February, cont.

For Christmas, I got something I never expected. Ben gave me tickets to see Brad Paisley in concert. It's hard for me to believe that I now know who Crystal Shawanda, Dierks Bentley and Brad Paisley are. And I'm going to a concert featuring the three of them! One of my favorite videos is Brad's "Waitin' on a Woman" featuring Andy Griffiths. I just love it! When Ben decided to get tickets, the Portland concert was sold out. His officemates told him Tacoma wasn't that far so he got tickets for Saturday, February 28th at the Tacoma Dome. Ordinarily, 158 miles (2 hours 40 minutes) wouldn't be that big of a deal. We could drive up early afternoon, enjoy the concert, get a room overnight and drive back the next morning. But not that night! I spent the day as a Judges Coordinator for Valley Catholic Middle School's Regional Speech Tournament. I've volunteered in this capacity for about 7 or 8 years and I love it. There is no way I could miss it (but I did skip the awards so we could head out a little sooner).

We got there a little early so that I could "see the sights". If you've never been to a Country artist's concert, it is an experience. I have learned that there are rednecks everywhere!!!! Portland prides itself in being wierd and I consider myself pretty open minded. I saw clothes (whole outfits) and things at that concert that are beyond words. I didn't know little old ladies acted that way in public! In the late 90's, I went to a Backstreet Boys concert with my then teenage daughters. Even all those screaming lovestruck teens couldn't prepare me for crazy country fans!

Crystal's "You Can Let Go" was beautifully sung. Dierks' "Feel That Fire" and "Come a Little Closer" was right on target. And everything that Brad sang and played was AMAZING! The concert lasted for hours and every minute was better than the last. It was the best Christmas Present! All too soon it was time to get in the car and drive home. I tried to sleep but I didn't want to miss a minute with Ben. We arrived home about 2:30 in the morning, threw my suitcases in the car and headed to the airport. I had a very, very early morning flight to Baton Rouge.

February 09 Valentine's Day

My romantic sneaky guy... I arrived to work on Friday, February 13th to find a Valentine explosion in my office. Ben had conspired with my coworkers to get into my office Thursday evening so that everything would be decorated and waiting. My darling Valentine wrote me a poem. I think he sits down to write and says to himself "She'll cry here and here and here. That's a good poem!" Of course I cried! It was beautiful. (Maybe if enough of you ask him, he might let me share a few lines.)
There were a dozen long stemmed roses, the "un-frog-gettable" balloon and the cutest, yummiest frog truffles. Again I say, I'm a lucky woman. And it wasn't even Valentine's Day yet!

The next evening, we got all dressed up and headed to downtown Portland. There are some really great restaurants in our area. We just keep ending up downtown! This time, we had reservations to El Gaucho. It was so romantic and a fantastic dinner. I tried escargot because Ben was sure I would love them if I had them prepared correctly. Even prepared correctly, I highly doubt that is a taste I will ever acquire! Everything else was exquisite. It was another Fairytale Valentine!

January 09

This was a quiet month for us. Ben got a new custom built computer (to his exact specifications) and dual 22 inch monitors for Christmas so he was pretty occupied. (Good thing most of the wedding plans have already been finalized!)

December- cont.

I love getting all dressed up! This time it was for Ben's company Christmas party. It was held in the newly renovated The Nines downtown. The hotel was beautiful- the chandeliers- WOW! The food was excellent and I got to meet several of Ben's coworkers, Terri and Herb. After dinner, we played Blackjack for prizes (we didn't win) and danced to a live band. It was a very fun night!

There was still a ton of snow on Christmas Eve. It was so magical like a Christmas Carol come true! But it was a little scary as we braved the snow slowly heading to Midnight Mass. We weren't sure if there would be anyone there but since it wasn't cancelled, we hoped for the best. What a surprise to find a church full of other people celebrating the birth of Christ!

The next day was quiet- just the two of us. There were times I found myself staring at Ben hardly able to believe we were really together. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to realize that it's real. Life is good!

December- cont.

Braving the snow, we jumped on Max and headed downtown Portland to see Aaron Meyer. It was a wonderful concert in a beautiful church. It was so worth going out in the freezing weather to see such a talented musician.

Speaking of talented musicians, I don't think I told you that we also attended a Pink Martini concert. They are my favorite group. They are based in Portland and I was so excited to be able to experience them with Ben. If you get the chance, you have to see them in concert (Zoo concerts are the best!). Be sure to listen to Amado Mio. It's one of my favorites but they are such a great band, you can't help but smile when one of their songs begin to play! I am so blessed that Ben is willing to go places and do things with me. Sometimes it's on a whim but it always works out because we are together!

December, cont.

What happened??? The meterologists all called it a 40 year storm. It resulted in a most beautiful snow event that lasted for two weeks. What a great experience- standing in a Les Schwab line for hours waiting to buy tire chains, going for walks in the snow, having some unexpected time off at a busy time of the year...

Did I ever show you this? How could I have forgotten?????

I love this picture of the SSMO dome. The snow was so beautiful, especially on the school campus. I have pictures in front of my school but I don't want this page to get too crowded. To see more about where I work, follow the Early Learning School link.

December

December was a busy month for us. We headed to Woodburn Company Stores for some Christmas shopping. We took these pictures to send to Marin and Marshall (Ben's grandchildren).

It was an unseasonably warm December day with no indication of the weather to come.

Thanksgiving

Not sure what happened to October. Halloween was fun but no pictures so we'll just move on! November brought an invitation to join Noelle's family for Thanksgiving all 300 of them. Well, it felt like 300. I'm not sure how many there really were but I do know she has like 20 grandchildren! Doesn't she look great for a grandmother of 20?

Ok, Ben says I have to say how many there really are. As of that day, there were five (but there was another in the gestational stage).

