My Birthday Weekend Part One...

Thank you to all my dear family and friends who went out of their way to make this year’s birthday one of the very best ever! Right now I am snuggled under a blanket trying to wind down from such an eventful weekend – or I need to let some of the sugar wear off from the large piece of cake I had under an hour ago at Dave & Jen’s.

This year (thanks to Bill & Barbara), I got to get out of town. I got off work an hour early and Josh took me to Portland. We stayed at the River Place Hotel http://www.riverplacehotel.com/ which I highly recommend! Thank you Priceline! The hotel sits along Portland’s waterfront. When Josh called to confirm our reservations and request the feather/down be removed from the room they asked for what occasion Josh and I would be staying the night. He told them it was my birthday weekend. Since they had jr. suites available, they upgraded our room from a standard to a suite with a partial river view. Our view was spectacular from the 4th floor and we loved watching the lights from the skyscrapers dance on the water.

So, we dropped off our overnight bag and head to dinner at PF Chang's for a marvelous meal of Sweet & Sour Pork (unlike any sweet & sour I have ever had and I will be dreaming about it for weeks to come). After the best meal I have had in months, we caught a late night movie. Madagascar 2 has its funny moments but I don’t recommend this one for kids under 12. After the movie, we headed back to the hotel to find the hotel staff had set out a chocolate cake and a birthday card. The cake was filled with chocolate fudge and the plate was decorated gourmet- like with fresh strawberries and blueberries. Heavenly!

On Saturday, we slept in which resulted in a small parking ticket before we headed further into downtown to the Portland’s Japanese Gardens. Ok… can I just say this is the best $8.00 (per person) I could spend in Portland! I got to see my fall colors in such beauty! http://www.japanesegarden.com/gardens/ As you hike up the pathway to the main entrance, you get the sense you are entering a different world... or maybe the feeling you are walking into a private garden in Japan. You can't even use cell phones in the gardens and are asked to take your calls outside the gate. The peace and quiet of the gardens was just what we needed.It was so strange, as if we were walking through a gallery. We even whispered at times as if we were standing in front of a beautiful piece of art, contemplating, soaking in the moment and reflecting on its beauty… and yet we were looking at the handiwork of God. I couldn’t help but be amazed at the Creator’s creations and reflect on how man, as the gardener, using what God created in order to shape, design, & purposefully place plants in the garden to create what we were seeing.

It really was art. It was raining and at times pretty hard but we didn’t mind walking along hovering under our umbrella. It reminded us of our honeymoon, on our trip to New Hampshire and sightseeing in the rain. The rain actually made the experience more enjoyable since the
drip drops of the rain falling from the trees touched the ponds and streams. It sounded like a sweet lullaby making the masterpiece gardens even more serial and peaceful. I wish the pictures I took really did the gardens justice… plus, these pictures only give you a taste of the gardens since our camera battery died half way through our tour.

After our relaxing visit at the gardens we went to lunch and then shopping. Not that we bought anything but it was fun to window shop at Washington Square. We didn’t make it home until after a long day out. We just enjoyed each others company and headed home around 9 pm… the day was pretty wonderful.

More pictures...

Today, after church and running some errands, Josh and I headed to the Evans’ house for some hanging out time. One highlight was taking Ethan for a walk. Well, he rode in the stroller while I walked. I bundled him up good since it was misty and sprinkling outside. Two blocks away from Jen’s, after stopping to say hello to a horse in a small pasture (looks more like someone’s front lawn) it started to pour down rain. Ethan, even though he wasn’t sure how he felt about having his hands wet, loved it. He was jabbering the entire way. So, we turned around and headed homebound.

I have to say that Jen truly out did herself this year in the present category. Jen prides herself in being creative in the gift giving area. Some of you may not "get it" and truly understand how original she was but this year she not only got me some really cool acrylic stamps and handmade me this really cool altered purse but she also bought me 2 original pieces of artwork by Elsie Flannigan.

More to come but I had better let my head hit the pillow and call it quits!

PS... I didn't get the chance to edit so please forgive me if there are some typos due to lack of sleep and it being so late!