Portland

Last week Chris had to go to Portland for work, so Emme and I decided to buy a plane ticket and tag along!

While we were packing, Emme spied her blankie in my suitcase and climbed in to get it. Packing us all into carryons (to avoid the extra baggage charge) was a little tricky....especially with diapers & baby food & snacks, etc. Not to mention strollers, carseats and pack & plays!

The Salt Lake airport has a sweet lane at the security checkpoint just for families, so we got to walk straight to the front of the line with all our gear. What a lifesaver! (If only the Portland airport could follow their example...)



On the flight there, Emme and I were able to book a seat right next to Chris. Emme loved looking out the window and pointing, and standing up over the seat and flirting with the people behind us. She was super wiggly but it's only about a 2 hour flight, so we made it okay with Chris's help.

When we arrived, we drove straight out to the coast to see some sights before Chris had to go to work the next day. We saw Canon, Seaside and Astoria. The Oregon coast is so beautiful! It was Emme's first time at the beach and she LOVED it. There were plenty of people there for her to flirt and talk to, but she also loved when Chris walked her out into the waves. It was fun for us to watch her see something for the first time!

{Look familiar? It's the beach from Goonies!}

We also set Emme in the sand to let her experience it a little. She went crazy! She was grabbing fistfuls and letting it run through her fingers, and throwing it in the air. She was covered from head to toe when she was done, ha ha! We got a video of it too -- I'll try to upload it soon.

{Bridge near Astoria}

{Astoria Column}

We didn't get to climb the tower in Astoria because Emme was pooped by this point and was sleeping soundly in the back seat. So we admired it from the parkinglot.

{Emme did a lot of this the first day}

On Monday Emme and I had brunch with my friend Kate from high school, and then we napped and bopped around the mall.

After Chris got off work we hopped the MAX (Portland's version of Trax) and drove a few stops into the center of downtown. They have a really neat block called Pioneer Square where they have concerts, movies, farmer's markets, etc.

Emme was in heaven in her stroller. She's just sooo social. She loved being able to see everything and everyone as we walked and walked all week. She made friends everywhere we go and just had a blast in that thing. (It made me wish we could do more walking errands from our house!)

{Emme meets Bambi}

On Monday night we drove to the Portland Temple so we could see it at night. We stopped by the grocery store on the way to pick up some more snacks for Emme because we were already running out. She fell asleep in the backseat snuggling them like this.

The Temple was beautiful! It's amazing how each one is so unique. I'm glad we got the chance to go see it, even if we couldn't do a session because we had the chica with us.

{Emme couldn't contain her excitement.}

On Tuesday Emme and I went to Voodoo Doughnut! We had driven past a it a few times and the line was always out the door to the end of the block. When Emme and I got there, the line happened to be like 6 people long so we got right inside! (And by the time we left, it was back out the door again, so we had good timing.)

{The menu board. They don't post their prices on the website, so here they are. You're welcome.}

So. A doughnut is a doughnut is a doughnut, right? WRONG! Oh my, these doughnuts were sooo good. I don't just mean the fandangled toppings, but the actual cake doughnuts themselves were excellent. By far the best doughnuts I've ever eaten!

{The maple bacon doughnut! I'm salivating, just looking at the picture again.}

Due to our special dietary restrictions, Emme and I sampled six non-chocolate, non-dairy doughnuts...including their famouse maple bacon doughnut! Each doughnut we tried was excellent. However, if I went their again and could only choose one to eat, guess which one I would choose? The maple bacon doughnut. Hands down. Bar none.

{Mmmm. Our bag of goodies.}

After we had our doughnut fix and ate lunch in Pioneer Square (shout out to the hilarious guy who owns the Philly Cheesesteaks stand), we took a tour of the Chinese Garden. It was a neat little oasis in the middle of the city. Emme had a great time looking at all the unusual plants and making friends.

{I should have taken a picture of my back sweat from the front carrier this day, lol. Oh man, it was stinkin' hot. Emme and I were both sopping wet!}

On Tuesday night after Chris got home from work, we went to a steak dinner and then to Multnomah Falls. It was a way bigger waterfall than I was expecting! We walked up to the center bridge to get a better view, and it was very cool.






Emme wanted to touch the water or something? But she loved it. It made my knees a little weak to walk out onto the bridge -- it was so high! But it was a really neat view of the falls from up there.


Emme usually wakes up around 6 or 6:30 AM every day. Because of the time difference in Portland, she woke up at 5 AM on the dot, every morning. (I'm sure our neighbors loved us!) So I would get her out of her crib and try to play quietly with her so Chris could sleep another hour, since he had to work. Mostly we just watched the Disney Channel on mute, but Emme didn't seem to mind.

On the flight home, Emme and I were solo. (We came home a few days earlier than Chris.) There are no pictures, because wrangling a 9 month old for two hours while sitting in a middle seat during naptime is not something I'd like to remember....or to do ever again. :)

However, we (Chris and I) do feel like we learned some things about ourselves on this trip. It's easy to get so tied up in your routine with a first child that you let it run your life. And we've been guilty of that a little bit. We decided we would regret not at least trying to take Emme on vacation, and trying sleeping in a different place, napping in a different bed and riding an airplane. We were amazed at how adaptable she really is. She had absolutely no trouble sleeping and napping in the same room as us (which she can't even begin to do at home), and we learned we can stretch or skip naps during the day if she has people around to look at and be entertained by. (...And the nap skipping is probably what helped her sleep so good at night, lol...) At any rate, it made us feel in control and adventurous. So it was good for us. :)

Thanks, Chris, for such a fun vacation! We can't wait to go again!