Back to Portland

I was lucky enough to be able to return to Portland. As I approached the airport, I enjoyed spectacular views. Here is Mt. Hood...I must be close!

Brian and Renee were so sweet to pick me up. Brian dropped Renee at baggage to help with my luggage and circled around to get us but...the President was leaving in Airforce One and his entourage was causing a major traffic jam. Renee and I didn't mind, it gave us a chance to catch up.

 The first place we stopped was at a little shop that features Renee's painting. We had a wonderful time looking around. They had a lot of antiques and collectibles.

 Renee dropped off a painting and bought a new succulent.

Paul Bunyan was waiting for us when we left.

 Another stop we made was to Renee's new studio. It is wonderful.

She now has a lot more room for her paintings.

She even has this little extra room.  

Her succulents enjoy the light from the huge windows. The space is amazing.

 Olive is such a little doll. She was so happy to see me and I was thrilled to see her.

She tried on her fancy coat for us...

 and then we went for a walk.

 Super cute!

I have a lot more to add...check back later.

The 4th of July

 Katie, Rebecca, and I went to St. Clair to watch the fireworks. It took place on a barge in the river between us and Canada.

 See, there's Canada yonder.

 Super fun!

 Many other ships made their way down the river.

This one had a giant "I" on the smokestack. I'm pretty sure it was just for me.

Here are a couple of videos of the fireworks. They were amazing.

Shooting

 Tony treated me to a morning at the range. The weather was perfect and there weren't many people there.

 Getting her ready...

 Earplugs, you need them.

 Locked and loaded and ready to go.

Hardly any kickback but much, much louder than I expected. It feels super powerful. Very easy to shoot, though. Thanks, Tony, I loved it.

Pretty Sweet!!!!

The New Porch

 Now that we have our new (wonderful) French doors, we are going to build a patio to match.

 We asked Carla and Mike to come over and offer some suggestions. Mike is excellent at the drawing part.

 We set up the (new) chairs to show the size. We are a bit relegated by the size of the building materials.

 Since we have a lot of stuff (electric, water, dryer vent) on the outer walls of the house, we decided to make a bridge of sorts to get to the patio. It would only be about 2 feet long but would allow everything to stay as is. 

 The master builder is giving the specs a once-over.

The finished size is going to be approximately 16' x 24'. I'm hoping this will be big enough. We do have an acre after all. Everyone assures me it will be.

 More thinking....

 More measuring...

 Levi is now awake and can offer his suggestions.

 Awwww.....

 What do you think, Levi?

 He acts like he truly doesn't care....hmmm...

 Super cute picture of Levi...

Hanging with the guys.

Gramma's Birthday

 

 Gramma is celebrating her 85th birthday. We all went to Ocean Breeze for lunch. The waitresses sang "Happy Birthday" and gifted Gramma with a candle in her rice pudding.

 I think Levi was pretty excited about the entire affair.

 We played "Pass the Baby" until he got hungry.

Levi's first driving lesson.

 

 Dad is having his turn...

We then headed to Carla and Mike's for cake.

 Gramma begins opening her presents.

Grampa is a wonderful helper...he loves presents.

I thought Gramma might enjoy the challenge of a Bonsai Tree. She is so good with plants. I'm just not sure if she will enjoy the trimming involved with this little tree. The next thing we know, it will be as big as the porch! Happy 85th birthday, Gramma!