Winter Furlough: Extreme North

I don't remember Oregon being so cold. To be totally honest, my feet were cold from about the time we crossed into Tuscon until we returned to Riverside the second time. I think you'd call that "acclimated". I am extremely acclimated to the weather in Mexico!

Our friends, the Powells, who came down here to stay while we traveled north ran around in shorts and t-shirts the whole time they were here. Our family, on the other hand, had already pulled out our winter clothing! I joked about bundling up in my thick wool socks and heavy sweatshirt when the thermometer plummeted to 75 degrees, but it's not far from the truth! The average daily temperature year round is about 85 and in the summer it's closer to 110. An ocean breeze added to a 70 degree day can make the "tropically acclimated" person shiver.

So, we packed up all two of our warm sweaters and headed to Oregon in February. Well, some may debate the wisdom, but it was still fun!

We did get to see some snow (see the Snow Post) and when we got to Aunt Debbie and Uncle Mark's, we saw more!

We girls took a morning out to go to Greater Gresham Baptist Church for the ladies' Bible study. Great time! I had been praying about what to share and really wasn't getting any answers from God, and then Doug suggested letting Sarah share. What a fantastic idea! Can I say that I was more than a little bit proud as I watched this young woman share her heart with the ladies in the study? God is certainly growing her up well!!!

Debbie had had "plans" for lots of fun things for our family to do during our time there...until New Year's Eve when she broke her leg skiing down Mt. Hood. Ouch!

So, we didn't go many places, but we certainly had a great time visiting! Uncle Harold took us to a really neat restaurant. I haven't had Thai food since college, and I don't think I've ever been to a Thai restaurant. I have to give this place two thumbs way up! Typhoon of Portland -- yummy! Here's our crew enjoying the atmosphere...

Just so you know, taking the kids to a "nice" restaurant is something that just doesn't happen often for us. Any of you who have more than 3 kids will understand why! It's a little cost-prohibitive! So when we got to this place, it was pretty exciting for everyone! Thankfully, the food didn't disappoint!

We got together with the cousins, too. These pictures speak for themselves...

We spent one evening at some dear friends' house. Ryan and Candice, who blogs over at Flame in the Darkness, and invited us over for supper and fellowship.

But lest you think that all the kids did was watch movies and play video games, I've gotta share these photos...

Before

After

Didn't they do great? And they hardly complained! ;^)

We celebrated Evie's 10th birthday while we were in Portland. You can click here to see photos of the party.

All too soon, it was time to head home. We had found ourselves beginning to adjust to the cold, wet weather -- although the wind we could do without!

So, we packed up our home on wheels and headed back down to Winston.

Tune in next time when you'll hear Sarah say, "You said I could only miss 2!"