Home Sweet Home... sort of...

I just got back this week after two and a half weeks in what remains to be one of my favorite cities in the world, Portland, Oregon. It was fantastic to see friends and enjoy my old hometown. I was in town for a tri-fecta of weekends - first, the marriage of my friend Kristin to her husband Rich, then, my 7th (wow, am I really that crazy) annual running of Hood to Coast, and finally, Labor Day weekend.

I think most of my friends know that I am generally not one to sit around... and so trips to Portland put a whole new spin on the word "busy". I actually put together an excel spreadsheet of all of the people I was going to see, where, and when, to keep it all straight. Don't get me wrong - I loved every minute of it! :) I flew in on a Friday, and, despite the 9 hour jet lag, sucked it up to play in a couples golf tournament with Sean. I was SO nervous, because I am not very good yet, but we ended up getting paired with a super nice couple and got 4th place! Jet lag, smet lag! ;)


The victorious couple! :)

Saturday, I got to do one of my favorite things - run with my girlfriends! Our group has changed a bit over the years with various maternity leaves and injuries, but these girls have remained some of my favorite people in Portland. Michelle was actually the first one that I met... way back in 2003 when we were both training for our first marathon. I still remember seeing her and thinking "wow, that girl looks like she could be cool." Up until that point, I hadn't really made any good friends. I then met Raelee & Leslie, who, despite not running with us anymore for various reasons, still remain some of my closest friends. Cristina joined the group after the first marathon, and has been a part of us ever since. These girls just brighten up my day, and their kids add a whole new dimension to our time together! I am proud to say that I pushed Johonna in the Bob for about 3.5 miles and did NOT steer her into the river! :)

KP & Johonna - she loved running with us too - who wouldn't?!? :)



CB with Mateo - one hot mama! :)

That evening, Sean and I went to Kristin & Rich's wedding. It was a really intimate affair, and a beautiful celebration of their love. I was honored to get to attend. I especially enjoyed the taco truck! :)

Sean & KP at the reception


KJ & Rich (her friend made this cute apron for her) :)

I got to spend a few hours with my friend Leslie, her son Samuel, and the Granger family on Sunday. We went to the zoo, but I honestly think the kids liked playing in the sand more than they liked looking at the animals! :)


Samuel & Isla in the sand

The first week was a flurry of working, dinners with great friends, and trying to take care of all the errands I needed to run in the US (buying Pepto & Nyquil, for example! Oh, and peanut butter!)

That weekend was... HOOD TO COAST!! :) I was asked to be on the footwear design team this year, which was a super fun team! A lot of free spirits and creativity for sure. The time went by quickly for me... to be honest, after the 48 hour RoPa run, I think anything would seem short! :)

Leo starting out down Mt. Hood in his nice pink spandex!

I think every Porta Potty in Portland is rented out for this event! Thank goodness!

KP and Umbereen getting ready for KP's second leg on Highway 30

Van #1 at the beach! Waiting for Van #2 to finish!

Sunday after H2C, Sean and I had made plans to go to a golf tournament, but I had a minor freakout about all the other things that I wanted to be doing... every time I go to Portland, I get an itch to head out to Hood River... it is one of my very favorite places. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures (they are on Sean's iPhone), but we had such a great day picking fruit, watching kite surfers, and hanging out at Full Sail Brewing. A perfect day!

The next week was more friends and more work... I feel so blessed to have so many wonderful friends and colleagues in my life. My smile sure didn't fade after the last blog update.

On Friday, Sean and I both took the day off and drove down to Sunriver, Oregon. We did this last year also for Labor Day weekend. It's just a magical place - beautiful nature, cool people, and lots of time to relax.

Our first night there, we took a bike ride along the Deschutes River

Who's who? ;)

Our home for the weekend

Saturday morning, we took a canoe trip - so fun!!

I loved the reflections...

Before we knew it, it was Monday and time for me to head back. It was so bizarre to come back this time... living in Europe seems like such a dream when I am back in Portland. Don't get me wrong - it's been an amazingly awesome dream, but Portland just feels so normal to me. It's hard to believe, but I've already been here for one year and a half. Time to begin the countdown to blast off...

Thanks to all my friends back in P-town for making me feel so welcome and loved. I miss you all so much and am thankful to have you in my life!! xx