Marilee’s Travels

it was my final trip to eugene to see the henry family. (johh, jess, cameron, jasmine and jack) they are moving to madison wisconsin to be near jess’s family. victor and i had so much fun this weekend. we played hide and seek freeze tag. jess read to all of us when the littler ones went to bed. 7 people, 1 cat and 1 dog all piled in their room. on sunday we went to the beach. what a day!!! thanks to them for all the wonderful family time and i will see you (hopefully) sooner than later.

this past weekend jimmy and i drove down past salem to a rented cabin in jawbone flats (population 11) next to opal creek. we stopped outside of salem at a peony and iris field. all this was to celebrate his bachelor party. and me being the best man… i did what i could. i asked what he wanted, knowing that i would not receive the ‘typical’ male response… “dude let’s get waisted and see strippers.” my brother’s request was much more surprising and wonderful. he said he wanted to hang out with me, perhaps a road trip or camping. (i upped it a notch and got us a cabin for 2 nights and we didn’t have to haul our ‘gear’). he also went out on a limb and asked for ’smore’s (with hershey’s chocolate bars, BIG marshmellows and cinnamon gram crackers.) oh… oh… AND LEMONADE!! we had such a great time just being us. throwing rocks, walking in the woods, making each other laugh AND we made pizza and biscuts and gravy. what a way to transition from single-hood to married with son. good luck jimmy, and thanks for the fantastic weekend!!!

and all my little hairs.

this weekend i went for a walk around my neighborhood and found some amazing flowers and friends. (the flowers are for mother’s day!) spring here is the best. jen and jason also came to visit. we went out to edgefield and had a great time. sorry i didn’t get a picture of jason. next time…

saturday, just outside of salem victor took me to opal creek. it was mostly flat. there were mountains, trees and water. it was a lovely, comfortable day. not too hot and not too cold. as you can see from the photos, it was an old mining town. there are 11 residents that live up there off the grid. you can rent cabins, hike or camp. another great day in the woods. later that evening we went to tory and meagan’s house for cinco de mayo. with a deck and food like that, it definately feels like summer is approaching. on sunday… i met up with april for lunch and walk on the water front. i love weekends.

this past weekend my parents came to town and we made it to the last weekend of the tulip fesitval in woodburn oregon. (i went 2 weeks ago with victor) this time, it was not crowded and not sunny but, the tulips were still out!

what began as an unknown weekend turned into a world of fun! my dear friends john and jess are preping for their big move to madison in july, so i thought i better squeeze in another visit before they are wisked away on their next adventure. i arrived about 230pm on saturday afternoon, (sans directions! miracle i found the place, having only been their once… and it was dark). jess and the kids were just coming home, she made some tea and we started catching up before john came home from his last exam. once home… the family decided to go to ’splash’ by way of the local burrito place. mmm… having not prepared for my trip, i did not bring my swim suit. thankfully jess had an extra, that was extra small! we had a good laugh and i was thankful for not knowing anyone else as we splashed and played in the indoor wave pool. it was a blast!! back at home the kids went to sleep after family story time. i was lucky enough to have jasmine sit with me. we, adults stayed awake for a little while sipping on champagne given to them on new years. on suday i woke to giggling voices and the coffee grinder. we all walked up to a great little coffee house and had coffees and pastries with some neighbors. it was really nice to be part of the family for the day. before i left, we played in the backyard, played frisbee and ate lunch together, then it was back to portland. thanks for great time henry family!!! here are some of the family photos.

every year i like to go to woodburn oregon (1.5 hours south of portland) to see the tulips. it is acres of tulips of all colors and shapes covering the fields. this year victor and i went. (as a dry run for when my parents are in town). it was also an excuse to use my new camera. (nikon d40) if you are ever in the area around this time. call me… we’ll go out there together.

last night i was treated to an amazing meal at Genoa. they don’t have the valentine’s day menu up, but the one that is posted sounds just as magnificant. it almost felt like being in buenos aires again. a long, drawn out meal full of rich conversation, good wine and delectible food. THANKS VICTOR!!

victor has purchased a new camera and here is one of the fun things we did. we are not sure what the world would do with 3 marilee’s… but this might be what it would look like on a normal day.