Celebrating Our 3 Year Wedding Anniversary

Well I cannot believe it has been three years since we got married. I guess time flies when you're having fun. We have traveled far and wide together and continue to try to squeeze in as much fun as our busy careers will allow. I surprised Em with a weekend getaway trip to the Oregon coast to commemorate our 3 years of bliss. Due to our work schedules, we had to celebrate a little early....Em didn't seem to mind. :)

Our accommodations were the Edwin K B&B in Florence (about 3.5 hr drive from home):

our lovely room for the weekend

our room included a jacuzzi

the living room showcased the beautiful Craftsman style

our day started each morning with an amazing 5 course breakfast

the elaborate gardens in front of the B&B

After getting settled in, we walked the small town and ended up at an Italian seafood restaurant for dinner.

the crab-filled mushrooms were a great way to start the meal!

After dinner, we were surprised to learn that a nearby casino was hosting a free fireworks show so we drove over to check it out:

The next morning, we headed south about 40 miles to the Oregon Sand Dunes. There were a few good stops along the way.

The Siuslaw River has many sandy beaches along its shores. This picture pretty much sums up why Oregon is one of the most beautiful states.

an old lighthouse still in operation by the U.S. Coastguard

We finally reached the dunes, and I was in awe with how expansive they were:

the wind shapes the sand in ways that would make an artist jealous

We rented some ATVs to ride on the dunes and then took a trail down to the beach.

Em riding on the beach

Our next adventure on the dunes was to try sandboarding (kinda like snowboarding...which we love, but on the sand). I vowed to myself a few years back that I would try a new sport every year. 2010 new sport, check.

Me prior to my initial summit and descent

I think it took me about 2 runs to get the hang of it

Em took a couple spills on her first trip down...

...but made it to the bottom in good spirits. :)

The only bad part about sandboarding is that there are no ski lifts so you have to walk up each time. :( After about 6 runs, I was exhausted and thoroughly covered in sand.

We went back to the B&B to get cleaned up for dinner. With a few hours to kill until a table was available at our desired restaurant, we took another walk around town. Some boats had just come in from a 5 day tuna excursion. We admired their 120 fish catch, but were even more impressed by their ability to fillet an entire fish in under 1 minute! It's too bad we didn't have a cooler, because it was only $2 a pound to buy an entire tuna fresh off the boat.

fishermen weighing each tuna on the boat

bridge over the Siuslaw River in Florence

Our long awaited candlelight dinner, complete with moonlight glistening off of the water through the window. The food was great, the ambiance was perfect, and the service was impeccable: worthy of being called our 3 year anniversary dinner.

The next day, we enjoyed another phenomenal breakfast at the B&B, then made our way back home with a stop for each of us: one to admire elk grazing and one to hit the Outlet Shopping Malls. Can you guess who chose which? :)

Elk

I gotta admit, I was a little nervous about proposing the idea of riding ATVs on sand dunes to Emily as an idea for our anniversary trip. Fortunately, she was very excited about the prospect......and this confirms why I married her. She is always up for new adventures and willing to try new things to broaden our horizons. We have fun every chance we get. Who knows where the future years will take us or what crazy trips we'll take. I can only say that I am excited for the future, and I cannot think of anyone else that I would more enjoy spending my days with. Thanks Em! I love you. Let's have many more years of fun together. :) -Brad

Courtney and Charlie's Wedding

On Aug 14, we attended a wedding for some of our Portland friends. Emily knew Courtney from Northwestern and she happened to end up out here on the West Coast as well. In Portland style, they had local food, local wines, and local brew....a trifecta that equates to a great evening. Thanks and congrats to C&C!!

the NU alumni table (Em, Tom, Melissa, Alvin, Susan, Kristina, Matt, yours truly)

Congrats to the happy couple!

this one cut in on my dance :)

a stack of cupcakes....we did our best to help out in this department. Yum!

Portland Adult Soapbox Derby

I went with some friends to the Portland Adult Soapbox Derby the other day. It's another event that adheres to the slogan of "Keep Portland Weird".....but I mean "weird" in the best possible way. Endless random stuff like this makes me love Portland with all of its quirks. There are two categories: one leaning more towards Engineering and one leaning more towards Art. The latter were definitely more entertaining! Here are a few of my favorites:

All of our Chicago friends should love this tribute to the Bears, complete with helmet. It appeared to be made from an actual bear skin...not very Portland.

a throwback to the old skool BigWheel

this one wrecked right in front of where we were sitting....gonna need some major work before it is rolling again!!

We are considering getting a team together and putting in an entry next year. Our will likely be more on the zany side....let me know if you have any genius ideas for a theme, design, etc. I never really got a chance to do one of these as a kid so I think my time has come....

Midwest Tour, Part II

Our Midwest Tour resumes on Wednesday with Emily in Lexington for work and me in Ohio visiting family. Karen and I decided to take the kids to the Air Force Museum at Wright Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton. My brother dropped off his three boys for the trip, so my parents decided to come along to help manage the 5 little ones. We met up with my Uncle John, who is very knowledgeable about aviation. He provided a nice perspective and plenty of tidbits of information beyond the standard placards throughout the museum.

