Year: 2018

December! I can’t believe this year is all but over.

Picking up from where I left off with Arabella being sick… well before long Arabella was feeling back to her normal self and ready for Christmas photos (because it is Christmas time after all). This also means that it is the time of year to get a tree and decorate. The kids are fans of this event, I must say. Look at little Lijah’s T-Rex-max shirt below. We got a tree at a local farm and took it home to decorate. I love the smell of a live tree in the house.

We were also afforded an opportunity to visit the Nike Employee store. There were so many discounts, that if I were a Nike employee I probably wouldn’t ever have money. Also started going around the town to catch Christmas lights (see the reflection in the ornament photo).

This period also marked the FIRST TIME that Elijah got a haircut. If you can see his expression above, he was less than sure about anyone cutting his hair off.

Early mornings were kind of my thing, I’d arrive early and leave early in the afternoon. One day I noticed on the way inside that there was a framed chip hanging up. After reading it I saw it noticed that President Barack Obama had signed it while he was in office. Pretty cool!

What is something really Christmassy that we can do while in the Northwest? We looked it up. The one consistent thing was Leavenworth. We made a trip up to Washington and visited!

It was a cute town. The reviews noted that if you visit getting a hot fresh pretzel is also required. Normally they would have a lot more snow on the group by this point – but it happened to be an abnormally dry season. Either way, it was pretty magical.

On our way back down we stopped at a roadside cafe that had a few signs hanging up. Why is that interesting? Well, see for yourself.

Gas has been rising lately, in fact, we filled up for 2.29 a gallon. Yeesh! Glad I drive a hybrid.

After getting back down to Portland we went to Peacock lane. It is a long-standing tradition that if you are in the Portland area this is a place to visit each year around Christmas. Having been in more of the spirit both Ara and Lijah opted to take cheery photos in front of the tree, decked out and looking adorable.

Before we knew it, it was Christmas eve and we were back at Abundant Life Church. After that, we took a trip to the Aspen Meadow lights and gave everyone on both sides of the fam a chance to meet up. Even though it wasn’t reciprocated we still had fun.

Christmas is finally here! Below is a picture of what our tree looked like before the chaos of the day ensued. Later that night we took a trip downtown and saw the big tree with hardly anyone around.

Can you guess what else we did before the year finished?

We took a trip to Tillamook! I’m pretty sure that’s what you were thinking, right? Had some dinner and ice cream. Dinner is great! It is super cold outside, windy, rainy.. so you hurry inside and order a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup. Elijah figured out early on that he was a huge fan of the Sandwich and Soup combination. Just look at him.

The Blazers game on the 30th was a fun way to finish off the year. Also got the face painting done as well (so did the wife AND the parents). I leave you with a photo of the LAST sunset of 2018. Here is to 2019, ready or not, here it comes!

just Pray

note: this post was published on 08/22/22 but moved the publish date back to the end of December 2018 to keep chronological order.

Turkey month already?!

I know this is going to be hard to believe – but we went to another Blazers game.

We also finally took the kids and me to see the Oregon City Elevator. Yeah – it is really a thing. It does have an elevator, but the bigger thing is the view that the elevator has. Each section has a drawn-on area that tells different things about the land. It’s fun to do. I prefer doing so when it’s dark outside.

We went to Sears because honestly for the past few years I’ve been feeling like they would be going out of business. The way the CEO has completely run the company into the ground has actually made me upset on more than one occasion. There were ZERO reasons this company should go out of business. Anyway, we stopped to take the kids because how long will this store actually be open? For a company that is part of our history (and American history since 1893), it is sad to see. Bleh, anyway we also voted.

I’ve already mentioned how horrible Intel is to its employees right? Well, that’s because it isn’t. Being part of the team… my manager wanted to send me down to Santa Clara (the world HQ) for the day so that I had a chance to take the internal company shuttle.

It was pretty cool. I won’t lie, I wish I could do that more often. There are apparently a few employees who live in HQ but commute to Portland each day. Others who work in Phoenix and make the commute to HQ. It seems really crazy that you can do such a thing – but people do it every day – even me for one day.

Another week, another GAME! Yes, another Blazers game. Look how cute Elijah looks in his outfit with the basketball head! This game was cool because when we walked into the Moda Center one of the Blazer’s representatives stopped us.

Hey! Nice Jersey – I really love it. Your kids and wife are all decked out too, that’s amazing. Hey, so we wanted to know if you wanted to be in a contest to win some prizes and play a game?!
“Uh, well… what exactly will we do?”
Oh, well it’s pretty easy. We are celebrating Pacific Power and our green energy use in the arena – so we will set you guys at opposite ends of one row of the arena and another family on another 2 ends of a row, then you pass down these cards to see how quick the fans can pass them!
“Yeah, that sounds cool, we can do that”
Awesome! It will be during one of the timeouts so we will pull you guys from your seats a few minutes before so we can get you set up!

So we waited and around the end of the 1st quarter they came and got us. We felt nervous even if it was one of those silly games nobody really pays attention to during a timeout. I had Elijah on my hip and Sky had Arabella so we could divide and conquer. We got set up, they did the intro and we passed the cutout as quickly as we could. Our row was not very into it at first so it ended in a virtual tie (I think ours was a fraction later). That didn’t matter, they ended the contest, and then we went to the vendor area to get the prize.