Isn't this a great picture of Ben and Ainsleigh? I really like it and since I get to write this blog, I get to include the pictures I want!

We have pictures of others but the kids are just so darn cute!

Thanks Noelle and family for your hospitality, the good food and a great time together.

After the Picnic

As the picnic was winding down, Ben made a casual comment "we're not too far from Multnomah Falls." I said that we were pretty far away. He said "let's go, we're really pretty close and it's a nice day". So despite my misgivings (or my dizziness from the ferris wheel!) off we drove.

The day was beautiful and while there were lots of people, the trails weren't so crowded. Ben stopped every few minutes to take pictures and when I suggested we climb all the way to the top, he said that we didn't have time to go farther than the bridge. Okay, I thought, we'll save that for another day.

He even stopped, put his Coke Zero in a tree and took a picture of it. Odd, I thought, but I know how much he loves to take pictures.

Finally we made it to the bridge and after he took my picture, I was able to get him to pose for one. But he was very specific about where he wanted to stand. Okay, not a problem... then he said "stay right there, I'm going to go ask someone to take our picture."

Shortly, he returned with several women and one was holding the camera. She took a picture and he said to her "can you take a few more?" Then he turned to me, reached out his hand and as he dropped to one knee, he said "it's taken me 30 years to get back to this spot. I've waited a long time to ask you this question. Would you marry me?"

I didn't even wait a second before I said yes! It was a magical moment and not only did Ben set it all up, he had the forethought to capture it in pictures. That group of women had grown and they were all crying too! It was WOW- so romantic. (What I learned later is that when he asked her to take pictures, he told them he was about to propose. That's why the group grew larger.) As we slowly made our way down the trail, we received numerous congratulations. Again I say- I'm a lucky woman!

September 2008

Ben started a new job just in time to be invited to the CareOregon picnic held on Sept. 13th at Oaks Park. Unlimited Ride Bracelets!! We rode and rode! Good thing we waited to eat!

Carousel fun- There was a frog for Trish!

Each year CareOregon provides entertainment as well as food and rides. This year, there was a clown making balloon animals, face painters and a caricature artist named Deena Printz.

She created a special picture just for us!

Crawfish Festival

The City of Tualatin sponsors the Nation's oldest Crawfish Festival the first weekend in August each year. Ben was excited to see the sights and get some good home cooking. We hadn't been there more than 15 minutes when I heard him say "this is a glorified church fair." What part of Tualatin Oregon did he not understand?! This dinner was 10 bucks! Lucky for him, we have hooked up with the Portland-Vancouver LSU alumni chapter and will be attending a real crawfish boil next Spring!

August 2008

August was a busy month riding our bikes exploring the trails and parks around us. The Portland area has great bike paths and since the weather was so beautiful, we filled our backpacks with snacks and headed out to enjoy nature.

We also attended the Oregon International Air Show Friday night and Sunday. We thought the night show was very cool. It even featured a small but quickly contained brush fire! There were lots of exhibits and things to see on Sunday. Don't forget your sunscreen!


Next month was an important month for us. Stay tuned...

Fourth of July 2008

Another look of disbelief as Ben realized the good fireworks are illegal in Oregon. Thankfully, Noelle and Steve live in Washington so we went to their house to celebrate! We had enough fireworks to keep us busy long after dark and no one got hurt in the process (although there were a few close calls!). Always remember to have the garden hose ready for action!!

Exploring the Pacific NW cont.

Mid-June found us exploring Scoggins Valley Park and Henry Hagg Lake. There were plenty of fishing areas, picnic areas and hiking trails to keep us busy all day. The weather was beautiful and the people watching was fantastic!

Exploring the Pacific NW

We began the journey of indoctrinately Ben to life in Oregon. His first exposure to downtown Portland was for the Rose Festival Starlight Parade. On Saturday, May 31st we boarded Max with our friends, Lynnettee and Chuck in search of the perfect viewing location.

ARE YOU SERIOUS? YOU REALLY ARE SERIOUS! Look at the disbelief in his face when he finally understood that no one was going to throw anything to the crowd. And we still call it a parade!

This is such a fun parade to attend that he didn't pout for long. It starts in daylight with a fun run that encourages its participants to run in costume. If the last of the runners are really slow, they are hurried along so the parade can start on time. By the last half of the parade, it's dark and all the floats have turned on their lights. And then we got to squeeze into a MAX train with 500,000 other people to head home. What fun!

April 2008, cont.

Before I finish this section, I have to share an unusual picture. Only in the South can you find an advertisement like this! Hurry, this offer won't last long!

On to Reason #4- a week after getting back to Oregon, it was time to board another overnight flight and head back to New Orleans. Ben was moving to Oregon and Trish was the navigator. Okay, really "Carmen the GPS" did all the work, but someone had to make all the important decisions like when to stop, when to break out the snacks, etc.

We won't bore you with all the details. The middle of the country is flat and often rather boring. But we had lots of time to talk and that's always a very good thing!

It's nice to see that other parts of the country also understand the need for alternative energy sources. This windmill farm went on for miles and miles. What a beautiful sight!

Then we got to Denver. Before we could enjoy the scenery, we had to pay the piper. Wow- that was not a beautiful sight!

Wouldn't you like to drive down the highway and look at a snow covered mountain range? God has some amazing work doesn't He? As we made this trip, I found myself humming "Oh beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain..." While this was a quick trip, it reminded us that we have a wonderful country. Everyone should take at least one cross country road trip. It really is America the Beautiful!

By this time, we are very tired of being in the car- 2500 miles in 3 days. But we are almost there and surprisingly enough, as we travelled through the Columbia Gorge, we encountered a snow storm. At the end of April, too! Ah, we're almost "home sweet home"!