Me and the kids outside the museum

The museum is very well laid out and you could easily spend a day or two here. They have 5 huge hangars: early flight and WWI aircraft, WWII, Cold War era, Modern flight and Space, and Presidential aircraft and research aircraft. Best of all, it's free....so if you are ever in the Dayton area, it is worth a visit. Here are some of my favorite items:

early wind tunnel used by the Wright Brothers

torpedo with detachable wings

half helicopter/half airplane: the top rotors provide lift while the front propeller provides propulsion

center turbine flying saucer design that was abandoned for instability....this probably accounts for many of those loony UFO sightings

The highlight of the visit was a bit of history which was shaped by my Grandpa Maxson. During WWII, my Mom's dad worked in a machine shop that produced the Top Secret Norden M-9 Bombsight. For the time, it was extremely advanced and considered one of the most closely guarded secrets. It featured an analog computer which used aircraft speed, wind speed, and altitude to calculate an accurate bomb trajectory. It also included several gyroscopes that served as image stabilization, a valuable feature in a shaky WWII era aircraft.

the kids posing by the Norden bombsight exhibit

zooming in on the bombsight, you can see the Maxson insignia on the serial plate

Fat Man - the type of atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki - the sad reminder of how technology, if not harnessed responsibly, can be extremely destructive

On Thursday, I met up with my old H.S. friend, Matthew Roberts for lunch at the Tearoom. Afterwards, the kids and I donned our swimwear and headed down to visit our good friend, Amy Bilich, to relax in her pool.

Thomas and Anna acting goofy as usual :)

Anna getting ready for a swim in Amy's pool

Thursday evening, I headed to Columbus in preparation for Paul Kersey's wedding. We met up with everyone for some fun times. On Thursday night, we went to Dave and Busters for dinner and games. On Friday night, we had the rehearsal followed by dinner and karaoke.

The soon to be newlyweds, Paul and Leeanna Kersey doing some karoke

Greg and Paul hanging out at the hotel pool

Saturday was the wedding and we all had a great time. It was fun getting to see lots of old friends.

Leeanna getting ready for her big day

Paul and Leeanna's ceremony, with Voge officiating

On Sunday, we headed back down to Cincinnati for our flight home. Fortunately, our flight was within an hour of Karen's trip back to Lebanon, so we got to meet up with them and Mom and Dad for lunch and a final farewell.

Anna loved the kangaroo outside of Outback :)

Our final goodbyes....the kids kept us laughing up until the teary end....we're gonna miss seeing them. Just like on our trip to Beirut, I got so used to being with them for a week that it was sad to see them go. Hopefully, we will get them out to Portland someday.

Midwest Tour, Part I

With two weddings and a work trip for Emily, we decided to string all of our visits to the Midwest into one large trip. It was nice to get to go to both weddings to visit old high school friends as well as to spend some time with each of our families.
We took the redeye flight Friday night to arrive in Cincinnati Saturday morning. Luckily Emily's frequent travel status got us both upgraded to First Class.....already off to a great start!
Once in Cincinnati, we drove to St. Louis and met up with Emily's parents. We got cleaned up and headed to Blake's (Emily's H.S. friend) wedding.

Dressed to impress for Blake's wedding

the happy new couple, Blake and Colleen

hanging out at the reception with Mike and Andrea

Taking a brief break from dancing for a photo op: Blake, Em, Mike

We had an awesome time at the wedding...I did my best to embarrass myself on the dance floor.
On Sunday morning, we had dim sum with Emily's parents and Uncle Bill and Aunt Jackie; it is always a great time when we are all together. We only wish we had more time to hang out in St. Louis. Thanks Uncle for the cigars!! :)
Just as soon as we came, we left....back on the road, but not without stopping at our favorite coffee shop on the way out of St. Louis. If you are ever in town, Coffee Cartel is a must stop; their Mocha Frappe is made with real ice cream and bold coffee and worth the drive to the Central West End.
Juiced up on caffeine, we set the GPS to Enterprise Road and headed to Ohio. As an added bonus, my sister Karen and her kids were visiting from Beirut so we were lucky to coincide our trips with theirs. Adding to the fun, Kristy and Pat brought little Elliot down from Chicago. Since we had a critical mass of out-of-towners, my Mom decided to have an impromptu cookout and invited some additional family and friends over to the house.

All of the kids - it has been about a year since I have seen each of them - they are growing up too fast!

My cousin Jill and her little R.J.

Kristy and Elliot: he has a full belly after chugging a bottle of milk....I think the next step is nap time.

Pat wrestling with my nephew Grant

Elliot hamming it up for the camera as always!

On Monday, we took the kids to the pool and had a great time. On Tuesday, Emily had to drive down to Lexington, KY for a work trip which would occupy her until Friday. She was melancholy that she was not going to get to eat our favorite strawberry salad at the Tearoom (since they are only open Wed-Sat). Luckily, I know the owner (wink, wink), so I arranged for a special order to be prepared on Tuesday while the rest of the staff was already on site prepping food for the next day.
Em drove to Lexington and I stayed in Ohio to spend additional time with family......

....to be continued....

(Brad's adventures in Ohio, Kersey's wedding in Columbus, and a last supper at Outback will be addressed in Part II.....thanks for reading; more to come!)