Portland and beyond

As you've most likely already read, we took Maks on his first vacation via airplane the other week.  Actually, Bryon and I were simply checking out the landscape as a possible location for us to relocate after our time in the military is over.  Grandpa Ralph wants to start an organic farm and homestead, so the valley outside of Portland might just be ideal for that lifestyle.  Regardless, it was nice to take a week away from our typical routine.

Vacationing with an infant is tough.  We really couldn't do much activity-wise.  Maksim hates his car seat, so even a nice drive up the coast highway was out of the question.  There we were, surrounded by lakes, rivers, mountains...and we couldn't take advantage.  We could do little things, though.  And the views were always amazing.

Right away, we left Portland and headed to Eugene.  Maks was very adamant about getting his fair share of time behind the wheel.  We made a lot of stops to move about and play in the car.  The drive to Eugene wasn't very pretty, but the actual city itself completely made up for it.  Even though we had nothing planned, we were able to keep ourselves occupied the entire time.  First of all, the Eugene Farmer's Market's are amazing.  You'd have to look really long and hard to find something that WASN'T organic!  We drove up a butte for a birds eye view of the city, and Daddy accidentally locked the keys...in the trunk of the car.  (Thank goodness I had Maksim, his diaper bag and his stroller alongside me.)  Our little hike turned into a 2 hour adventure of first getting the car unlocked and then disassembling the back seats to that we could access the trunk.  I'm still patting myself of the back for staying quiet and calm during the entire episode.  $100 later, we were able to drive back down into town!

Maks had some trip highlights of his very own!

• He was especially fond of his early morning swims in the salt water pools with Daddy.  I take Maks swimming on a weekly basis, but Bryon never has the opportunity to come along.  This little boy was delighted to swim with both of his parents, and even kept his cool when we showed him how to swim underwater!  Such a little fish!

• Look at this!  Not only does he know his has feet, he's capable of getting them into his mouth!  Grandma Judy will be SO proud!

• First time adventure sitting in the cart.  I'm pretty sure he'd have been able to do this sooner, but we just hadn't tried it.  He was so happy, we didn't even need to buy anything!

• King size beds!  This might have been a little more exciting for me and Bryon than it was for Maks.  In fact, Maks probably was more excited about the countless pillow fights he had with Daddy on the bed than the bed itself.  Anyhow, we know we need a king bed of our own, but we're toughing it out until we move into a new home next fall.  Bottom line: we all appreciated a night of sleep minus judo kicks to the face.

Can you believe the lower waterfall in the photo below is the height of the waterfall that I jumped off of in Hawaii?  What on Earth was I thinking?

Maksim didn't even mind the cold water that kept spraying his face!

Back in Portland, we spent our days wandering around the streets downtown.  We visited a few more Farmer's Markets, took an aerial tram ride, visited the rose garden and hiked through Washington Park. This mama was even able to make a quick pit-stop at Popina Swimwear - their retro suits are super cute!  Although Mount Hood and other sites were out of the question, we did venture out along the Columbia River Gorge and climb Multnomah Falls.  With a baby in tow (and no carrier), we hiked over 600 ft. to the top of the falls.  The biggest feat, however, was probably managing to breastfeed Maks as we hiked down the mountain.  Go, me!

I love his, "I've got my eye on you!" face in this shot!

Finally, we made a last minute trip up to Seattle to check out the city and visit my friend, Teagen.  Teagen had a little condo right downtown that she wasn't living in, so we had easy access to all of the sites!  We spend a lot of time exploring Pike Place Market.  Maks' loved the live music and the hustle and bustle of Pike Place Fish Co.!  (Poor Grandpa Tom is jealous, I'm sure.)  I, on the other hand, was so disappointed that I didn't have any room in my luggage to bring back all of the beautiful flower bouquets that bloomed on every corner.

Maksim and Teagen at Pike Place Market in Seattle

Once we landed back home, our pup, Kira, was as excited as could be to see us!  Unfortunately, as soon as Kira unloaded out of the back of our SUV, I noticed that she'd picked up some pesky friends of her own.  Who leaves their dog at a top-rated kennel/trainer and picks them up a week later with FLEAS?!?!  Apparently, we do.  Girl got a bath and a fresh bed...and 2 weeks to snuggle at home in peace with her Daddy while Maksim and I continue on to the Midwest!