Highlights from Washington

Sleepin' in (even Isaac - amazing!)...

...lots of playtime with Kiera...

...and Daddy...
... and Grandpa.

Smilin' at Gramma...

... making a new friend...

... and finding Huey to be mighty tasty.

Having our annual "checkup" with Steve, our longtime mentor and marriage counselor.

The fresh marine air...

... playing in the sand (again)...

... and contemplating the deeper waters.

Goofing off with Daddy ...

... and hanging out with Uncle Brian at the beach.

(Isaac strongly recommended that we stay a little longer.)

Ferry rides...

... silly ...

... and sweet Grandpa.

I didn't really get all the pictures I wanted of everybody, but we had such a fun time with family last week. The weather was beautiful, we got time with everyone, and we also got to relax. It was perfect.

Portland Finale

At the end of the perfect day in Portland, we met up with my family for dinner. It would be an understatement to say this was a treat. This is a day I already wish I could relive!

We enjoyed a delicious dinner and a wonderful time together at McCormick & Schmicks down on the Portland Waterfront - our final stop along Memory Lane.
Isaac with Papa

The restaurant overlooks the marina below, which has a dock we used to walk out on every time we came down here. So we took a walk after dinner to do just that...

The view of the skyline from the end of the dock
Kevin Sandwich!

Our time in Portland was absolutely perfect, and we had so much fun! What a great stroll down Memory Lane...

Memory Lane... The Gorge

After our walk down Memory Lane in downtown Portland, Alan and Krysten had to head back home to Washington. So we met back up with Erica and Kevin to revisit the Gorge. Erica, my long-time best friend since high school, never went to Multnomah, but she may as well have since she came to visit me so much! We have a whole bank of memories from my college days at Multnomah, and the Gorge is in many significant accounts.

Our stroll / drive winded down the historic highway along the scenic Gorge separating Washington from Oregon with the great Columbia River. This deeply cut barrier between the states is marked with a myriad of waterfalls, which offer stunning landscapes and lovely hikes.

We started with a supremely significant vista for Kevin and I... Crown Point.

We started out with the touristy stuff...
This monument was closed all the years I lived in Portland as they renovated the interior for use. But that didn't stop me and my friends from coming up here frequently for midnights out to the windy lookout. The Gorge serves as a great wind tunnel, and this particular location gets insurmountable gusts. Like the time a group of us piled into our friend's VW bus, armed with blankets and coats and a guitar (player included). Parked in the empty lot, we cozied in the van laughing and talking and eventually singing praise songs together. In due time the van began to rock back and forth as the wind started to howl outside. With that we eagerly climbed out of the van and into the gusts, leaning against the wind as it literally held us up. That's when we learned that if we dared to open our coats, they served as sails! Too fun!

The inside looks really pretty now.

And the lookout above offers a great view. I was so glad Erica was there to share it with me.

Ahhhh, picture perfect.

This is where the story gets good, and I'm especially glad that my family so joyfully took Isaac for the day because we definitely would not have been able to do this with him in tow. We took Erica and Kevin out to "our spot" for the first time. Now, this move is daring because it involves, well, trespassing and sneaking under the elevated road and out to a cliff below the Crown Point lookout. Didn't think I had it in me, did you! Haha... Well, we have a rebel streak!

The Kevins make their way down the bush-covered trail.

Watch your step! Just a little ways to go before.....

... the amazing view from our spot!!

Reminiscent of a picture I took of Kevin the very first time we came out here... It was the day we officially started exclusively dating, and I could really call him my boyfriend and Kevin could really call me his girlfriend. From the moment we met, everything moved along so quickly. We were completely taken with each other... but because of the fast pace, we wanted to be sure that this was what the Lord wanted. So we both sensed the Lord leading us to take a week apart to seek His wisdom in deciding to progress in our relationship. That week was amazing and difficult and exciting all rolled into one. Throughout the week, we both continued to feel a sense of peace from the Lord about pursuing each other, so at the end of the week we came up here to talk about our experiences with God that week. Much to our delight, we found that we both sensed God's hand in our growing friendship. So we decided to make it official! We're so glad that we did!

Reliving the romance of that memory... Along the road of our relationship, we celebrated anniversaries, special moments, and days out in the Gorge up here. Little did I know that a year and a half later we would be doing this up here too...

... That's right - this is where Kevin proposed! It was a cloudy January day, looking a lot like this picture although much colder. He had to talk me into leaving my cozy apartment for the chilly Gorge that day, but I complied after he bothered me enough. He brought me up here and then started to act funny. I was freezing, and I wanted to warm my hands in his coat, but he wouldn't let me. Then he told me to close my eyes. Well, I wasn't about to close my eyes when he was acting so strange - you just never know what joker Kevin is going to do next. But I finally complied, and when I opened my eyes, Kevin was down on his knee before me in this exact spot with a beautiful engagement ring. Of course I said YES!!! We got back to the car where Kevin had a dozen red roses waiting for me.

