Wine, Doughnuts and One Way Streets

That pretty much sums up my weekend. My wonderful friends Michelle and Kevin decided last week that they were going to drive up from Utah to see me for the weekend. That's right, an 11 hour drive each way for a weekend trip! Much to my surprise, when they arrived in Beaverton at 4:30 Saturday morning my amazing little, Sara, was with them! Needless to say, after they got here everyone went back to sleep. We then spent the rest of the day being tourists. After a very long detour, many u-turns and wondering how we drove right past it: we went to a local vineyard - Ponzi. We did a wine tasting and I actually found 2 wines that I liked! The first one we tasted was a 2007 Pinot Gris and it was lovely. Another we tried was the dessert wine - a 2006 Vino Gelato. Wow, is all I can say about it. We decided it would be great with vanilla ice cream and a peach. We had a lot of fun and it will be a must see when Jake is back in town.


After the tasting we headed to a local diner that we had stopped at earlier to ask for directions. It turned out that the place had only opened the day before. It was very mom and pop and the food was pretty good. We decided to head to downtown Portland and check out a few sights. We quickly discovered that downtown is full of one way streets and none of them seemed to be going the way that we needed them to. On the positive side, we went on a great little tour of Portland. Our first stop was Powell's Books. This place was totally overwhelming! The building took up a full block and it was 4 stories of every book you can imagine. A Pike, Brian, that Sara, Michelle and Kevin know is from Portland and was home for Spring Break so he met up with us there and played tour guide. We then headed to Voodoo Doughnuts for a sweet treat. It was a tiny store and there was a line out the door, but it was totally worth the wait. They do crazy things with doughnuts - adding cereal, Oreo's and even bacon on top! It was delicious. After a little more walking around we decided to head to Brian's house to just hang out. We had dinner and a few drinks and just enjoyed relaxing. We even found the stash of old toys that Brian and his sister used to play with and had a blast from the past with all the Barbies!


Sunday was spent at the Portland Saturday Market (Sunday's too). It is an open air craft market downtown that sells everything you can imagine. Getting to the market was yet another adventure including more u-turns and issues with one way streets while trying to find the light rail stop that actually had parking. We finally made it downtown and saw many interesting things both along the way and at the market. The doughnuts from the day before were so good that we decided to go back again because we were so close to the shop. A little more wandering around town, back on the train and we were home again. It was a low key night cause I had to work the next morning and they were driving back to Utah. So we walked to the Chinese restaurant up the street for dinner and watched a movie. Overall it was a very fun weekend.

I loved having visitors! Thanks for coming to see me guys!

Life Update

So, we finally have real internet (not a wireless connection from the neighbor!) and I can update the blog. It has been a while and a lot has changed since the last post. Jake arrived safely back in the country (he will post more about that later) and his travels did not end there. He flew into Portland from Ecuador. Left Portland the next morning to head to Cincinnati. Had a day off of travel and then we started the 4 day drive across the country. The drive was long, but we did not have any real weather trouble so that made things much easier. In just our luck fashion, Murphy came down with an infection the morning before we started driving, so he was not feeling well the whole drive and spent the vast majority laying on Jake's lap. I was glad he was behaving, but felt bad that he didn't feel good. We arrived in Beaverton and I got to see our new apartment. I must say that Jake has a good track record for finding a place for us to live without me being there. I have not taken any pictures, but I will work on that this weekend.

Our stuff was with a moving company and they were not arriving until the next morning. So we went and got a key to Jake's work storage unit from his boss and found a sleeping bag and camp pillows to use for the night. At this point Murphy was still not acting like himself so we decided that we would look for a vet and take him in on Monday. The moving company came early the next morning and our living room filled up quickly with all of our belongings. We spent our first day here beginning to unpack the essentials - bed, shower curtain and kitchen things. The day went by quick and we made a lot of progress. The next morning Murphy seemed to have gotten worse over night and we decided that he needed to see a vet that day. It was a Sunday, so the only place that was open was the emergency clinic, so we got in the car and were on our way. This turned out to be not such a great day. After a few hours at the clinic we learned his kidney's were failing and we had to make one of the hardest decisions and we had him put to sleep. I keep reminding myself that it was the best for him, but he is definately missed. We had lots of fun with him and will never forget about him.

Murphy in one of his favorite resting spots.

We stayed busy the rest of the week trying to get things unpacked and set up before Jake left for his next project. We also enjoyed getting to know our way around town and even went out for dinner and drinks with a couple of the guys that Jake works with. I took Jake to the airport on Tuesday and he is now enjoying himself in Puerto Rico. Yesterday we finally got internet and I could actually work. I am still getting used to working from home, but enjoying it so far.

That is about all the excitement from Oregon for now. Come visit if you would like!

