{"id":8459,"date":"2023-04-22T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-22T21:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/?p=8459"},"modified":"2025-11-06T11:15:19","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T19:15:19","slug":"2023-april-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/2023\/04\/22\/2023-april-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"2023 – April part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Portland may have a pretty area for the blossoms, but if you want a more immersive experience- I prefer Salem. Go to the state Capitol and see the Cherry Blossoms in full bloom. Plus to make things better, at night they hang up traditional Japanese lighting (and some other lights too) to enjoy after dark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was the first time we went after dark, but it was so pretty. See below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Before we knew it, it was Easter weekend. We took the kids to an easter Hunt at Grace Chapel (since they were talking about how good it was we decided to go). The kids enjoyed it. Then we went over to Maryia’s aunt’s house for an afternoon easter egg hunt on Easter Sunday. It is always an experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What else?!?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elijah lost a baby tooth, and then a few days later lost another one. We went to a free Oregon Symphony concert with the kids. Also went to OMSI since they have a pass this year due to their online school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hmm, the kids posed for some photos since they were all wearing new shoes (they all seem to go through them much too quickly, especially for how much shoes cost) and due to the warmer weather, our grass has been growing like crazy. Due to this, I’ve had to break out the lawn mower and start with the upkeep. Side note: see the two brown trees? Those were our Christmas trees this year. Generally speaking, every year I toss the trees in the backyard, let them dry out, and then cut them up for our yard waste container.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has been a busy month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

just Pray<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Portland may have a pretty area for the blossoms, but if you want a more immersive experience- I prefer Salem. Go to the state Capitol and see the Cherry Blossoms in full bloom. Plus to make things better, at night they hang up traditional Japanese lighting (and some other lights too) to enjoy after dark….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8463,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/april8-churchwe.jpg?fit=1263%2C947&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11045,"url":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/2025\/03\/28\/blossoms\/","url_meta":{"origin":8459,"position":0},"title":"Blossoms","author":"me@jshox.com","date":"March 28, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Hey again, If you couldn't tell by now, our family enjoys seasonal changes. One such is the Japanese Cherry Blossoms. Each year, we try to visit downtown Portland or Salem, and occasionally both. This year, we were able to make a trip down to Salem and catch them on a\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/mar24-cherry.jpg?fit=1040%2C780&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/mar24-cherry.jpg?fit=1040%2C780&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/mar24-cherry.jpg?fit=1040%2C780&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/mar24-cherry.jpg?fit=1040%2C780&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12753,"url":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/2026\/03\/21\/cherry-blossoms\/","url_meta":{"origin":8459,"position":1},"title":"Cherry Blossoms","author":"me@jshox.com","date":"March 21, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Hey there, It's that time again! Better grab your balloons and invite your friends... that's right. It's spring! Along with the time change comes a beautiful part of the year, the blossoming of trees. Each year, we take a trip down to Salem to get a glimpse of some of\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/mar21-twilight.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/mar21-twilight.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/mar21-twilight.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/mar21-twilight.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/mar21-twilight.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12780,"url":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/2026\/03\/27\/ambushed\/","url_meta":{"origin":8459,"position":2},"title":"Ambushed","author":"me@jshox.com","date":"March 27, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Hey there We had already been to Salem to see the Cherry Blossoms and decided this year we wouldn't do downtown Portland's set either. Then I read about something new they were doing this year: \"A section of Tom McCall Waterfront Park's cherry blossoms illuminated Monday night from sunset to\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/mar22-up.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/mar22-up.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/mar22-up.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/mar22-up.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/mar22-up.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6561,"url":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/2022\/03\/31\/2022-march-part-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":8459,"position":3},"title":"2022 – March part 3","author":"me@jshox.com","date":"March 31, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"After finishing Knotts, we took a day to rest before we started our drive back home. 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What does that mean? Our annual trip downtown to see the blossoms. 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