And the rest is history...

I love our spot. It's so peaceful and beautiful and secluded.

It was so fun to share this special place with our close friends for the first time.

After Crown Point, we made our way along the historic drive once again and stopped at just one of the waterfalls for a short walk.

And the grand finale of our tour was...

...the legendary Multnomah Falls.

Sometime during our college dating days, Kevin and I came to the Gorge for one of our daytrips, ending much like today at Multnomah Falls. It was getting close to dinnertime that day, so we stopped here to look at the menu posted at the bottom of the stairs. Seeing that the prices were way out of our league, we turned to go. But just as we turned we were met by a middle-aged couple who had noticed us and must have read our faces. They offered us $20 toward our dinner and said, "We were once in your shoes. Go enjoy dinner." It didn't cover our total tab, but it helped, and it made an impression on us.

Thus concluded our walk down Memory Lane in the Gorge. We soaked in the beauty as much as we could, and it was perfect!

Memory Lane...Multnomah

I wasn't sure I really wanted to see the campus after I heard that there had been some changes, but I'm really glad we went! Some things are different, but a whole lot is still the same... And who better to walk down memory lane with at Multnomah than Alan & Krysten, just a couple of the close friends from school that share so many memories.

Multnomah has become an accredited university, which is exciting. That's great news! They were just starting the process around my junior year or so, so it's neat to see that it all went through and they achieved that status.

Sutcliffe, where all the offices are located, presents a grand and historic entry to the campus.


Aaah, Memorial Dorm. My home for my freshman and sophomore years.

Krysten and I giggled about the year she had her own room above the entry where we spied on people coming home late from their nights out. We witnessed first dates, break ups, and secret rendezvous's from her window!

Fond memories with this view... walking to class with my girlfriends, hanging out in the fair sunshine out on the lawn, running back from a late night out hoping they didn't lock the doors.

This is the campus house that Kevin lived in during his one year at Multnomah. We watched our first movie together (John Q) in that living room! We tussled and chased each other... and this is also where Kevin called me "hefty." Yeah, he's never lived that down... hahaha.

We were relieved to see that the A-Frame is still there. I hope it always will be! That was one of the cool hang-out spots. We watched many movies, played pool, and celebrated birthdays in there.

A good time to stop and smell the roses...

The gym - They've changed the team name from the Ambassadors to the Lions, and now they have paw prints painted on the sidewalks. Alan infomed us that the team is no longer the underdog team they once were. Today's Multnomah Lions now squarely hold their own, averaging over 120 points per game and putting up a fight!

Some new construction where a green lawn once lay stretched out. This is where the new cafeteria and cafe are, along with other student center needs.

Multnomah is still such a beautiful campus, if not more so than I remember.

The seminary building.

This is where Alan originally proposed to Krysten. And they enjoyed reliving that moment. (Krysten said yes.) ;)

My hot catch - whew!

This veranda was once the sometimes peaceful, sometimes romantic, sometimes fun hangout spot outside the cafe where I worked. During the holidays it would be all lit up with white lights, which was always my favorite.

Mitchell Library - who knows how many hours I spent in there!!!!

(**Sigh**) This is the empty spot where my junior year dorm once stood. White Hall is no more, and now they have.... Grass. Maybe they needed it, although I don't know why they would tear that one down!

The Prayer Chapel. We sat in it for a few minutes, and it reminded me of all the times I used to spend in there for some quiet time with the Lord. What a special place that is to me and still holds in my heart. Makes me wish I had my own prayer chapel in my back yard or something...

The Commons, where the cafeteria used to be. I'm not sure what they use this end for now... but the front still looks the same!

Alan is standing outside his old room, the same room that faced Krysten & Erica's room when White Hall was still standing. We girls had so much fun giggling and being girls as we flirted with the guys from across the parking lot. Krysten was dating Alan then, so it was always fun to spy on them coming back from a date. ;)

Alas, time flies. Can't believe it's been seven years already!! Krysten and I both agreed that we are so glad we took so many pictures while we were in college because we pretty much documented everything we did. It's fun to look back at those pictures and "remember when....."

And last, but not least.... the duplex that Kevin and Alan lived in with a couple other guys our year after Multnomah. Much to our surprise, it's still the same color!!! The lighting in this picture does not do the bright blue and periwinkle action going on behind them. That place was the kind of place we girls didn't really like spending too much time in. It was filthy and sticky most of the time!

Oh to live those college days again.... that would be a trip, to say the least! It was sure a lot of fun to walk through again and reminisce. Thanks, Alan and Krysten for sharing that with us!