Top 10 Things about my Trip Home

Here I am... back in Holland. Okay, I'll be honest. The whole time I was in Portland, things felt so natural and normal, and then I would have this weird flashback that I live in Europe - oh wait, I do. Strangely, that made me really sad despite all of the great adventures I've been having. I guess it just takes a while to really build a life, which is what I did in Portland and am still working on in Amsterdam. Well, that, and I had some really strong arms to hold me tight every night while I was in Portland... :)

Okay, so without further ado, I hereby present the top 10 things about my trip, in no particular order...

1. Pedicure/Manicure Day with Leslie - Pedicures and Manicures were my little indulgence while I lived in Portland... for $30 for both together, it's not too expensive of a habit. When I moved to Amsterdam, I was pretty dismayed to pay 40 euros for a manicure alone, so I decided to give up that habit. My hands and feet were so happy after this little treat, and my heart was happy after getting to spend my first afternoon in Portland with Leslie. She picked me up at the airport, and we picked up right where we left off. No pictures of this one, but I don't really think you want to see pictures of my feet anyways - they are ugly at best, even with pretty nail polish. :)

2. Amos Lee Concert with Amber and Suzie - Amos Lee has been my favorite music artist for about 4 years now... I've seen him 4 times in concert, so when I saw that he would be playing in Portland the day that I arrived, I jumped on getting the tickets. He played outside at the zoo, which was amazing. It was so nice to enjoy Oregon's beauty and Amos' music at the same time, along with the company of great friends. I had no problem staying awake even though this was my first day in Portland.

The Outdoor Stage

Suzie, Amber, and me, looking a little sleepy... :)

3. Arriving to Sean's house to lots of surprises... flowers, perfume, and a beautiful new dress to wear out to dinner. He really made me feel special. Wouldn't you know that in all of our excitement to see each other we forgot to take pictures??

4. Hood to Coast - this was my 6th time running this crazy event, and I was on a pretty good team again this year. We finished in about 30 hours. The hardest thing about the race was the heat - it was in the 80's for my first and last legs - not quite used to that weather with the Holland summer I've been having!

Our Van waiting at one of the exchanges for the other Van to trade off

Yours Truly running to the exchange... note the Porta Potties. I once read a statistic that every Porta Potty in the Portland Metro area is rented out for this event. Yummy.

Each team is required to have 3 volunteers, and Sean volunteered (by my STRONG suggestion) to be one of ours... they ended up putting him in charge of the exchange because "he looked smart". :) Thank you, SEAN!!

Our Team at the Beach - Glad to be done!!

5. A lovely BBQ at Anna's House - My friends are amazing... because Anna knew that I wasn't going to have time to spend with each person individually, she put together a BBQ at her house for all of my old book club friends plus a few other people. It was so good to see everyone and their families that are growing up so quickly. :) We had a really lovely time - thanks again Anna!! :)

Rebecca, KP, Suzie, Anna (with Merrick), and Sara

6. Ordering my custom golf clubs!! So, I think I've mentioned before that I've taken up golfing, and I've really been getting serious about it since I've moved. Nike offers its employees a 50% discount (or close to that... not really sure) on custom golf clubs, so on the first Sunday I was in Portland, Sean took me to the golf club and I got measured for my very own "big girl" set. I had a set from college, but I think they have worn out their usefulness, and I am really excited about trying these new ones out. :) (And Sean's excited that I'm playing so much... it means that maybe just maybe we'll see each other every once in a while!) :)

7. Burritos as big as your head - I miss Mexican food. Period. The Mexican food here is just a shadow of what it should taste like... and so, I was sure to indulge on a burrito as big as my head. And, yes, I ate the whole thing. And, yes, it was delicious!

Yummy in my Tummy!

After burritos with Raelee and Michelle, we went over to see Cristina, another one of our running buddies. It was SO good to see her and her beautiful son Mateo. :)

8. Running with my Friends - one of the things that I miss the most about Portland is the great running group that I had... I just haven't found anything similar here yet. I didn't get to run with the full group, but getting to run with Michelle Middlebrooks (TWICE!) was great! As always, with the great conversations we have (about any topic you can imagine... really... anything!), the miles just melt away... Miss you girls!!

9. Getting to see my family - Well, trying to look on the bright side... my grandfather passed away, which was terrible, but because of that, I was able to get to see my whole family. If I hadn't seen my sister at the funeral, I wouldn't have gotten to see her until Christmas, which would have been a full year since the last time we had seen each other. It was really great to get to spend time with my family, and I think that was exactly what we needed during this tough time.

10. Spending two weeks with the love of my life! Sean and I have done a really great job of keeping in contact - we have video dates almost every day, and at least e-mail each other if we can't talk. We have grown so strong in this time apart. Honestly, I think that when I left if people had to place their bets, they would have put them in the "this isn't going to work" bucket rather than the "these kids are going to grow strong in their love for each other" bucket. But, we are deeply entrenched in the love bucket. It was AMAZING to get to spend two weeks together. I loved every second of it... we had so much fun, no matter what we were doing. Sean and I agreed that after the crazy week I had had, we needed some relaxing, so we went to beautiful Bend, Oregon for the weekend. I had my first white water rafting and mountain biking experiences, and didn't kill myself doing either. We had a great time, and the time passed way too quickly. The past few days have been hard... I can only describe the feeling in my heart as a heartache... we counted down to this trip for so long, and then, bam, it was over in the blink of an eye. We've agreed that 3 months is way too long to wait to see each other, so we're going to try to bring it down to 6 weeks. Our next trip is in less than 40 days - we are going to Italy together to tour Rome, Naples, and the Amalfi Coast! :) I can't wait!!

Young Love in Bend, Oregon

KP trying not to fall off of a cliff! You know me!

Sean on one of the mountain bikes we rented - very fun, and I only fell off once! :)

The best feeling in the world...

Beer sampler at Cascade Brewery in Bend... yum!

Time passed by WAY too quickly. It was so great to see all my old friends, my former co-workers, and my family. I couldn't ask for a better support system - I am a very, very lucky girl. Thanks for everything!! I think I'm coming home to Portland in November for Thanksgiving, so, for those of you I didn't get to see this trip, hopefully this next trip will work out better!! Miss you all!