OREGON

Matthew and I were fortunate enough to get the opportunity to slip away from our busy lives here at Fort Carson and take an extended weekend trip out to Oregon- ahh so nice! Now we're not necessarily talking about the weather- because it was rainy and pretty chilly the whole time we were out there (well except the day we left, of course) while back here in Colorado it was sunny and in the mid to high 50's all week. It pained me to think of leaving such beautiful weather in the midst of winter....but in reality I wouldn't have traded it for the world :) It was so nice to get away and spend time with family. I loved getting to see my beautiful little niece and it was so great to get to spend some quality time with Kirk and Kim- getting to know them better- since they're now part of what I call family!! :) I know Matthew enjoyed it all as well! And it was so fun for me to see him with his brother- as distance doesn't allow for that too often and I've only witnessed it a handful of time in the years we've known each other and have been together. The time together was long overdue and I am thankful that we finally got the chance to hang out and have a great time like brothers and sister-in-laws should! :)


This wonderful trip started on Thursday night when Kirk picked us up from the Portland Airport (about two hours from where they live in Eugene). On the way home we stopped for gas- and did you know that in the whole state of Oregon you aren't allowed to pump your own gas!?!? Amazing!! I'd almost move there just for that perk!! haha!! When we arrived back at their place Kim and Sienna were already in bed...so we got settled in and did the same. On Friday, Matthew and I had the pleasure of watching Sienna while Kim was at work and Kirk was off taking care of a couple things for work then headed to a class. They both got home around 4 or so and we kind of hung out and then got ready for a night on the town! Kim had gotten one of her friends to babysit for a bit that evening so we were able to have a nice little night out. We started the night off with dinner at a small local restaurant called Vintage- and boy was it yummy!! We then went to one of the local bars for a couple drinks before heading back home. Saturday came and we awoke to the beautiful coos and giggles of Sienna (and there's nothing better than waking up to a happy baby, I just love it!!) We decided to do a little geocaching that day and found about five. It was Kirk and Kim's first time finding a cache and hopefully they had as much fun as we did! We headed back to their house after finishing up with that and hung out, played a couple games, watched some tv. and had a delicious steak dinner!! Once again, yumm!! Sunday we decided to head to the coast, despite the still rainy weather. We had lunch at a small little restaurant there close to the coast, visited a candy shoppe, and then headed on our way to see the ocean. We didn't get to stay long, because as I mentioned it was cold and rainy but we stopped at one of the lookouts and got to see a ton of sea lions out in the waves. We also stopped once more and got out and walked among the dunes/sand in our winter coats and boots and were pretty wet at the end from rain of course. Not quite my idea of how to spend a day on the beach but I enjoyed seeing the ocean nonetheless...I just love the ocean!! Later that evening we ventured out for a couple games of bowling and some pizza. Monday came and it was time to head back to the airport. We got a quick tour of downtown Portland and then were on our way- the vacation had ended and now it was time to head back to Colorado and get ready for another work week. Boo! Oh and while flying back from Portland to Denver our pilot informed us that the plane we were flying in was called "Tinkerbell." I didn't know planes had names- guess you learn something new everyday :)