Our Trip to Portland

Madison in her cute new jeans and top, ready for the Engagement Party!

Mingling at the party

My new Halloween Costume!
Playing with Sarah and Dave's dog, Boatie. They are buddies!
Set-up before the party
Engagement cake
Dad, Mom, Dave, Sarah, Danae, Madison and Mark

Hey, what's up? Let's get to the airport!
The first morning after waking up, Madison found Papa's organ...wow, lots of buttons!
Wedding and reception site
Where the ceremony will take place
I'm a little ballerina

We've had such a wonderful time in Portland! It is incredibly beautiful here and the weather has been fantastic. The best part? No humidity!! Ok, lots to share...

We arrived on Wednesday night after flying from Beaumont to Portland, with a short stop in Houston. It was really nice to be able to fly straight from Beaumont, without having to drive to Houston, first. We saved in gas $ and don't have to pay for parking in Beaumont. Anyhow, we arrived Wednesday night and were warmly greeted by my parents, Sarah and Dave! They brought two cars - just so they could see us and we could all fit on the drive home.

Thursday, Friday and Saturday, we enjoyed some light shopping. It was so nice to drive around town, see the Evergreens and Mt. Hood in the distance. The highlight was helping Sarah choose a wedding dress!! She and my mom had already scouted out several bridal salons and narrowed down the dresses. I went with them on Thursday, where we narrowed them down further. She looked absolutely stunning. Every dress was so different from eachother, so it made the decision even more difficult. However, each dress was equally as beautiful. When Sarah tried on her first dress, she aged about 15 years to me! See, in my mind, she's always my "10 year old little sister"...well, not anymore! She automatically transformed into a mature woman. But, she'll still always be my little sis in my heart.

On Friday, we had the pleasure of visiting their wedding site. It is located in a beautiful section of Oregon City, OR. Click here to see. They're getting married in "Abigail's Garden". It looks like a beautiful natural escape in the middle of nowhere, with colorful vegetation and bubbling brooks surrounding. They'll get married under a white gazebo in front of a sea of white chairs for the audience. Nearby, is a huge tent and dance floor with set tables and strung white lights for the reception. A separate tent holds the food and beverages. Nice bathrooms are nearby and suites for the bridal party to get ready. There are so many places for photo ops!! Wonderful photography ops. We are all excited for next year.

On Saturday, Mark, Madison and my dad came with us to the bridal salon. They got to see Sarah try on her dresses. Like before I got married, Sarah wanted my Dad to choose her wedding dress. Both Mark and my dad had the same wowed reaction with three of the dresses. But when she tried on one more, they were silent. My dad got a tear in his eye and we knew that he knew that was "the one". It was so sweet.

The big Engagement Party was on Sunday afternoon. We had a Fiesta themed party! We catered in Fajitas, taquitos, and all the fixings. Dave's mom made a yummy Tamale Pie. We had drinks and a cute cake with their monogram on top. We played "How Well Do You Know the Bride & Groom", which was fun. The kids enjoyed playing in the yard and especially the pinata activity. Several of our relatives came down for the party and Dave's relatives were there as well as most of the wedding party.

Poor Mark - he did NOT have a vacation...because of the hurricane, he was working from early morning until very late at night. He did make time to go a few places with us, to see the wedding site, see Sarah's dress, and to help with the party...but most of the time he was on the phone and computer. He's on a team of chosen Exxon people to relocate to Dallas in case of a hurricane, for business continuity purposes. Families go with the employees. So, we thought Mark was going to have to fly into Dallas and stay there for a while. Beaumont was under mandatory evacuation, but anyone in the PetroChemical industry could enter in the city. Since the storm was not going to directly hit Beaumont, he went ahead and flew down there on Monday. Madison and I stayed here in Portland. We will fly back home on Friday. My sister is flying down with me to help with Madison on the plane and will stay with us for a week.

We are enjoying extra time here with family! My cousin, Sara Rebecca stayed, too, so we are all having fun together. We miss Mark lots, though. Turns out, Beaumont was not affected by the storm, so that was good news.