling with Children is work. Evelyn did not sleep well the first night, was decent the second night, and pretty good the third. I was tired and we had some crazy moments and then some even crazier moments but I would do it all again in a heartbeat. It was fun.
I can't tell you how many times I heard the phrase, "Wow, you sure have your hands full!" and I grew rather sick of it. But my favorite comment has to be when I was standing in line at Jamba Juice. The guy behind me smiled and asked me "What do you do in your spare time?" I just smiled and thought ----shower:)