Summer Vacation

These past two weeks my parents, Darrell and Emily, and girlfriend, Laura, visited. It was great to spend time with all three as I have not been able to in months. The past two weeks the team has had less ministry work to do, so for the most part I had free time to just sightsee with them. A mini "vacation" in my summer. Here is a brief breakdown with the highlights of what we did:

Tursday (7/2); Parents got in. Enjoyed the day with them around town at local restaurants and parks. Practice in the evening.

Friday (7/3): More relaxing and catching up.

Saturday (7/4): Picked Laura up from the airport! Rode the rides at a small amusement park (Oaks Park) in Portland. Met an old friend from CU, Phil for dinner. Fireworks at the riverfront in Salem.

Sunday (7/5): All went to a service at the Brehm’s church. Then my parents, Laura and I drove to the coast to look at the beach at low tide. We saw all sorts of critters in the tide pools and Dad (a rock collector) looked for Agates, a certain kind of mineral-rock that if found on some beaches in Oregon. Ate seafood.

Monday (7/6): Went to "The Sea Lion Caves" which is the largest sea cave in the world and is filled with huge, noisy (smelly) sea lions. Visited the Newport Aquarium. The lionfish are still my favorite. More seafood. Fish n’ chips are still my favorite.

Tuesday (7/7): More sights around Salem. Had an inner-squad scrimmage.

Wednesday (7/8): Parents, Laura and I Drove to Mt. Hood and looked around Government Camp and the Timberline Lodge (where "The Shining" was filmed)! Ate fresh berries from one of the many roadside stands. Camped along the Columbia River Gorge.

Thursday (7/9): Saw lots of waterfalls along the Columbia River Gorge, watched the fish climb the ladders at the Bonneville Dam. Watched windsurfers on the river. Team dinner and practice.

Friday (7/10): We all ate pancakes with the Brehm’s and guys in the house. Ate out at a nice Mexican restaurant and heard fun stories from the Brehm’s of their missionary travels. From here my parents drove to Portland and saw attractions there. I hung out with Laura. I suppressed my emotions as we watched "Equilibrium." We went Salsa dancing in Portland with Grant and a friend of his.

Satruday (7/11): FREE SLURPEE DAY! Hung out with Laura around town. Played tennis with the Brehms. Watched the home game (Cascade Surge v Seattle Wolves).

Sunday (7/12): Had crepes at restaurant called "French Press". Drove to Portland to watch "Dirt Rotten Scoundrels" at the Broadway Rose. Funny! Had a last meal with my parents and said goodbye to them :/

Monday (7/13): My parents flew out early in the morning and Laura flew out in the evening. Bye!