Steven Grad Party

Steve is graduating from Portland State and we had a party to celebrate!  Here is his cake, showing Steven and some 'friends' playing poker.  I sure hope he was winning!

So glad our family came down to celebrate with us.  I wish we all lived closer so we could do this more often.

And we got a surprise: Hooper flew in from Texas!  We were thrilled. 

Hooper was thrilled as well.

Susan, 'Marty Party' (and he confessed he's not sure how he got that nickname), and Andy joined us as well.

Thank you to Tigard Football for bringing such great people into our lives.

Steven had a great time, and that's what it's all about.

One of Steven's friends had come up with pictures of Steven in various roles, all with Steven's head on Lenny Kravitz's (spelling?) body.   What a riot!

My Mom loved this show, and she would have gotten a kick out of this, even though Steven wasn't doing very well....

And his friend Tyler then came up with funny business cards, using one of Steven's senior pictures. 

Owen and Drew look over some old Tigard HS yearbooks.

Steven poses with his cake: we're so proud of him and we know he's going to do amazing things with his life.

Concert in the city.

I volunteered at a booth for the RMH at a concert in Portland. 

Here is a view of the park: it used to be a parking garage, but they converted it into a very different park, titled Directors Park.

I think they did a great job.

It was a beautiful day today!  Blue sky, and a bit of a breeze.

I enjoyed the street art.

And the fountains.

And the WAY cool buildings.

I love my new shades.  They match my shirt quite nicely, don't you think?

Trying to keep the tablecloth straight, with the breeze, was difficult, but I wouldn't trade that breeze for anything!!  It was hot and the breeze made it bearable.

Tracy and I had a great time manning the booth.

We handed out clown noses: so Ronald McDonald!

They estimated there were about 800 people there, and they all seemed to be having fun.  The band was pretty darn good, and played fun music.

What a fun park to hang out in.  Yes, no grass, but it was a great venue for the band.

I decided to rock the nose.  I think it goes without saying.

Is she not adorable??   She loved the nose, wore it quite a bit, and danced and laughed and we so enjoyed watching her happy spirit.

Her dad was such a good guy: he gave her freedom to be herself, but kept her safe.  It was a joy to watch a good parent being good.

Lovely night.  So enjoyed it.

Aloha Saturday!

Today Mark and I helped out at the Aloha Intel picnic.  My bestest friend Kathy was 'the grand pubah' of the picnic, so we were more than happy to help out.  Look at the view of the water from our picnic area in Oaks Park.  What a great day for a picnic!

Mark and Victor talk, as we wait for folks to arrive.

While waiting Charlie and I went to the ride area to check out what rides she is tall enough for (the rides didn't open for another half hour at this time, so we were being pro-active).

She stood very still to ensure she was tall enough.  Sucess!!

Well, she wasn't tall enough for this ride.  I liked the fact they had the chair there and you had to show you could get up and down from the ride all by yourself.  Nice way to check!

The putt-putt golf area was very nice.  Loved the waterfall.

Here I'm teling Mark what to do (just like at home: I'm so bossy!), while Rosemary just laughs.

Here Charlie joins us.

Yeah!  Here Kathy joins us!

Charlie wanted to show me her funny face.  I liked it, don't you?

What wonderful friends I have: thank you Intel for bringing such great people into my life.

Astoria bound.

After Camp 18 we headed into Astoria.

Everytime I see seagulls I think about the movie Nemo and all the seagulls yelling, 'mine! mine! mine!'

We went to the Maritime Museum and one of the options is going onboard the Columbia.

Mark loved it.  He was in his element.

No thanks.  Wouldn't be my cup of tea to wear this.....

Had to love the way they displayed the wet suits.

It was a lovelyday at the coast.  We took Rachel here years ago and had our picture taken here.  Good memories.

We went into the Columbia.  It was pretty tight quarters.

Don't you wish YOU had this classy TV?  I bet you do!

I did like the view out the window.  Porthole?  Whatever.  Like I know what I'm talking about.

Mark relaxes.

What are you looking at here?  A very happy Dad getting a call from Cari to wish him a Happy Birthday, and he got an ice cream cone.

Good birthday stuff!

Relaxing in Astoria is an art.

And we got to see a wedding party.  The gals in the museum gift shop said this happens a lot:  Nice background for pictures.

Adventures at the Oregon Coast

Mark and I decided to take a drive to the coast last weekend.  We hit the road and headed on our to Astoria.

We stopped for breakfast at Camp 18.  Great place, all about logging and great good.

I made a friend.

Hmmm....coffee.

They have a game on each table for folks to work out while waiting for food.  Mark did much better at it than me.  Sigh.

Mark made a friend.  When he was little Steven used to get a real kick out of this guy.  And they were about the same height at the time!

Wow, Mark is making friends right and left.

They had something new: a museum honoring loggers who were lost on the job.  Very nicely done.

So glad we stopped and checked it all out.