mini-golf

We went mini-golfing at Eagle Crest last Tuesday evening, on the last day of summer before the school year. It was a lot of fun, and amazingly, we had four holes-in-one. Liesl won the first nine holes, and Steve and I tied for the overall win.

Steve's hole in one, and his photo documentation of it.

It was a gorgeous sunny evening to be out playing together.

Afterwards, we picked up pizza from Apizza Scholls, and went to Laurelhurst park for a picnic.

16 years!

On Saturday we celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary -- Sunday, Sept. 4, 2005, at Peninsula Park Rose Garden and Fife restaurant, here in Portland. At the time, a destination wedding. :) 

We had planned to go for a hike in the Columbia Gorge, but the wildfire smoke blew in Friday and we decided not to head out there. Instead, we had a city adventure day. We started by hiking from Cornell Road up to Pittock, a hike made even more pleasant by the closure (to cars) of Cornell Rd for urgent tunnel repairs. It was quiet -- no cars, and few people -- and a gorgeous summery morning.

We came down from Pittock and then wandered down Balch Creek to the Stone House -- there's bridge construction on that trail as well, so it was also much less populated than on a normal Saturday morning.

And then it was time for brunch, which we ordered from Proud Mary's on the east side. While we waited to pick up our order, Jasper pulled us into a pet store and went crazy with excitement, so we ended up buying him some new squeaky balls, dog treats, and other supplies, which cracked us up. It's our anniversary, and the doggo gets presents. :)  But brunch was amazing - bacon, egg, and mushroom in ciabatta, avocado toast, hotcakes w strawberries, french toast w blueberries.

Next stop: the Peninsula Park Rose Garden! We continue to be delighted by the fact that we can stop by and visit the site of our wedding, and wander the garden. The roses were in bloom and it was gorgeous.

We went home for a bit, to say hello to the kids* and drop off Jasper, and headed to Cascade Bikes where we bought Steve a bike. Finally!! He hasn't had a bike since we left New York, and I'm so happy we finally got him one. We got a mountain bike, so he can accompany Seb on some adventures and have more shock padding for his old bones. We then returned to Cornell Rd and biked along the closed road (there's a pedestrian detour around the closed tunnels) down to NW 23rd. We picked up dinner from Fish&Rice and biked back up to the Audubon park, where we enjoyed a picnic (again, in relative solitude given the road and trail closures). It was so delightful to have the whole road to ourselves.  

 

*Liesl spent the day with Arianna and her mom -- they went to the zoo, got frozen yogurt, rode bikes outside, and had dinner. Seb hung out with friends at the park and at home, and chilled after his stressful 3 days of school.

Two photos of our delicious poke bowls, and a poor man who is just trying to enjoy his dinner while the paparazzi won't stop taking pics.

Back home again, for a final walk up the hill with Jasper, and this gorgeous sunset. A lovely day being together, being outside in beautiful spaces, eating delicious food, enjoying our city, and celebrating.

first day of school

Wednesday, September 1st was the first full day back in school for both kids since March 13, 2020. It felt both wonderful and strange; we are so happy and relieved to have in-person school back again, but it was undeniably odd to see hundreds of kids streaming into a building together. We are crossing our fingers for a good year, and as little Covid as possible.

Liesl was up early, getting ready. She requested French braids, ate a waffle and some fruit, donned her chosen back-to-school outfit, and met up with Arianna at 7:45 to bike over together.

 

 

Seb started later and hitched a ride with Cason and his dad. He was decidedly less excited than Liesl to return, but off he went.

The house was strangely quiet all day, just me and Steve and the clicking of computers. Jasper was a sad doggo, missing his kids.