1. Girls’ Night Getaway
I spent Friday night at the Grand Lodge in Forest Grove, celebrating my friend Shelia’s 40th birthday. It was a great venue, because the bunk bed rooms are only $44 (including tax!) and there’s an onsite soaking pool, theater, and restaurant. We soaked in the pool (see below), had wine and appetizers in our room, listened to some eclectic live music, had dinner in the restaurant, and celebrated Shelia’s birthday with cake and prezzies (English for presents) back in our room. Friday night we were nine (seven spending the night), and in the morning, one more joined us for breakfast. As a teenager, I loved slumber parties…staying up into the wee hours chatting and socializing…and this was just as fun. It is always great to spend time with Shelia, who moved to Idaho last fall just after we had become good friends, and the other women she invited were fun as well.
Here’s Shelia with her (lovely) cake:
2. “Love You” from Nicholas
I called home Saturday morning to chat with the boys, and Nicholas said “Love you” on the phone. I’m still in awe of having a 1-year-old who can talk, since neither of my older boys talked at this age. Chris didn’t talk much until 3, and Kieran until 2. Of course, I cannot get him to repeat this trick, the little stinker. Every time I say “Can you say ‘love you’?,” he says “Baba!” (which is his name for his brothers), with a cheeky gleam in his eye. He’s quite the little joker. A few months ago, every time I would ask him to say “Mama,” he would say “Baba”! This morning he said his first three-word phrase: “Bye bye Auntie Deedee,” referring to having said goodbye to my sister yesterday afternoon.
3. Mother-Sister Bonding Time
On Saturday afternoon (after spending a few hours with my kiddos in between activities), my sister Nadine and I took my mom to the Barefoot Sage on Hawthorne (tiny photo above) to have foot baths and massages. It was lovely! Then we had dinner downtown at Mother’s Bistro, one of my favorite Portland restaurants, where they honor one mother a month by featuring her recipes (in addition to their standards). Here’s the three of us after our meal at Mother’s.
We went to my parents’ house after church for lunch–my dad had made casserole the day before. Mom, Nadine, and I posed for another photo outside in their backyard:
Nicholas and Daniel in a bear hug
Every Day Is a Miracle 