We are just back in New York after a Mah family reunion in Seattle and a family vacation in Portland. It was a terrific two weeks away, and while I am not feeling particularly well rested, I do feel rejuvenated. In Seattle, we went up the Space Needle, rode the monorail, toured the underground, visited the Chihuly Glass museum, the zoo, the science center, and the arboretum, watched a community parade in our Magnolia neighborhood, and ate a ton of good food, from Pike's market and other places. And we got to see all the Mahs. Sebastian loved getting to know all of his cousins.
In Portland, we visited the Rose Garden and Japanese Garden, shopped on 23rd Ave and on Hawthorne, bought books at Powells, rode the lightrail, the streetcars, and the gondola, walked along the waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge, and hiked up to Mirror Lake in the shadow of Mt. Hood. Oh, and ate a ton of good food - from food carts and bakeries, and restaurants galore.
Pictures below.
 |
| Jumping with Bompy a few minutes after our arrival. |
 |
| Both children, but Liesl in particular, loved the Seattle monorail. |
 |
| the pig at Pike's market |
 |
| I love Roxy's bling. |
 |
| cousins!! |
 |
| Seattle underground tour with the whole Mah family |
 |
| cousins! |
 |
| There was a community festival going on near our rental house in Magnolia, with a terrific parade, bouncy castle rides, and pony rides. Liesl astonished us by demanding to go on the pony ride and following through with it. It was terrific. |
 |
| The Mah family does Seattle! |
 |
| cousins! |
 |
| Avery/Raab/Lees, August 2012 |
 |
| at the Seattle zoo |
 |
| Mah cousins/second cousins |
 |
| Grandpa feeding Liesl some ice cream. |
 |
| Investigating the roses at the Portland Rose garden |
 |
| Marching down the path at the Japanese Garden |
 |
| Seb reading to Liesl |
 |
| At Multnomah Falls in Oregon |
 |
| hiking in the Columbia River gorge |
 |
| hike up to Mirror Lake, with Mt Hood in the distance |