Here is one for each of you, both bags have the same things in them. Thanks for doing this and enjoy the game!

So, what was inside?! A brand spanking new Nest thermostat (as seen here). There was a Blazer’s backpack thing and a couple of shirts and stickers for the kids. Total score! Now, all we need is a house someday to add the Nest too. Fun story! When we sold our house in Mesa we didn’t want to part with the Nest (yes, we were going to but it was hard because that was one of our favorite buys) and to this day we recommend anyone to get one. We didn’t need to worry about buying another one, even if home buying isn’t in our line of sight right now. We will keep it in storage until the time comes.

Another fun fact: the Blazers have a “Wear in the world” section where they showcase fans that are wearing gear while traveling. During one of the games that we were at a few people from Facebook that we know mentioned that they saw us!

Also got some grades from attending the University of the People as well. I was working towards my degree at Intel’s request, so I found a free university and started going online (screenshot below).

Around this time our car was also hit. We were merging in traffic and someone clipped the rear quarter panel of our car – and kept on driving like they had done nothing. We followed them a short way to capture their license plate and then pulled off the road and called the police. Come to find out it was not a felony (or any crime) to hit and run. No, the Police decided that the woman didn’t realize she had hit anyone and that it was just an accident that should be filed with insurance but no crime was committed. Just nuts.

VERY FRUSTRATING.

We went to the Zoo and I even was able to take a photo with JUST the wifey (see below).

After thanksgiving (the next day), we went to the tree lighting in Pioneer Square. For such a liberal city there was quite a bit of “Silent Night” and other songs, coupled with “Peanuts” talking about the birth of Christ.

I love the foggy nighttime photos that happen this time of year. Here is one of the Cedar Hills sign (and our car). I really enjoy it when it is cool and foggy outside. The neon lights glow and things seem to get much quieter. Let’s be honest, we would all use some quiet foggy nights to clear our heads.

I’m betting you wouldn’t have guessed that we went to another Blazers game before the end of the month. No? Well, we did.

We also found super cheap tickets to Zoolights online. These tickets are normally really expensive and someone was giving them away for next to nothing. We met up with the person and purchased the tickets. Elijah and Arabella loved seeing the train. I have to admit, it was really cool how it was sort of glowing with the mist coming out. The train ride itself was probably the best part of Zoolights.

Lastly, a day or two later I was at work and ended up coming home early. Arabella got sick and was running a high fever (103.9). It really is nice to have the flexibility to come home and work from home as needed.

just Pray

note: this post was published on 08/22/22 but moved the publish date back to the end of November 2018 to keep chronological order.

We made our way back from California, and a long drive up 101 on the Oregon Coast. I dropped off the car so early that it was super dark outside. I decided that I would go straight to work and get off early later that day. Nothing that I was doing required others to provide input. I arrived at work at 2:40am and got to work (picture below)

On another note: on October 15th Paul Allen (co-founder of Microsoft, owner of the Seahawks and Trail Blazers) died from cancer.

Rip City? What is that from?? If you don’t know where that phrase came from keep reading:

“The date is February 18, 1971. The Portland Trail Blazers are playing their rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers, and they’re losing. Bad.

After being down by more than 20 points, the Blazers found themselves with a chance to tie the game. Shooting guard Jim Barnett got the ball and took an ill-advised shot from nearly half-court (and this was before the three-point shot existed). Somehow, the ball found the bottom of the net. Barnett tied the game.

The crowd burst into cheer, and the team’s play-by-play announcer, Bill Schonely, spewed a nonsensical phrase. “RIP CITY, ALRIGHT!” he yelled. The legendary announcer is the first to admit he has no idea where the words came from, nor did he have any idea his stream of consciousness word vomit would catch fire and change Portland culture forever.”

The organization made a tribute to him with a bunch of roses all over the iconic “Rip City” sign so we ventured downtown to capture the moment.

Meanwhile, we were nearing the middle to end of the month, which would mean the normal pumpkin patches and tree hunting for fall foliage. This time we invited the family out to the patch so that we could get some photos with the kiddos and cousins etc.

We even decided to stop at the street art that we could find throughout Portland. We visited also “Halloween town” in St Helens.

As you can see, we also visited our old stomping grounds (Cascade College). Even though the campus (which ran as a branch campus of Oklahoma Christian University) was shut down the property was sold to Columbia Christian Schools. Why? Well before it was Cascade College it was Columbia Christian Schools, which turned into Columbia Christian College. When funding was low they sought others schools to help which OC did for about 15 years. Funding got to be an issue again and they closed, but selling the land back to Columbia Christian schools made the most sense. So the college that I went to is still Christian based, but now more for kids than anyone.

We went to another Blazers game (yes, we do enjoy going but can’t afford season tickets). The individual games we would get for free or next to free so it made it much easier to do. Blazers was nearby and we had a nice family photo. The PGA was on the side of the building in memory of Paul G Allen.

