Marching Along and Wishing Drew a Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to Drew! It's an occasion we got to spend with him for the first time in a few years.   Click here for a photo montage of Drew celebrating his special day over the years - from Day 1 through Day 9,855 and counting. 

Click here for photos taken in February and March - from snow days to spring hikes, cherry blossoms, goats, games and more. The picture below was taken at a March tea-release event Emily helped facilitate for the non-profit she works for, Girls Inc. Portland's Smith Tea Company made a special blend for Women's History Month called Empower Mint, with proceeds from the tea's sale going to  Girls Inc. 

Snow Days!

Portland saw record setting snow this past week... 10 inches fell in the space of just a few hours on Wednesday afternoon, making Thursday and Friday snow days for pretty much everyone who didn't have to go out. Here are a few photos, mostly of Fig playing in the snow. 

And speaking of Fig, she got another good report card this week from her doggy daycare, Mother Pupper.

San Juan Islands Weekend

We spent a long weekend visiting some of Washington State's islands - Whidbey, Fidalgo, and San Juan to be specific. Click here for photos.  Pictured above is the light house at Lime Kiln State Park on San Juan Island, which looks out over the Salish Sea to Vancouver Island, Canada. The photo below is from Deception Pass State Park which links Whidbey and Fidalgo Islands. We saw lots of wildlife - seals, eagles, deer, and a black fox, but no whales this trip. 

In other adventures, Drew and Grace were in San Diego attending the wedding of Drew's good friend, Grace, from OSU. Congratulations to Grace & Nathan! 

Winter Lights and more

Click here for photos from our evening exploring the annual Portland Winter Lights Festival and silent disco. The festival's light displays are spread across both sides of downtown, so there was lots of see. 

And click here for additional photos taken throughout January and February, when we were hiking, skiing (which in Drew's case, led to an unfortunate broken wrist), and moving into a new house.

Pat managed to squeeze in a trip to Sri Lanka to conduct some training just before our move and got to dive with friends from Island Scuba. 

And while we're not fully settled in our new place, our progress is reasonably good!

Ringing in the New Year in Idaho and Washington

We spent a few days in Boise to celebrate the New Year and visit Grace's family. Click here for photos.  Our visit included a day of skiing at Bogus Basin, snowshoeing in Idaho City, nice walks around Boise, a trip to see (and ring) the Idaho State Capitol's Liberty Bell, and the not-to-be-missed New Year Eve Idaho Potato Drop, complete with fireworks, ski-jumping, a potato the size of a truck. 

Jake and Elli did not join us in Idaho, because they are visiting and volunteering at Holden Village this week. Click here for photos. They've been getting up early to cover the breakfast shift and spending their afternoons enjoying the winter wonderland of Lake Chelan, WA. 

While visiting Grace's family, we came across a couple of cute photos that showcase why Drew and Grace are a good match. Not only are they both wonderful oldest siblings to twins, but apparently they shared a childhood fondness for tiaras! 

Christmas 2022

Click here for photos from Christmas and other December holiday activities - snowy hikes, selecting trees, baking cookies, playing games, skiing, reconnecting with old friends, and a Portland tradition we'd not taken in for some time... Tuba Christmas! 

For our family gift exchange, Jake made an Ehlers-version of the game Awkward Family Photos.  He had no shortage of funny photos to chose from and did an amazing job with the game-board makeover! Perhaps Pat's "alien abduction" can be part of an expansion pack. 

12 Days of Photo Albums

We made 12 themed photo albums to celebrate our own version of the 12 Days of Christmas this year. Each is comprised of photos through the years, so they made for some nice walks down memory lane. 

Day 1 - Fishing

Day 2 - Dancing

Day 3 - Jumping

Day 4 - Hugging

Day 5 - Braving the Elements 

Day 6 - Sleeping

Day 7 - Being Sporty

Day 8 - Hiking     

Day 9 - Eating 

Day 10 - Underwater 

Day 11 - Milestones

Day 12 - Holidays

And because we had so many photos to work with, we made it a baker's dozen with some of our more awkward and goofy family photos:

Day 13 - Bonus

Last but not least, we also made an album of cousin photos.