Forest Park

Forest Park is the largest, forested natural area within city limits in the United States. It includes more than 5,000 acres. We took the dogs on a small fraction of the trails which turned out to be quite a muddy trip! We hiked 5 miles on an out and back trail that went past the Audubon Society Wildlife Center and almost to Pittock Mansion (next time!).

Weekend on the Coast

We stayed in a condo on the beach in Neskowin, OR for a weekend. The dogs were able to stay with us as well! Lots of great views and the dogs exhausted themselves by running all over the beaches. We went to lots of great places like Proposal Rock, Lincoln City, Pacific City, Cape Lookout, and Tillamook Bay. Here are some of the pictures!

Tide Pools and Sea Lions

Two weekends ago we took a drive out to the coast to see the California Sea Lions that had moved north to cooler waters. Along the way we stopped in Newport at the Rogue Brewery. This has long been one of Justin's favorite breweries and he has been wanting to visit since the first time we came to Portland. After lunch and a few tastings we continued south along the Pacific Coast Highway. Before getting to the sea lion caves, we wanted to stop at a beach. After Justin missed the first 4 or 5 state parks, we finally found Seal Rock Park and pulled in. Somehow we picked the right beach with amazing tide pools due to the low tide. We spent time exploring the beach and finding all kinds of creatures. It was so neat to see the anemones and starfish so close up. We finally ended our trip at the Sea Lion Caves.

Clear Skies

We have had almost 2 weeks with little to no rain and it has been wonderful!!! We've been trying to get outside as much as possible while the rain holds off. The skies have been clear enough to see bright white Mount Hood everyday! We have taken several walks along the esplanade and enjoyed some fun Christmas festivities with the Bonjernoors. Take a look:

It's-a-me Mario!!!!!

In honor of Aiden's LOVE for all things Mario, we had a Super Mario Brothers Halloween! Aiden was little Mario, Tiffany was Mario, Jeremy was Wario (Mario's evil twin), I was Luigi, and Justin was Waluigi (Luigi's evil twin). Bam and Rosco were the turtles. We made a huge hit trick or treating!