Juliette has been begging for a Portland trip for weeks now, calling down to me well after she’s been tucked into bed to forlornly cry, “Mommyyyyyyyy? Â I really miss my cousins!” Â We finally found ourselves with a free weekend and were happy to indulge her – it had been far too long since we’d crossed that Oregon/Washington border!
We arrived in Portland around lunchtime on Friday and headed over to Milk Glass Market for a healthy hipster lunch.
The weather was beautiful and we had a couple of hours before Morgan and Elise would be out of school, so we hopped on our bikes for a family ride on the Marine Drive Trail.
Sweet, sweet serenity.
And gosh, how ’bout those freckles?!
When we got to Mitch and Kathryn’s, Juliette excitedly hopped in the car with her aunt to go pick up the girls from school. Â When they returned together, Juliette was beaming. Â And Elise was…TALL.
Morgan was long-haired and beautiful and sporting a brand new smile.
We spent the afternoon watching the kids run circles around the yard, went out for a hearty dinner, and then it was back to the house for more lawn shenanigans.
I heard the pitter-patter/stomp-stomp of children’s feet early the next morning, but enjoyed the luxury of lingering in bed for a bit as Morgan and Elise have become so adept at looking out for their kid cousin. Â Plus, SHOPKINS!
Morgan had her last soccer game of the season on Saturday morning and we all showed up to cheer her on – she’s got some serious hustle!
I was a little taken aback by how much Morgan has changed since we last saw her at Christmas – she seems so much more confident, so much more independent now.
And Elise! Â Wanna move to Seattle and be our new babysitter???
There were certainly moments when the goalie was caught picking daisies 10 feet outside the goal, but all in all, these girls played a pretty focused game!
Juliette wanted in on the action, so Elise engaged her in a one-on-one match.
Good game, Miss Morgan!
We ate lunch back at the house and lounged around for a bit, but were soon back out the door with our three amped-up girls plus a friend of Morgan’s. Â We drove down to George Rogers Park to catch some afternoon rays by the water.
I figured that surely the water would be too cold for them to put their feet in, but what do I know?
My little Northwest Hula Girl…
We spent awhile on the playground and then went back to the house for more Front Yard Olympics.  Temps topped out at nearly 80 degrees that day and I stretched out on the lawn with a pint of Mitch’s home-brew, soaking up the sounds and smells and tastes of summer.
Shane and I celebrated our 11th anniversary that night with dinner at Pok Pok while Mitch and Kathryn (and Elise) watched Juliette.  As we sat across from one another, we cried (those crazy-spicy bird’s-eye chilis!) and laughed (those crazy-good mango-mint cocktails!).  It was a superb meal with a superb man.
We ate waffles for breakfast on Sunday and then the girls took a spin around the neighborhood with Uncle Shane.
We spent the rest of the morning at the Kenton Street Fair in North Portland, walking a tight rope and shooting arrows and chasing giant bubbles.
Such focus!
Juliette had her first sno-cone and declared it so, so, soooooo delicious.
We hit the road around lunchtime and Juliette crashed hard near Olympia. Â She woke up an hour later, wondering “When are we going back to Portland, Mommy?” Â This girl is insatiable.