Birthday and Boxes

Since Jake was out of the country, my loving mother scheduled her flights for the month so she would be in Cincinnati on my birthday. I was excited to see her, even if she was only going to be here for one night. Then, a couple weeks before she was coming, I was talking to Sissy and was having a slight freak out about packing (or the lack there of). So she let the surprise out early that she was coming into town for my birthday and staying for the weekend to help me pack. I was even more excited! Sadly though, this was highly de-motivating for my packing. I did not pack one thing between the time I found out she was coming and when they actually got here.

On my birthday, Jake had planned to have flowers delivered to my work. He is just so wonderful! I left work early to go pick up Mom and Sis from the airport since their flights were arriving about the same time. We went out to Brio's for dinner (very good Italian food). It was fun because that is where Jake and I went the night we got engaged, and it was likely the last time I would be there. One of the lovely sights of the evening was a woman dressed in a hideous outfit, that we were sure she thought looked really good. We found it hard to believe that a gold lemme shirt with a short fur coat was fashionable, but hey what do we know? Sis got pictures on her phone, but I do not have any to share. We then proceeded to blind the restaurant with Sis's bright flash taking many pictures of ourselves.

What do you mean family resemblance?

We spent the rest of the night just hanging out at my apartment. Sadly, they are both allergic to cats, so it was less than ideal. Murphy says he is sorry for being hairy.

We took Mom back to the airport the next morning so she could finish her trip. Sis and I headed back to start packing! I have learned that you don't realize how much stuff you have until you have to put everything into boxes!! Our first cross country move was pretty easy, we had very little furniture and hardly any stuff. This time around we have more furniture and all of the things we acquired by getting married which has drastically increase our stuff count! Sis is a pro packer though and we made great progress. Now my living room looks like a storage unit, but that is better than Jake coming back and nothing being packed. Thanks Sis! Murphy has enjoyed all of the new things to climb on and get inside of, so he has not really cared that it is a disaster zone.


Things are going well though. This coming week will be my last in the office. My job is great and is allowing me to work from home in Oregon at least until the summer. I have never worked from home before, so it will be interesting. I know I will miss the people I get to see everyday, including my Kentucky mom. Jake gets back to Portland next Saturday and I can't believe he has been gone for 4.5 weeks already, time has gone by so fast. I am very excited to see him and ready to get this move done with and start settling into our new home.

Back to Blogging

Ok, so Jake sent the computer back to me so it was not just sitting while he was away, and I am very glad to have it back. I have missed writing and reading blogs (I know it is a little pathetic), even though I really should be packing and getting organized. Jake made it to Oregon on the 10th and starting looking at places for us to live. He had training during the day for the next week before they left for Ecuador, so it was a little difficult to find places that were still open at night. Thankfully he found an apartment in Beaverton, and the manager even opened the office on a Saturday for Jake to sign the papers. Hooray for having a place to live! Now comes the fun part of packing and actually moving across the country. In other news, Jake made it to Ecuador, but I have no idea what they are doing because I have not heard from him since they left the main land to head to the island where they are doing their work. He will be back in Portland on Valentine's day and then will come back to Kentucky the next day. We will finish checking out of our apartment and the movers will be here on the 17th. It all seems like a long time from now, but I have a feeling it is going to get here before I know it.

Last Post..... for a while

Well despite being on a blogging kick, this will be the last post for us until about mid February. The reason, you might ask? Well we are MOVING (again!!). That's right, packing it up and heading west to Portland, Oregon. Jake is starting a new job on Monday and is leaving to begin the drive tomorrow, taking the computer with him, so blogging will be put on hold. His new job requires a lot of travel and he will be in Ecuador beginning the 19th and back on Feb 14th, so I will be holding down the fort here in Kentucky and starting to pack until he gets back. When he gets back to KY we will finish packing and make our way across the country. Hopefully it will be less eventful than last time I drove across the country, which involved a flat tire in the middle of Wyoming and a speeding ticket in Nebraska! We will have the added joy of our furry baby crying in the back seat this time. Murphy does not mind the car ride really, or the carrier. In fact we leave the carrier open under the bed and he often sleeps in it. What he hates is having the door on the carrier closed, limiting his ability to wander around freely. It will be interesting to say the least.

So, that is it for now. Portland, here we come!

Christmas in Utah - Part 2

Day 6 of our trip started early with an adventure to IKEA with mom and Sissy. I had never been before and I have to admit I was quite overwhelmed!! It was awesome though! I didn't buy anything, but that was only because it would have been to difficult to get all of the stuff I wanted on the plane. Jess was flying in this day and I was getting excited to see her. That excitement was put on hold though when we learned that the car company that was picking her up in NY was an hour late and she was going to miss her flight. So we headed back to mom's house to set up a command post and figure out how to get Jess home. A solution was finally found and once we knew she was in the air we (mom, Sis, Kevin, Jake and Kari) went bowling. It was a lot of fun.

Day 7 - Christmas Eve! That night we went over to Alyn's house for dinner and open presents with Bry, Leisl and the kids since they would be with Leisl's family on Christmas day. The food was excellent as always and there were plenty of treats on hand! It was fun to watch the kids open their presents.

