Macleay Trail

After consulting "60 Hikes within 60 Miles of Portland" we decided to enjoy the beautiful clear, sunny day exploring a part of Forest Park. One of the nice things about living in Portland will be that is can boast of having the largest natural park within the city limits of any city in America. Forest Park has 5100 acres right in the middle of Portland. There are many trails to explore. We started with the 4.5 mile Macleay Trail which is part of a 40 mile loop trail.

Oregon is beautiful and so green. This little stream was once the main water supply for the city. That's hard to believe isn't it?

We think that in Oregon the moss grows on every side of the tree, not just the north.

This 'Stone House" was built in the 1930's by the WPA but was destroyed by a flood in the 1960's. Pretty place I thought!

Portland is famous for its roses!

At the highest point on the trail you tour the grounds of the Pittock Mansion and can see Mt. Hood from the beautiful gardens.

Fun day! Fun Hike! We're looking forward to many more!!!

Our new house in Portland

What do you think of our new house in Portland?

Just kidding! This is the Pittock mansion. Our hike last Saturday ended here. We decided to wait and tour the mansion next fall or winter when it is raining!

Yes Marilyn, there is a Mount Hood!

In all my trips to Portland I've never seen Mount Hood. Finally we had a sunny day and I got a good look at that majestic mountain! It is spectacular! Portland is a beautiful city, especially when it is sunny! But I have to remember that it is all that rain that makes it so green and makes all those flowers grow!

Portland Move Part 2

In our almost 35 years of married life we have moved:

#1 into our first apartment in Loveland, Colorado

#2 into our first house also in Loveland

#3 to an apartment in California

#4 to a rental house in California since our apartment was 'adults only' & Mary had jut arrived

#5 back to Loveland

#6 into a rental house while our house was being built

#7 to our newly built house in Fort Collins, Colorado

#8 to a rental house in Boise while our house was being built

#9 into that newly built house in Boise

#10 to our apartment in Sant Cugat del Valles, Barcelona, Spain

#11 to another apartment in Sant Cugat

#12 back to the USA to Eagle, Idaho

#13 to Portland, Oregon

Part 1 - George moves to Portland into teeny tiny apartment

Part 2 - George moves into slightly larger apartment

Part 3 (yet to happen) George moves all the bachelor pad junk that Marilyn doesn't want to live with back to Eagle, Idaho

Part 4 (also yet to happen) Marilyn & all the stuff she does want to live with moves to Portland

Sound Complicated enough for you?

Happy Birthdays Mark and Mary!

Our son in law, Mark's birthday was yesterday and Mary's birthday is tomorrow so I decided to post a double birthday blog on the day between their birthdays!

Mark Age 1

Mary Age 1

Their wedding in December of 2000! They got married on George's parent's 50th wedding anniversary!

We are glad they found each other and started a new eternal family! Happy birthday Mark and Mary! We wish we were there to sing and help you blow out the candles!

World Cup Champions!!!!

Today was Spain's first World Cup Championship. They were also the first team who went on to win the cup after loosing their first game! Viva Espana! I even left Relief Society before the closing song and prayer, which is something I never ever do, just so I could see the last few minutes of the game! Needless to say we were overjoyed with the way it turned out! Also goes without saying that we were pretty nervous!!! 1-0 in overtime with the goal scored at the 116 minute does not make for a relaxing game!

We toasted with sparkling apple juice!

Even Jackson is a Spain fan!

Thanks to Liz sending us these 'crisps' from England we ate Dutch Edam Cheese and Spanish Chicken Paella crisps after the game....also Argentina Grilled Steak Crisps, French Garlic Baguette Crisps, American Cheeseburger Crisps, Brazilian Salsa...you get the idea. Thanks again Liz! You added to the fun!

John stayed with us for the final and to read the reports on the internet before he headed back to Salt Lake. In case you can't tell, the computer screen shows Iniesta celebrating! He's the player who scored the winning goal!

Pleasure# 8

Grin and bear it. Isn't it annoying when you're a little blue and your friends and family tell you to smile? Well, like it or not, smiling is a mood booster. Here's why: People react better to you when you look happy, leading to a reinforcing cycle of good vibes. Plus, thanks to something called 'facial feedback', looking happy (oddly enough) fools your brain into thinking that you are happy.

I've wanted to do a scrapbook page for awhile entitled "I've never seen a smile that wasn't beautiful." So here are a few of my favorite ' beautiful smile' pictures! I hope they give you pleasure!

Pleasure #7 - My favorite

Pet a dog (any dog). You may have heard this before, but it bears repeating: Physical contact with animals works wonders. It increases the brain chemicals associated with pleasure and decreases those associated with stress. Even people without pets can get some of the effect by hanging out for a few minutes at a dog run.

You all know how much I loved this dog:

She was one of the joys of my life and I got untold pleasure from her.

Funny how this our 'guest dog' also brings us all so much pleasure.

Jackson came on May 5th to spend a couple of weeks and he's still here. I say that I AM NOT buying him any more food and then I look him and at Scott and I cave in. Now they tell me that he is a fan of the Netherlands and he can't go home until they loose. We all want them to loose on Sunday so on Monday he CAN go home....I want him to, not because I don't like him or because he is a lot of trouble, but because I do like him so much. I love having a four legged, shedding, ball crazy member of the family! He definitely brings me pleasure!

Coach John!

Johnny is home from Salt Lake for a visit. One of the classes he is taking this summer is "Intro to Coaching". He needed to run a training session with his brothers and Dad as his 'team'.

Coach John starts a drill.....

George is usually wearing a striped referee shirt when he is on a soccer field but he did well as a player.

Matt shows off his left footed skill....

Scott has great form!

John makes a save!

Everyone was tired after the training session...even Jackson

Viva Espana!

We closely follow the World Cup here at our house and naturally our favorite team is Spain! They played in the quarterfinals today and since George and Johnny were home we decided to make it a Spanish celebration.

On the menu were "Gambas al Ajillo", (garlic shrimp), pa amb tomaquet, (Catalan for toasted bread with garlic, tomatoes, olive oil, and salt) tortilla espanola (potato, onion, and egg omelet) and calcots (well actually grilled baby leeks) with romesc0 sauce, and sparkling cider (American LDS Cava or Champagne)! Delicious!

We decorated our house and our faces!

We agonized!

We celebrated!

And Spain won! Their first time in the semi finals of the World Cup! Now we'll have to agonize again on Wednesday when they play Germany and hopefully again on Sunday for the finals!

Can my nerves stand it? Viva Espana!!!!!