PortLanDiA

Hello. Crazy that it's already August right?! I feel like we haven't even had a summer! That might be due to the fact that Dallas hasn't been it's usual hotness. I know it's crazy but when it's summer months, I want it to bet hot hot hot! I don't know why, but it just makes me enjoy the fall season all that much more when its been hot and you feel the fall weather settling in. It's been weird. Don't get me wrong, I have loved being able to be outside later than 10am but I like the 100's and hopping into the pool. It's summer and should be hot! I do admit though, I walked into Costco the other day and saw all the holiday festivities starting to go up and the smell of fall from a near by scent, that it made me all giddy for all the holiday joy to come! 

Alright moving on. 

That little above paragraph had nothing to do with our latest trip! haha I sometimes just go off. So let's get to the fun stuff shall we?! 

PORTLAND!

It was such fun trip visiting Dan's family. Dan's brother, Will and his wife Jess + 3 kiddo's, live in Portland. It's drivable for the Canadian's and we can stay in the States, so the cost of flying goes down significantly! Win Win! 

Our flight was in the afternoon on Friday, so Dan went to work in the morning and I was to pick him up on the way to the airport. Worked out great! I was a little rushed that morning trying to get everything done. I was feeding OD in between checking things off my list. I came into the kitchen and found that June had grabbed her stool, and started feeding OD herself. What a sweetheart! Owen had food all over his face, but still! I love these babes! 

We got everything in the car and loaded up. I was only 3 minutes behind schedule! Go Me! We picked Dan up at the airport, leaving his car in his parking garage and took off to the airport. 

We checked in, made it through security and waited for our flight! 

Making more people fall in love with her. 

There was a little kid play spot right by out gate, so it was nice to let the kids burn some energy before we had to sit for 3.5 hours. 

We got June all situated and she was set! So thankful for technology! 

And Thankful for a son who will nap anywhere!

After June's movie was over, she decided to take a look around. She played with her stickers for a bit and then finished the trip with the iPad. 

The flight went very smoothly. Owen cried for a bit when he woke up due to hunger pains, but as soon as he was fed, he was a happy little man. 

We arrived into Portland and the first thing we did was meet up with everyone and go do some exploring. We were pretty beat from traveling all day, but our visit was short and we didn't want to miss anything! 

Portland is beautiful! It made me realize how industrial  Dallas is compared to the west. So many beautiful things to look at. I do miss a good view! 

Isis, June and Gracie 

Then little Ellie got thrown into the mix

We drove a little further to go look at some waterfalls, but by this point both of our children had had it! Owen was screaming at the top of his lungs, and June was sad because she missed the airplane. We called it a day and headed back to Will and Jess's house while everyone looked at the waterfalls. I was sad to miss the view but when the babes have had enough, then it's time to go! 

Well, we ended up getting stuck in a hour and a half of traffic. It was awful. At one point Dan and I just turned to each other and laughed, because that's all you can do in those situations... I may have said a few unnecessary words, but we made it through and the kids were so happy to be out of any moving contraption. I was too! 

Will and Jess had just moved into their house about 6 weeks before we all got there, but they had everything set up so perfect for us. Dan's parents stayed at a hotel, so it was just the siblings. I loved their house! 

We went up into our room and their was a container with a note to us, and full of fun little surprises! It made the trip right there! Jess thought of everything! 

Once everyone else got home, which wasn't too long after we got home, we got settled, and the family had fun little toys and trinkets for the kids! Such a giving family! June loved it all! We tried to get the kids settled and ready for bed, since it is a two hour time difference, and off to bed they went.

Saturday us Texas Lancaster's woke up bright and early. Like 5am early, due to the time difference. We spent some time playing in our room and then Ju Ju's wanted some breakfast. So we snuck downstairs had some breakfast and then we went outside and played. The weather was beautiful and the air was so fresh! I showed Dan my awesome hola hoop skills... He just made fun of me. hahaha 

Everyone got up and we slowly got ready to go downtown Portland. 

The city was so family friendly! You don't get that here in Dallas at all! I really liked how un-awkward it felt walking around downtown. 

We went and ate on a square thats full of food trucks. June was a lucky duck and had waffles with peanut butter and chocolate on it. Daddy's choice. :)  

After walking around for a bit, we went grabbed some donuts... well everyone did but Owen and I. I stayed in the car to nurse him. 

We spent the evening chatting and playing Mario Kart. 