Alyn, Maizey, Xavier and Bry

The kids had about a million things to open and that included two reindeer noses that lite up when you put them on, so Jess and I had to try them out!!

Jess, Maizey, Kari

We decided to let the kids play with them too!

Overall, the evening was most excellent. We enjoyed just getting to hang out with family. The kids totally loved Jake. Xavier recruited him to help put together a couple puzzles and Maizey was wandering around the house talking to him on the phone (yes, they were in the same house!). I tried to talk to her on the phone and was told it was wrong and she wanted Uncle Jake. Oh well, what can you do?

Day 8 - Christmas Day! We woke up and had the traditional breakfast of coffeecake and fruit before opening presents. Jake and I had done our presents before we left KY since it didn't make much sense to pack presents, unwrap them and pack them again. But there was still plenty to open. The biggest surprise I got was the official induction into the Bonham family, and I loved it! There is a long standing gag of passing around this beautiful black sock, and now it is up to me to pick the next victim!

After presents, we got ready for the day and headed over to visit dad and Margie. Of course this included more food. What would the holidays be without gaining 10 pounds or so, right? After visiting for a while and watching some basketball, we headed back to mom's house for dinner. Once everything was cleaned up we all watched Juno. It was a wonderful Christmas spent with family.

Day 9 - After all of the hub-bub of the past two days we decided to just relax. Jake and I went to see a movie while mom and Jess went shopping. Mike had to work, so when he got off he met us at their new favorite restaurant for dinner. That was about all the excitement for this day.

Day 10 - Dad wanted to have all of his kid's over for dinner while everyone was in town and this was the day. Once again, this meant lots of good food! There was also entertainment provided by the kids (of all ages!).

Butt dancing and the next generation of bucket head!

We had fun just chatting and playing with the kids. That night I went to Emily's wedding reception with Michelle and then back to mom's house. Kevin, Sara, Holly and Smurf came over and wanted us to go out. However, Jake was not feeling well and I am a grandma, especially since we had to get up early the next day to fly home. So we just hung out at the house for a while until they decided to go without us. It was good to see them again though.

Day 11 - The trip has come to an end and we venture back to the airport. Our hopes are high that heading east will be much smoother than going west! Thankfully there was nothing exciting about this day. We made it back to Indy and it felt like Spring time compared to the frozen tundra that we had just left. We drove the 2 hours back home and were glad to be back.

Well that is it for our Christmas 2008 adventure! It was so nice to see family and friends. We miss all of you while we are far away.

Christmas in Utah - Part 1

We are back from our adventure to Utah for Christmas. It began on the 18th, Day 1. We dropped Murphy off at kitty prison (aka the Pet Resort and Spa) then it was off to the Indianapolis airport. Yes Indianapolis, a two hour drive away, since the Cincinnati airport has the highest fares in the nation. Before we had arrived at the airport my office called with a crisis for me to solve. Thankfully after that I did not hear from them for the rest of the vacation. Upon making it to our gate we discover that our flight has been delayed and we are not going to make our connection in Minneapolis. So they move us over to a flight to DC and then on to Salt Lake. In typical fashion, the plane has a mechanical problem and this flight was delayed as well. After Jake had a friendly discussion with the lady at the gate, they finally moved us back to our original flight to Minn, which was boarding right then! Our in-flight entertainment was provided by the loud drunk woman in the row across from us, thankfully she passed out not long into the flight. We made it to Minneapolis and as suspected, we missed our connection. We were moved to a later flight to SLC, but at least we were one step closer. Finally we make it to Salt Lake. Our bags however are lost in the mess that is the holiday travel season. We went to mom's house, borrowed PJ's and went to bed.

Day 2 of the adventure included shopping for things to wear because the airline had no idea where our bags were, despite about 10 calls to NorthWest Airlines.

Day 3, bags still lost, so we had a party! It was fun to see friends and just hang out. We miss you guys!!

Michelle, Kari, Sara

Day 4 - surprise surprise, still no bags! We did get a whole bunch of snow though. After helping to shovel a few times during this trip, we were reminded of why we live in an apartment in a city that does not get much snow!

Day 5 - At this point we think we are never getting our bags so we go out and buy more clothes. In the car on the way back to mom's Jake calls the airport once again and there was a Christmas miracle... they had found 1 of our bags! We don't want to take the chance on a delivery person so we head to the airport to pick up the bag and look for the other one in the mountains of delayed and lost bags. Another Christmas miracle... our second bag is found too! This day was also my "other mother" Alyn's birthday so the family went to the Spaghetti Factory for dinner. It was as good as I had remembered. After dinner we watched the Aggies beat the U in basketball. It was a good game, even with the ridiculous clock incident at the end.

Well this is turning into a novel and this is only half way through the trip. The second half will have to be a different post. Stay tuned for more on the adventure!