Sunday, October 14, 2012

Pat, Kristy, Elliot Visit Portland

 Back in August (yes, I am very behind on blogging), we were lucky to have my sister's family visiting from Chicago for a few weeks.  Kristy and Pat are both teachers, thus they had plenty of time off this summer for visiting, so we convinced them to come out for an extended stay with us.  It was also nice to spend some quality time with our nephew Elliot, as he is growing up very fast.

 One of Elliot's "jobs" while he was visiting was to help us walk the dog.  It was hilarious because the first time, when he got tired, he just set the leash down on the ground.  We reminded him that he needs to hand the leash to one of us when he is done.  :) 

We were fortunate that their visit coincided with the summer concert in the park next door to our place.  It was a free concert and the music was pretty good.  Elliot had fun dancing, but, as the music went until dark, it was getting a little past his bedtime. 

 Kristy dancing with Elliot (while carrying his soon to be little sister)
 Pat and Elliot playing in the park

To make the trip even better, my Mom's visit overlapped with Kristy's.  It was nice for all of us to spend some time together.  They took a weekend roadtrip to Seattle (we stayed in Portland since Emily's roommate from college and maid of honor, Pauline, was visiting with her boyfriend from Chicago). 
 Mom enjoying seeing all the fresh produce at the farmer's market downtown
 Elliot is always a fan of live music - here he is checking out a bluegrass band at the farmer's market

We did a day trip to Mt. Hood to take Elliot to the Adventure park.  It was a lot of fun to see him enjoying the rides, etc.  Pat and I even got to squeeze in some downhill mountain biking.

Elliot learning to drive:  a few mishaps, but he did very well
Dad coaching son on driving
Elliot's focus was priceless....he was very determined to make that turn!
Pat, Elliot, Kristy at Mt. Hood
Elliot enjoying a ride in the little boats

We had a lot of fun and fit in a lot of activities while they were in town.  It was great seeing them for an extended period of time (instead of our usual whirlwind weekends in Chicago, where we are trying to visit too many people in a short amount of time).  Hopefully this trip becomes an annual tradition for them?

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