Summertime in Portland

There's no better place to be than Portland in the summer. With low humidity and mild temperatures (70 during day, 55 at night), it really makes you want to spend every possible minute outside. Here are just a few of our favorite moments from this summer (when we have actually been in town):

The roses I planted last summer have been producing some nice blooms.

some have already grown taller than the fence; I guess the neighbors can enjoy them too ;)

I planted this one for its unique shade of red/orange blooms

this one has faint shades of pink on the edges of ivory petals

And what good is summer without some great friends to share it with? We had a BBQ with Em's MBA friends...several of them brought their dogs to enjoy the backyard.

We had a nomad visit us for a few days. His name is Chad Staker (my friend from H.S./college). He currently lives in Denver and is taking the summer off work to tour/camp around the country (and Canada) on his motorcycle. He custom built a bike rack onto his motorcycle so that he could go mountain biking along the way. With this setup, he fit in just fine as a Portland local while he was visiting.

We had another big BBQ this summer, with about 30 people hanging out in the backyard.

Our friends, The Mayas, returned from their trip to France and brought some fine wine, cheeses, and fois gras to share. I took over some fresh Oregon mussels and oysters. Their two young daughters, Eva and Ana, were intrigued by the smooth interior of the oyster shells. They kept playing with the shells. So cute.
Well summer is about half over (by my estimates, since we will have good weather into September), but we still have many more outdoor activities planned. We have to take full advantage of these good months before the winter rain hits again. We hope you are enjoying your summer as much as we are enjoying ours! -Love, Brad and Em