Victoria Day long weekend in Corvallis, Oregon

  We left for Vancouver on the Thursday of the long weekend. We had dinner with Jay and Andrea that evening. The next day while Larry had meetings, I shopped, then had lunch with Andrea. She was able to finish her work for the day early and so we had a good time together. I didn't have my camera with me so got no pics this time. We flew to Portland Friday evening and drove to Corvallis, arriving around midnight. The temperature during the day soared up to 100 degrees, so it was still comfortably warm at midnight. This is Saturday morning, enjoying breakfast on Scott & Kim's newly-completed deck.

  It was so nice to be able to have breaky outside and be warm!

  They have a beautiful yard, full of multi-colored flowers and different varieties of rhododendrons. This is just a a sample.

  Saturday night dinner at one of Scott & Kam's favorite restaurants. The burgers were super tasty!

  Since the weather had been quite cool up until this weekend, they had not done any gardening yet. Our first day there we went uptown to the farmers' market & Scott and Kim bought their tomato plants. They prepared the beds...

  ... added a soaker system...

  ... and planted the tomatoes. All done! Now, watch it grow!

  We also filled some pots with flowers.

Back to Portland

  On Sunday morning we drove back to Portland, stopping along the way to do some shopping at the outlet malls. We checked into the Red Lion Hotel, then headed downtown for supper. Checking to determine where we are & where we're going! We're looking for suppper...

  ...and we found it! It's the Rock Bottom Bar and Grill and the food was sumptious and delicious! These were just the appetizers!

  It was so nice to be able to sit outside comfortably, not be cold, and enjoy the sights and sounds of the street.

 

  After we finished a leisurely dinner we decided to stroll along the banks of the river - I believe it's the Willamette.

 

 

  As you can see there is no shortage of bridges over the Willamette.

  Riding the light rail which was free as long as we stayed within a certain area of Portland.

  Examining the inscription on this statue of Martin Luther King Jr.

  It was such a beautiful, warm evening and so we just enjoyed meandering around the city.

 

Citizenship ceremony

  The reason we are back in Portland is because Kim's naturalization & citizenship ceremony just happened to be scheduled for Monday morning. This was the culmination of almost 4 years of paperwork and more paperwork! Kim, along with 30 or so other new citizens pledging allegiance to the U.S.
  She is now a naturalized American. The next step is application for an American passport.

 Scott and his dad examining her certificate.

  Kim adds her signature to make the document legal.

 Scott's Mom gave Kim a pot of red, white and blue petunias, symbolizing the American flag! Very patriotic!

  It was neat to be able to meet with Scott's parents and have lunch with them after the citizenship ceremony.

  Our last night in Corvallis we tried out a new Japanese restaurant. It turned out to be a very good choice - the food was very tasty and the entertainment provided by this chef was a lot of fun!

  This is what's known as "the volcanic eruption of onion rings"! We were close enough to feel the heat!

A Day at the Forks

 About two weeks ago Val invited Beth, Linda and myself to accompany her to Winnipeg to celebrate Kristin's 31st birthday and to introduce her little guy, River Jordan Timothy John, to some of us who hadn't met him in person yet. Here we are having lunch in the sun-warmed patio of the Beachcomber.

 Instead of ordering meals, we all just ordered appetizers in order in order to save room for coffee and dessert later. Don't they look awesome?

 So here are Kristin and River, the reason for our little outing. Kris is turning out to be a real good mom for River.

  River is a very good dinner guest - lets us eat our lunch first and never cries or makes strange!

It's all about River!

 Val snuggling with her grandson. He is 5 months old now and just as content as can be.

 All of us Grandmas wanted to get a hold of him & cuddle him!

  He is such a sweetie!

 

After lunch we...

  ...stopped and had coffee and dessert - scrumptious carrot cake, lemon pie and cinnamon buns - mmmmm!

  ...rode the elevator to the top of the Forks and enjoyed the view. Bit of a breeze up there!

 ... strolled along the river walk which is finally clear of water and debris. Lovely, brisk air.

  ...Linda entertains River while the rest of us poke around in the shops. Some of us even buy something!