Sunday came in a blink of an eye. Church wasn't until one, so we slowly woke up, and us Lancaster's managed to sleep in a little bit longer. Will and Dan made waffles with fresh fruit, fresh whipped cream and syrup! Delish! 

Owen Doesn't quite know how to react the bright sun yet. hahaha he is always pulling this face when we are outside. 

Church was good. That's whats to fantastic about the LDS church is that it's the same wherever you go. June went to nursery for the first hour then fell down and bonked her head, so she spent the rest of the time in priesthood with Dan. 

After church the kids played and the adults talked and again played Mario Kart. 

The kids were having so much fun jumping on the couch cushions. June kept pretending it was a pool. Never mind that it was a new really nice couch... I guess it needed to be broken in sooner or later. Sorry Will and Jess! 

We prepared dinner, and while we waited Vanessa made delicious nachos!

Then it was dinner. Jess is a fantastic cook. Her meals never disappoint! 

This bruschetta was just part of the meal. It was too beautiful to not snap a picture of and tasted even better! IT was so good that I had it for breakfast the next morning. 

Monday we again woke up when we wanted and then got ready to head to the coast. It was 90 degrees in Portland. I was excepting to swim and not have any thought about it. As we drove closer to the coast the temperature slowly started dropping. It got down to 63! It was so cold!! It didn't stop us though from playing in the ocean. 

So we knew who's sandwich was who.... 

Once you got used to the water, it wasn't that bad. Actually is was just because your legs went numb... It was still really fun and June didn't seem to mind the cold. 

Dave, Dan and Will were brave and went for a swim. Let me tell you again... The water was FREEZING! So them going out was pretty impressive. They would get out to about waist deep and then would coming running back.. They did this a few times. Turns out they weren't coming back because they were cold, no. It was because they kept seeing big crabs out there and they were scared! Hahahaha they are so funny! I love when the Lancaster boys get together! 

He just kept his feet in the air like this. Not grabbing his toes, not kicking... just kept them in the air. Silly boy. 

We shopped for a bit, had dinner, and then headed back to the city. It was a cold cold but really fun day! That night we chit chatted and let the kids play and let them stay up a little later. It was great just sitting with my SIL's and talk. I really do love my SIL's. I know I am very blessed to have a whole family full of them. They are such amazing women and fantastic mothers. I really love them and it's nice having girls who know what it's like to be married to a Lancaster boy. It's funny to talk about them and learn how similar they really are! (We love our Lancaster Men!) 

The next day came too quickly and it was time to go home. 

This day of flying had a few "smooth problems" 

The flight actually went rather well. Both of the kids started getting a little restless, BUT I was super prepared for such moments when technology would fail us. 

Owen only slept for about an hour, so he sat between Dan and I for a bit and was happy enough. 

June played with her toys and other activities we brought on the plane. 

Owen got to sit on the floor and play for a bit. Only until the seatbelt sign came back on.

About a half hour before we were supposed to land, Owen fell sleep. We also got a bad news message that a thunder storm over Dallas had caused us to not be able to land and we had to fly to Oklahoma City and Land. Problem. We landed and had to sit on the plane for about 45 minutes waiting for the plane to get re-fueled. Then we took off and landed in Dallas later than planned, but not extremely bad. One smooth problem. 

A lot of people had missed their flights and had to spend the night at the airport. So we couldn't complain hardly at all because we got to go home at least! 

We walked out and forgot where we parked. Problem. but we remembered we were just in the garage over one, and could walk pretty quickly there. We were on the first floor. smooth problem. Easy problem solved. 

When we walked up to the car, we saw that one of the lights was on. We instantly knew that our battery was dead. Dan tried to turn the car on, and instantly the battery clicked and then died. Problem. Thankfully the car service had seen it earlier that day and left a note on our car with  a number to call for assistance. Wham bam battery charged. Smooth problem. 

See... A couple of bumps in the road, but we survived and those bumps smoothed over pretty easily and quickly. 

We got home.... and realized that Dan's car was at work! We were too tired and the kids were out cold in the back to turn around and go get it. The kids went straight to bed and Dan and I went pretty quickly after them. All of us were really tired. 

 Dan took my car the next morning and then came home for lunch. It worked itself out. 

Portland was a blast. We really missed Mike and Becky! 

I can't thank Will and Jess enough for hosting us right after they moved! They were fantastic hosts and made the trip so much fun. We can't wait to go back!