Easter Sunday

Easter arrived so early this year, at the end of our spring break. We were not entirely prepared for it, and had to scramble on Saturday to buy some chocolate bunnies and jelly beans and color some eggs. But then we had a lovely day -- a delicious breakfast spread and enough chocolate for all.

Thorns game

We went to the Portland Thorns soccer game on Saturday in the late afternoon, vs Louisville Racing. It was perfect weather -- 65 degrees, sunny, pretty amazing for March. A whole lot of Liesl's friends were also there, in the same section, so it was fun for her to hang out with them.

The Thorns went down a goal in the first minute, and then went down another goal in the 5th minute. So it was an awful start, and they spent the entire game trying to claw their way back into it. They dominated the possession but didn't have many good chances. Finally, they scored midway through the second half, and then they tied it in the 99th minute - in extra time! The crowd went wild. Such a fun ending.

 

Earlier in the day, Jasper and I joined Anja for a 5.5 mile run in Forest Park. The dog was pretty exhausted afterwards -- he lay under this tree for a few hours, sleeping.

And this was on Friday afternoon - he dropped a ball into this deep hole in a grassy field, and then crawled underground like a rat terrier in order to fish it out again. He was so proud and happy. He was covered in clay-like mud from bottom to top.

more Bend, more birthday!

 

Tuesday was another day of outdoor fun, good food, and lovely family time. We walked to the Village Bakery to pick up some loaves of raisin walnut bread (a favorite) and some breakfast pastries. Liesl and I got matching marionberry danishes and mochas.

 

And then we all went for a walk along the Deschutes River trail. It was somewhat warm, definitely sunny, and delightful. We chased Jasper along the trails and jumped over logs and threw pinecones at each other. Seb staged multiple chase scenes which he then edited into a cool video of Jasper romping in the forest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch, Liesl and I clambered on the cruiser bikes that came with our rental house and tootled around town on the paved riverfront trails. The bikes reminded Liesl of the Sound of Music, so we sang loudly as we pedaled.

 

Fun murals in the Old Mill section of town! I posed with a dragon for my dragon year. Steve came to meet us as we biked home, groaning about the single-speed, too-small bike and the effort it took to pedal.

Liesl made a chocolate cake for my birthday, decorated with purple, googly-eyed monsters. There were sparklers that lit up like crazy, and everyone sang off-key. Birthday day 2 was a good one.

 

  

 

my birthday (in Bend!)

 

We drove down to Bend on Sunday, to spend part of our spring break hanging out and enjoying Central Oregon. We rented a good-size house right in downtown Bend, a few blocks from the river and all of our favorite restaurants. Monday was my birthday, and it was lovely. Liesl and I got lattes at Backporch Coffee, and then Steve, Jasper, and I went for a trail run on the Deschutes River, starting at Lava Island.

 

 

 

 

Back home for hot showers and breakfast and birthday presents -- Liesl made an amazing photo book for me, and Seb bought some lovely purple tulips. 

In the afternoon, lunch at Spork (Steve is combining work and play this week and was on a firm call during lunch)) and then outdoor play at a park -- we played softball and soccer and hit balls for Jasper to chase.

We had dinner at a Thai restaurant and gelato from Bonta, and returned home to play Cranium - Steve and Liesl against me and Seb. Seb's imitation of Elvis might have been the highlight. Or maybe Steve's blindfolded drawing of a boxing glove, which Liesl guessed in less than 5 seconds.

Such a good, happy day, with my favorite people (and dog).