Oregon

a few weeks ago, i spent four days with the family in Oregon.

tim and debi have a beautiful house and even more beautiful children! Dru's confirmation ceremony was the night before i arrived. i stepped off the plane in Portland around 5:30 after an uneventful, upgraded to economy plus for 44 bucks, flight. on the short flight from SB to O'Hare, i sat next to the Chancellor of the Diocese of Portland, and we talked Pope's visit and all kindza spiritual stuff. Mary Jo and i hung out at O'Hare, too, waiting for the plane to PDX, grabbing a chicago dog between flights.

Caitlin was at PDX with Mom and Dad. it had been almost two years since i'd seen CaitiBug and couldn't believe how tall she is! she's almost as tall as Mom!

Nicholas is the sweetest boy. he was all about being cuddly and i loved that he was in my arms within 30 seconds of meeting me. the last time they visited here, it took Mikey about a day to decide i was okay enough to play with. it was instant "aunt shelley!!! come play with us!!!" this time. i adore the time i spent with these precious boys.

Friday was spent hanging out at the house until it was time to pick the girls up at school...we got ice cream, too! gotta love having Papa pick you up from school!! Friday night Debi made spaghetti and made me a whole bowl of gluten-free pasta...

Caitlin had a volleyball game early Saturday morning. we all packed into the van and went to the gym to cheer she and her team on!
then she and Dru and i went into Salem to cruise the malls...such a teenager-y thing to do!!...it was the greatest!! i made sure we got a memory card for the PS2, and then...racking up the songs on Guitar Hero was ON!! i was cracking up at the songs they knew just thru GH. Mikey loves the "Mommy's alright, Daddy's alright" song..."Surrender" by Cheap Trick!! that's my boy!!!

dinner that night was at McGrath's, a really yummy seafood place. Tim and i ordered one of the specials...parmesan-crusted Halibut. holy crap it was moist and luscious!! and, completely gluten-free!

sunday we had a party for Dru at the house. her sponsor's family came over...her sponsor was her friend Gina's mom. Monday morning i spent the time with the boys, playing, while i packed up and readied myself for the trip east. i miss them all so much. i know there's a part of me that is always connected with them but being this far away is really tough.