How Much Can We Fit Into One Week

Clearly, our goal for this last week was to cram 2 months worth of excitement into 6 days.  It all started on Tuesday.  Luis started his new job at Springbrook Software (sorry, no first day of work photo for Luis).  The kids had their first day of school for the year.  And I went to Chicago for a conference.

Mason is snow in third grade and Siena in first.  Both kids had great first weeks of school and are happy to see their friends again.

I was busy during the days in Chicago at the conference but on Wednesday and Thursday evenings was fortunate to get to spend time with my Chicago relatives, Janene, Carrie, and Craig.  They were amazing hosts!  They drove into the city each evening and took me to two incredible dinners.  The first was at http://www.chicagopizzaandovengrinder.com/ where I had my first pizza pot pie.  This is definitely not something that would be found in Portland.

Thursday night we went to Lawry's - famous for its prime rib.  And it was good!  We had a chance to do some walking around on Michigan Ave., also known as the Magnificent Mile.  There is a lot going on down here, even on a weeknight.  This is the water tower - one of the only structures to survive the great Chicago fire of 1871.

We went up to the top of the Hancock building after dinner.  This is the view from the ladies room at the 96th floor lounge.  Incredible.

Our conference ended at 2 on Friday and since our flight home didn't leave until 9, my coworker Julia and I decided to go sight seeing.  Here's a self portrait of us at the big "Bean" in Millennium Park.

This is the Pavilion in Millennium Park.  The Lyric Opera was performing a dress rehearsal while we were walking by.

The Chicago River.

Navy Pier.

After walking around for an hour or two, we decided to give our feet a break and take the double decker bus tour.  Definitely a good choice.  We got to see much more of the city and learn a little bit about it along the way.  As seen on the tour:

The Chicago Tribune building

Wrigley building

Hancock Tower

First Presbyterian Church

The Merchandise Mart was the largest building in the world with 4,000,000 sq feet of floor space.

We got our kicks on Route 66.

The Chicago Building was my favorite building.  With all its brick, it actually weighs more than the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower.

Did I mention that Chicago has some amazing architecture?

The Jeweler's building is on the left.  It was featured in Batman Begins, as were several other Chicago buildings.

The Theater District.

After our tour, we made our way to the airport via the L and got home around 12:30.  No rest for the weary though as Mason had his first soccer game of the season at 9 on Saturday morning.

He's improved a lot since last season.  He has a great sense of where to be on the field and is developing into  a great passer.  He's the green jersey on the left.

There's #41 putting applying the defensive pressure.

Mason's best friend Aiden is also on his team this year.  Here they are during a pause in action.

There's the soccer star!

And to top off the week - the Warrior Dash!  Somehow I was able to convince my podcast friend Mike http://mikeschmidtcomedy.com/ to participate in the race this year.  Mike was going to train in the months leading up to the dash but decided instead to go into it cold to set a benchmark, then train until April, and participate in the Warrior Dash in LA in April.  I think after yesterday he's rethinking that plan.

Here's Mike and I before the race.

And the post race shot.  On the left is Rich, another listener who signed on to do the race after Mike did and stayed with him the whole way.  Mike's calves seized up on him and he lost the sole of one shoe early on but that didn't stop him.  He completed every brutal obstacle and finished the race.  I am so proud of his determination.  This was no easy race.  It was 3 miles of steep hills, tough obstacles, and dirt.  I'm bruised and battered today so I can't even imagine what Mike feels like.

Race results aren't yet posted so I can't tell you how I did.  Seemed to take me somewhere between 50 & 55 minutes.

After the race, bath in the pond, and a shower at 24 Fitness in Beaverton, Luis and I took Mike out to dinner at the Chart House, followed by a trip to Voo Doo donuts.  We had a great time chatting with him and showing him a bit of Portland.  It was another late night, getting home at midnight, and I'm definitely dragging today after the last crazy week but it's back to life as usual tomorrow.

Camping Cruz Style

Some weekends seem packed with activities, some slow and boring.  This one falls in the former category.  Luis and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary on Friday with a nice dinner out at Salty's.  It was a wonderful way to spend an evening.

Yesterday we headed out to Gaston to the Wapato Showdown where Papa Ron's 442 was on display.  On the way, we stopped to check out the office building we purchased a month ago.  It may not look like much, but it's ours!

It's located in downtown Hillsboro, hopefully a good location for years to come.

The kids tolerated the building visit detour and we headed onward to Gaston.  Here's Yaya by Dad's 442.

Look who was at the car show - Mater himself.  He was pretty cool indeed.  And the only vehicle Siena had any interest in.  After this she bailed for the playground that was at the entrance.

Mason found Mater's pal Lizzy.  B&W seemed appropriate for this old time car.

Here's my future car - Corvette.  I'm sure Papa Ron will be dismayed that I don't know the exact year of this beauty.  '56? '57?

Part of the fun of car shows for me is seeing the old and unique.  Now this car has personality.

The Grateful Dead mobile - complete with 21 windows.  We all thought this was pretty cool.

How come trucks don't come equipped with grills like this anymore?

I think Mason found his Vette too...

The coolest rims of the day.  Apparently the going price for these is about $3k these days.

This Vette gets the prize for my favorite rear end.  It's like 2 rockets coming out the back side.  Again, why don't cars have designs like this anymore?

A vehicle that needs no words...

Dad's car one an award.  Here he is with Miss Rodeo Oregon 2012 to receive his trophy.  No, she's not standing on a box - she's a tall girl...

The 442 in action...

On the drive from Gaston, we stopped at a fruit farm to get some fresh berries.  The kids found this awesome play structure.

It was converted from an old combine tractor.

Awesome.

Since I hadn't actually been for a ride in the 442 since I think our wedding night (that's 10 years if you're paying attention to this blog), I decided to bum a ride back to my folks' place.  It was awesome - but perhaps a little windy...

Saturday night was the annual Cruz family camp out (in Yaya and Papa Ron's back yard)!  Unfortunately, someone couldn't find the tent so Luis and the kids had to make do in the play structure for the night.  For what it's worth, I had a nice camp out in the guest room.

To make the, uh, shelter comfortable, Luis borrowed a mattress and lugged it outside - sheets and all.  Yup, we're hard core campers.

The kids loved the blueberries we got at the farm - they're half gone by now already.

Getting our chairs situated for our camp fire!

The camp set up.  Looks pretty darn comfy if you ask me.

It took Luis a lot of wood to gather the wood for the camp fire.  He had to walk all the way to Dad's wood pile!  Told you we were hard core.

Man makes fire.

This is the life...

Speak softly and carry a big roasting stick.

Sliced watermelon - at your service!

Mason's happy dance!

It was a monumental weekend in another way - Mason made it across the monkey bars for the first time!  And more than once too!  Siena has mastered these too.

S'mores!!!

Siena is a master marshmallow roaster.  Except for the one that fell off her stick (see the small white blob just below and to the right of the marshmallow on her stick.

Papa Ron steps in to demonstrate to all the proper way to roast a marshmallow...

...and this is what became of the maven's marshmallow.

After roasting, it was time to tell camp fire stories.  Not scary ones mind you (neither kid was interested in that) but fun stories nonetheless.

After that, Yaya, Papa Ron, and I retired to the house while the kids slept in their outdoor set up.  This morning, Yaya made us a wonderful breakfast of apple puffed pancake, hot cakes, and fruit - true camping style. 

Siena has become a huge fan of the Nerdy Nummy videos.  After our cake pop disaster of a few weeks ago, it was time to try again - this time Angry Bird cupcakes.  I'd say it's a definite success!