Lori's Visit in April 2008

Lori made up a very large batch of caramel corn for us. It was really delicious.

On Saturday morning after we had all tidied up the house and Neal had worked on the trim moulding in the bathroom we decided to visit the smallest park I'd ever seen. There was no traffic so it was easy for us to go out into the middle of Front Street for pictures. In the next photo you can see the man tending to the park.

It actually looks a bit warmer in these photos than it really was. When Lori and I got back to the car we both put on our sweaters.

Neal's shirt was heavy and though he didn't have a jacket to put on he said that he really wasn't uncomfortable.

Yep, that's the park!

Next we went to the Saturday Market where we saw all kinds of interesting things.

The next photo is of some hand blown glass vases.

They were really cute.


The next photo is not candy though it looked just yummy. I thought about what a bad idea it was for me to buy these for our bathroom. Emma or Dayton would be sure to mistake these treats for the real thing.

Oh Yuk!

A lot of these pictures I took for obvious reasons. Portland can just be a very odd place.

I have borrowed some of Lori's photos because they were better than my own shots of the same things.

You can't really tell but the next photo is of a group that were playing bongo drums. They were very entertaining.

These guys have tools through their heads. We got a big laugh out of them and Dad even tried on one of the many different kinds of head gear. He was a good sport to let us take his photo.

After we wandered around the market we found that we had spent too much time there. We were meeting Don and Gaylynne and family in Vancouver to see a movie so we had to eat on the way. One of the places that Lori wanted to be sure to visit was Taco Del Mar so instead of going to one of the better fast food places that Don had suggested we just stopped on the way.

Lori can be so cheeky!

I thought the colors of this display were absolutely gorgeous. And in this case also funny because the fish is eating a burrito!

This is a photo of the lobby at the little theater that we go to in Vancouver. Gaylynne bought us tickets that allow us to see movies all year for free. Thanks again for that!

This next picture is of the antique projector which is displayed in the outer hall of the theater.

I got these shots from Lori. They are of the market near Powell Book store on Hawthorne.

One day after we had gone to her home in Hillsboro we stopped at the Goodwill bins so that she could get some pictures.

Sadly, all good things must end. We had our family dinner on Sunday and it will be the last time we see Lori for several months.

We tried not to think about that and just enjoyed our time together.

Dad made some of his yummy barbecued chicken.

The children were all very hungry by the time they got to our home and in the next photo you can see that the temptation of the chocolate cake was too much for Dayton.

Dinner was amazing. Great Grandma provided the macaroni salad. Don and Gaylynne brought the potato salad which Lori said was the best ever! Neal and I provided the veggies, chicken, bread and stuff. And Lori baked the cake.

On Monday which was Lori's last day here in Portland she sewed her dress for her friend's wedding next Saturday and packed. The dress was beautiful and just what she wanted.

We did some last minute running around to finish off her "To Do" list. She found the CDs that she was searching for. Then we went to the Rhododendron Garden.

Unfortunately for us it was getting late and the $3.00 admittance seemed a bit much for the few minutes we had before we had to leave for the airport.

This beautiful bird was just over our heads and I got this great picture of it.

I am sure that this is just a sampling of what awaited us beyond the fence.

This beautiful mallard flew in and landed like a gooney bird. I think that the female ducks there noticed the landing too because they chased him away each time he came near.

Lori took this shot between the rails of the fence that kept us out of the garden. It was a great visit which could only have been made better if Matthew had been here too.