winter at Cannon Beach

It's been sunny in Portland, but extremely windy and somewhat cold. Temperatures lifted this past weekend, and Steve and I took Jasper out to Cannon Beach for a gorgeous afternoon of strolling.

Seb also went to Cannon Beach one night, with a group of 10 friends, to build a bonfire and roast smores. 

Kings Mtn hike

I enjoyed a winter hike on MLK day with some friends and new friends -- up Kings Mtn in the Tillamook State Forest. It was cold and sunny at the start, and warm and sunny by the end. Crazy winter weather for the PNW. The hike is short and extremely steep; only 5.5 miles round trip, but 2500 ft of elevation gain. Jasper came along, to everyone's delight, and proved to be an excellent companion.

 

 

aesthetic failures in baking

I baked a cranberry walnut bread on the weekend and decided to use a new bundt pan that Seb brought home from his culinary class. It was fall-themed and I thought it would be festive. But no.

From the top, a lovely cranberry bread. 

 

But from the bottom, where there were acorn and leaf cutouts, the bread looks like it's been covered in poop. And it wobbled instead of lying flat. Everyone laughed. We ate it anyway, obviously, but it was not an aesthetic success.

winter club soccer

Winter club soccer season has started for both kids, and is going well so far. Both kids' teams have changed, especially for Seb who is in a combined 2008/2007 team, as opposed to his previous 2007/2006. Liesl's age group teams just seem to have a lot of movement every year.  But the games have started and are goign well.  And fortunately, it's been sunny, which is unusual for January. It's still really cold out there, though, especially for we poor spectators.

Sacramento road trip!

  

Liesl and I (and Jasper! squished into the trunk with luggage) road-tripped to Sacramento with Popo and Grandpa after Christmas.  It was an 11-hour extravaganza of singing, moo-ing, multiple charging stations, lunch at an excellent Ashland brewery, Shasta in all her glory, and an hour-long story (told by Liesl) about a hippo and bear and their adventures.

 

 

We got to Sacramento and were gratefully given dinner by Kim, and then everyone tried out the Avery/Lee's new karaoke setup. 

We had a great four days in Sacramento -- lots of walks, lots of amazing food, a sauna/spa day, climbing at Pipeworks, card games, more good food...

Oh, and naps. The old, the college-aged, the canine.

I don't know how or why this happened, but my short hair got braided by multiple people.

Kim's parents flew in to celebrate the New Year with us.

And then we drove back north to Portland, stopping overnight in Ashland for a breather. On Saturday we toured the newly renovated art museum in PDX, enjoying the sculpture, photography, and paintings.

And finally: a miracle!! Dad fed Jasper some food from the palm of his hand.