A Bakersfield Wedding

I just got back from a week in Las Vegas with my family, but for a few days of my visit, we went to Bakersfield, CA for a cousin's wedding.  The bride was beautiful and we had a fun time with our family!

Happy 29th Birthday Andrez

On May 30th, we celebrated Andrez's 29th birthday!   It wasn't the most exciting birthday because he had to work, but we went out to dinner to a Thai food restaurant, Pok Pok, that we both love.  They have the most delicious spicy chicken wings we have ever had!  We also went to a good cart by our apartment for some mango sticky rice!  

While his actual birthday may not have been the most exciting, we reminisced over the past year and realized 28 was a big year for him.  He: ended his 7 month deployment in Afghanistan, took a world tour to get home from there (4 countries total!), experienced a homecoming, went to Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, climbed Mt. Fuji, visited Tokyo, became a company commander, went to Las Vegas for my sister's wedding, went scuba diving with whale sharks, went to Singapore and Bali, went to his last Marine Corps Ball, got to hang out with my parents for Christmas and New Years in Okinawa, promoted to Captain, got a job outside of the Marines, moved from Okinawa to Portland, got out of the Marines, and started his new job!  Crazy how much is done in a year and what a difference a year makes!  Happy Birthday to my love and I can't wait to see what the last year of his 20s brings!

Pok Pok

Birthday Boy!

The most delicious wings you will ever eat!

Some mango sticky rice!!

Portland Rose Festival

Andrez and I went to the Rose Festival on the river this weekend.  We were both able to get in free because he was a veteran, so we decided it would be fun to eat some fair food and go on a couple of rides.  A burrito, stuffed churro, Rogue Rose Festival beer (one each!), fried oreos, two rides, and cheesy curly fries later, we decided to call it a night!  We had a fun time indulging and being outside at a fair, something neither of us had done in years. 

We went on this one!

We also rode this one!

Multnomah Falls

Note to self, make sure your camera battery is charged when you go to one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the US.  On Saturday, Andrez and I went to Multnomah Falls!  It is a beautiful waterfall about 30 minutes outside of Portland (at least from where we live) and is along the Columbia River Gorge.  It was stunning!  Andrez and I have been to some amazing places and this one is right up there with the best of them!  The hike to the top of the falls is 2.6 miles and my camera died at the little bridge you will see in the second picture.  The hike was paved, but pretty steep, you gain 700 feet to the top!  It was so pretty and green and the weather was perfect, not too warm or cold.  We will be going back, camera charged next time and doing even more hiking around that area.  

Screen Door

There are TONS of restaurants in Portland!  It's actually really hard for Andrez and I to ever decide what to eat because there is any and every kind of food you can imagine.  Friday night, we decided to try Screen Door, which has southern-type food.  The reviews warned there would be a wait, but that it would be worth it, and it was!  We had mussels in red wine sauce, fried chicken, and banana cream pie (not their official menu names!) and it was so good!  Andrez and I don't really like fried chicken, but we read that it was the best in the reviews, and they weren't lying!  

If anyone comes to visit us, we will probably bring you here, that is, unless we find yet another amazing restaurant in the meantime!

Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone!  I have to say that I am so happy to get to spend this long weekend with Andrez, but it breaks my heart that there are men and women who have paid the ultimate price to defend our country and freedom for us to have this holiday weekend.  It is with a heavy heart that we get to enjoy the luxuries of life, like BBQ's, weekend getaways, time with our families and friends, and getting an extra day or two off work, while there are families who grieve for their loved ones who they lost.  Andrez and I will always think of one of his Marines, Cpl. Michael J. Palacio, who was killed while they were in Afghanistan on March 29, 2012.  Andrez thinks of that day and him often and it makes us both extra grateful for each day we have with each other and makes us a little more mindful of living life to it's fullest.  We are thinking of all service members who have died serving our country this weekend and everyday for that matter.  

RIP Michael J. Palacio...gone but never forgotten.

Andrez's homecoming.  Crazy to think that he was still in Afghanistan a year ago at this time.  I am giving him extra hugs and so thankful to get to be with him this year.

The Business of Buying a House

Andrez and I got pre-approved for a home loan, so we are officially shopping for a house.  It is really exciting, but also very stressful.  We spent the better part of the weekend going to open houses and learning that this Portland housing market is a tough one!  There are lots of houses for sale, including ones with great potential, but it's fast moving and competitive.  We actually found a house that we both fell in love with because it was located right next to a huge forest park.  We could have walked out of our front door and walked right over to tons of hiking and running trails.  It had a pretty small living room and back yard, but it also had 4 bedrooms (2 were master bedrooms) and 3 full bathrooms.  We emailed our real estate agent about it, she emailed the real estate representing the house, and an offer had already been made and accepted by the sellers!  It was a matter of 6 hours!  Needless to say, we are a little heartbroken, but we honestly couldn't have moved any faster than we did and it was the first house we looked at.  I will be out shopping some more this week, so stay tuned--we could be homeowners in the near future!

Here are some pictures of some of the places we looked at!

The one that got away.

This was next door to one of the houses we looked at, haha.