Rounding out the rest of the month I spent some more time at work (look at the fun food they would have!). Every couple of weeks they would have some specialized food event that was free for everyone to have.

Finally, the kids got some trick-or-treating in. St. Johns was a great location for this (picture of Arabella and Elijah)- we even found a nice small church near us that was hosting an event too (picture of the kids in a circle). It was fun and they really got into the whole pirate-themed event.

just Pray

note: this post was published on 08/22/22 but moved the publish date back to the end of October 2018 to keep chronological order.

hey!

OCTOBER is here. We are coming up on a year since we went to London and I can’t believe it!

One of the cool things as I previously mentioned about Intel is all of the things they do for the employees. It is the best experience I’ve had in that regard. The Bluetooth team was celebrating a win by reaching a milestone in one of the projects and so the leader of the group decided to have the department go on a cruise to celebrate.

I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity.

It was a couple of hours long. Nothing too crazy, but they served dinner and dessert. Here are some photos from that experience.

It did rain, but it was magical. I loved having the hot coffee and sitting looking out the window on this little cruise of the part of the world I have become familiar with. I walked all around – there weren’t many people outside due to the rain, but I have never been one to mind and had some peaceful moments with a few others who were there too.

Later during the weekend, we took a trip to Stonehenge. Or at least a re-created version of what it once looked like. We went to go see some fall leaves at the Boardman tree farm since it would be one of the (if not the last) chances to see it before new owners were tearing all of the trees down.

Once we saw some leaves, we took a trip over towards Yakima. There was a Dino park that was supposed to be fun and Elijah has a thing for Dinosaurs. Arabella (when she was little) would call them “Dyna-horses” a mix of a dinosaur and a horse. Made sense to me.

While in town we stopped at a few landmarks including Miners.

We made our way back home and caught a Blazers game (below) near the middle of the month. It was nice to see them beat the Suns. Then we made semi-big plans to go to June Lake! Why?! Well, it was one of the best experiences we had when looking for fall colors and we really wanted to share this experience with the family. It really is something that should be done, even if the photos don’t do justice.

You may notice only a few photos from June Lake. There were many others, however, after we went to June Lake we made our way up the coast. Had some awesome fun at the beach (caught the sunset) and going north we visited the Redwoods. After we parted ways with my parents we took 101 up the coast before getting back into Portland. While on the southern coast we saw the fog roll in from the ocean and it also happened to be at sunset.

just Pray

note: this post was published on 08/22/22 but moved the publish date back to the end of October 2018 to keep chronological order.

Another big month!

As mentioned in August, we finished the month with a trip overnight to Washington. We rented an Air BnB and stayed in a smaller town. It was fun, we enjoyed it. On the second day, we decided to go to Snoqualmie Falls and hit up the touristy sites like the Space Needle.

We also had an opportunity to visit an airplane that was surrounded by a forest/wooded area. Read about it here and here – and this is his official site! At the time of visiting you could email him to visit and he sent us a response when he would be around and to stop by. Super cool. Also, what is that? A leaf? Is it possibly getting cooler outside?! Yessss!

Took another trip to meet up with Gramps. This time he was excited to show us and the kids how his gardening was coming along. Got to eat some tasty baby tomatoes and got some other food that they simply had too much of!

We also took a trip out to Seaside to get some beach time! The Sunset was amazing AND I FOUND A SAND DOLLAR.

Okay, I get it probably isn’t that exciting, but on the west coast they are much harder to find than you might think.

Also took a trip to Oaks park as they were having some event where you could ride all the rides with a wristband on the cheap. Look at that cute boy! Oh, and the girl took a photo back when we were visiting Seattle next to the pig (of course) in Pikes Place.

One afternoon I noticed that the Blazers were doing an event in downtown Portland. I quickly was able to take a long lunch and picked up the family to go. It was a great decision as we caught the perfect timing of a new sponsor (BioFreeze, hence the ice) and were given some tickets to a game. It was first come, first serve and we missed out on the tickets. However, the Blazers rep that was at this event walked over to us and mentioned how he wanted to give us tickets too! Then another gentleman in the area walked up and said he also wanted to give his tickets up so that Arabella could go again. We asked to take a photo with him (see below).

Free Blazers tickets? I won’t complain about that!

We also wanted to show Arabella our brick (see below) so on another day we returned and hunted down the location of our Brick (it was a gift to Maryia some years before).

It is nearing the end of September and that means Costumes are coming into play for October. Ara wanted to be a Lion and Lijah was a little dragon – those kids are so silly. Also, in September there was a “free museum” day and we took the kids to go to the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum (read about it here). The photo below is little Lijah looking out in wonder over all of the planes.

We decided to take the kids to some local pumpkin patches, and at the same time, we did our “fall photos” or at least some of them. Does fall mean rain?! I love rain.

Finally, we went to the Blazers “fan fest” which is a free event they put on almost every year. We started getting into these events years ago and when we had kids in Arizona it just made more sense to go because it’s designed for the littles. Here are a few snaps of the night!

just Pray

note: this post was published on 08/19/22 but moved the publish date back to the end of September 2018 to keep chronological order.