Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Trip to the Portland Zoo!

In my last post I mentioned that I had to miss out on a very important girls weekend with friends from G.P. Instead, I went to Portland and joined my husband, children and in-laws. You see, this is an annual trip that we have taken for the last 15 years!! My father- in-law has been on the Oregon State School Board, and every year they have their convention in Portland. The first year that Michael and I attended,we were newly weds and sooooo young. Back then we had no children and we got to experience the joy of playing with our nieces and nephew who were very young. In fact I just saw a video of us at Chuckee Cheese's with the fam in Portland. Michael and I looked like kids ourselves!! We were so in love!!! We still are -it's just that kids kind of take the focus off US.

Through the years we have made almost all of these Portland trips. No matter where we were living, (Wenatchee, Tacoma, Eugene) we were there. I remember being pregnant with Amanda, Jeff, Emma and Joshua. We were there even when I was going through chemo! I think we have missed 1 or 2 years. I can't really remember but I hope to find past pictures to document which years we weren't able to go. Honestly, I only remember always going.

The early years with the kids we were loaded down with baby strollers, gracos, and baby bottles. We quickly out grew the hotel room that we always shared with my in-laws and had to upgrade to a two room suite. We always have Michael's birthday dinner at some delicious restaurant. His favorite is Gustav's Bavarian Restaurant. We ride the max, visit Pioneer Place and just have tons of fun!

This year we visited the Zoo! Josh was very little when we went last so I knew he would enjoy it a lot. This was a first for us to visit the zoo without all the baby gear. It is so much easier to maneuver. Of course the kids are more prone to run ahead and get lost when they aren't strapped in a stroller. What a beautiful day for the zoo. No rain and around 65 degrees. All the animals were out showing off to us and the crowds weren't too bad. We had my (almost) 15 year old niece, Kady with us. She was so much fun to hang out with. She is also so wonderful with the kids. Kady was just 3 months old when Michael and I got married. I can't believe she will be driving soon.

The zoo trip set me back pain wise for several days but as I look over the pics I am so glad that I was able to take part in such fun memories. Below are a few pictures, it's hard to just pic a few!

















The last few pictures were of us riding home on the MAX after a very long day at the zoo! Emma's face says it all!!!

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