A short trip to Portland...

To prep for our upcoming vacation to Hawaii, Chad's boss graciously offered to fly me anywhere close for a quick "tune-up". (My last flight was not a good experience to say the least). So, Chad and I picked Oregon so we could visit with his grandparents in Portland. Boy, he must like us, huh!! This last weekend we dropped our two boys off at my mother-in-law's house (thanks again Kim for your help!) and took off with our little princess in tow. Of course we got delayed a half hour at the airport. Chad was trying to listen to his new MP3 player, but Emmi was way too interested in his earphones to leave them be. And yes, Emmi is in her jammies because by time we left for Portland it was almost her bedtime and we foolishly believed she would fall asleep on the plane, WRONG! For most of the ride Emmi wanted to stand up in her car seat and even try to chew on it. I was just glad she was happy.
Well, I debated on posting this picture because frankly I look terrible! But, I was shocked to see how red Emmi's hair looked in the light. I was strawberry-blonde when I was a baby, so I guess she gets it from me. The next morning after Grandma made us a scrumptious french toast breakfast, we head off to see the sights. First on my list was to see the Portland Temple. Unfortunately because we had Emmi with us, we weren't able to go in and do a session, but the temple didn't disappoint; it was beautiful!! Here is a cute picture of Chad and Emmi with Grandma and Grandpa. Aren't they cute! We are so grateful that they let us come and stay with them. They spoiled us with lots of yummy food and wonderful company! It was just raining, but boy was it cold!! We tried to keep Emmers bundled up the whole time but her little face just kept poking out! I think this shot turned out really cool with the raindrops on the window. It was overcast and rainy all weekend. How unusual for Oregon! Ha Ha!
What is only natural to eat on a cold rainy day, ice cream of course!! Grandpa treated us to some that was oh-so-good, here by Lake Oswego. Lake Oswego is completely surrounded with homes. (multi-million dollar ones no less!) We couldn't help at be jealous of all the gorgeous homes living right on the lake. What a life! Grandpa also took us to see the falls in Oregon City. Honestly I can't remember the correct name of them, oops! But they were pretty. Here is a river (again another name I cannot remember) but it is just a few blocks from Grandma and Grandpa's. I could not believe how many rivers and lakes there were just in the small area we drove around in. It was so green, mossy and full of trees, everywhere we looked.
As if that isn't enough for one day, they took us out to eat with Grandpa's brother and wife who were so friendly and welcoming. Again, I think that I look like I've been through the war and lost in this picture, but there had to be some pictures that weren't just of Emmi, right!

Sunday morning we had a quick breakfast before heading back to the airport. Emmi has discovered the "cheerio" and was constantly scarfing them down all weekend. Here she is in Grandma's kitchen, eating Cheerios of course.
A tune-up flight wouldn't be a tune-up without some problems to test my abilities, I guess. This time we boarded the airplane on time, but because of a heavy snow storm here at home, we waited on the plane for close to an hour before we took off! It would be just my luck!!

As you can see, Emmi kept busy with daddy's drawstring for quite awhile. It is truly amazing what simple things entertain babies. Well, not counting the 45-minute wait at the baggage claim to find our luggage, the rest of the trip went very smoothly. Again, I am so grateful to Chad's boss for giving us this trip and for Grandma and Grandpa for making it a very fun weekend. Thanks again!