Portland

Jeff had a 5-day weekend last week. So we planned a little family outing to Portland! We went to the Oregon Zoo there, stayed in a hotel with a swimming pool for a night, and then basked in Powell’s Books and Ikea the next morning before driving home. To sum it all up in a lame, monochromatic sentence: we had a good trip.

First stop: the Zoo. Isn’t this a sweet picture? Jeff was having fun with his camera. 

Jay ran rampant for 95% of the 3 hours we were there. Literally—he ran instead of walking. He was so-o-o tired when we got in the car, he fell asleep almost instantly!

I like how elephants always look like they’re smiling.

This guy was scratching his back on the rocks.

Looking at the o-fants.

The polar bear looked so content with his happy bearlips. His paws were crossed in front. I thought he was cute.

Don’t his big feet look just as soft and floppy as a teddy bear? I wanted to give him a big hug. But I resisted.

Jay, on the other hand, couldn’t resist climbing in and grabbing a lion by the tongue. He even stuck his arm down its throat. Ah well, we still have Rose.

Insert cat quote: “No creature is a greater judge of comfort than a cat.” –James Herriot

Jay wanted to help take pictures.

This giraffe entertained us by attempting to nibble on the grass with its black rubbery lips.

Soft sleepy tiger. I always feel so bad for the animals at zoos. They look so bored, and any time they try to sleep or get some privacy, PEOPLE are staring at them making noise.

Thankfully, Rose managed to take a brief afternoon nap while we were there.

There was this drum hut in the Africa section. It had rounded walls, and they amplified the drums loudness. Jay spent a good 10 minutes there.

hippo butt

zebra bum

If he didn’t already, Jay now has the strongest immune system of all time—he kept putting his mouth on all these kid platforms and playing it like a trumpet. Blech!

There was a giant sandbox!

I think Jay’s favorite part about the zoo was his freedom—he just ran around without being restrained by hand-holding or stroller seats. He loved climbing and looking and running. It was fun to see him so excited and happy.

The highlight for Rose was probably the moment when she finally succeeded in removing her sock and threw it out of the stroller. I had to go on two reconnaissance trips to find it.

We went to IHOP for dinner, where I discovered that IHOP is no longer one of my favorite restaurants. Suddenly it’s not-so-yummy. Jay and Rose sure enjoyed their free smiley face pancakes, though.

Swimming at the hotel! The pool was tiny with cloudy warm stinky water. It was very steamy in there so it fogged up my camera, as you can see. Jay and Rose loved splashing in the water, though! Rose was like a little tadpole, kicking both of her legs at once and wriggling her little  body in delight.

We went to our room and watched Netflix streaming on Jeff’s  laptop until Jay fell asleep.

The next morning, this little early bird requested another swim! That nasty water had destroyed my skin and hair, so Rose and I opted out of a swim. But the boys had fun.

We went to Powell’s Books, a HUGE used bookstore in downtown Portland. It was like Shaina-heaven. Sadly, Jay and Rose only let us stay for an hour. But I did find 3 books in that time, so it was an hour (and birthday money) well-spent.

Next stop: Ikea. The last time I went to Ikea, I was about 8 years old, and I played in the kids zone while my parents shopped. So this could count as my first real trip to Ikea. It was so fun to walk around all the displays and see all the possibilities for homeowners. Since we are not homeowners, though, it was kind of a wonderful-but-brutal torture. I liked the bookshelves. Jeff liked the entertainment centers. Jay liked climbing on all the display furniture. Rose did not like waiting for lunch while we browsed and dreamed.

The little display furnished apartments were so cool!

We left Ikea each holding a crazed child, pushing an empty double stroller.

 

Rose finally got what she wanted. She ate her half sandwich and then almost half of mine! It was a mess.

Then she grabbed her feet. Talk about toe jam! Thank goodness for baby wipes.

Here’s a picture that Jay and I drew at the hotel.

Another scenic drive along the Columbia River.

There’s this Stonehenge World War I memorial built by Sam Hill back in the 1920’s out there near the river. So we stopped to have a look—it was Veteran’s Day, after all.

And we arrived home to see that our clever landlord had replaced our old leaky dishwasher with a brand new dishwasher for us.