Besides two quick trips to California, I’ve spent very little time on the West coast, and zero in the Pacific Northwest… so when my sister Ali and I found out that a Portland church we love was hosting an amazing conference, and the weekend happened to be wide open for both of us… we jumped! We asked the rest of our siblings if they wanted to go, Anna and Edward said YES, and it turned into this epic, mind-blowing weekend!

Portland is beautiful and breathtaking! Multnomah Falls (above) was thirty minutes outside the city (compared to Illinois, where thirty minutes outside Chicago would land you right in the middle of suburbia), and we drove there straight from the airport, after being up since 2am. We were deliriously happy. The air smelled incredible, like pine and ice and green everything. There was moss covering every tree, and in the city, people had bamboo and palm trees growing next to firs and pine trees. The climate and cool humidity was gorgeous! We kept saying, “WE ARE MOVING HERE!” Love at first sight, Portland.

All my city photos were taken with my iPhone (which is old and ancient and I still love it!), so they’re hardly worth showing… but everything you’ve heard about Portland is true. Coffee! Donuts! Environmentalism! (The city outlawed plastic grocery bags, and I don’t think I saw a single plastic straw) The FOOD SCENE! So much gorgeous nature! Funky clothes, boutiques, Saturday Market, bridges and rivers and hiking trails and the most bike-friendly city in the country… The cherry blossoms were blooming, and it rained off and on all weekend, but only when we were inside. Seriously. It was that perfect 😉 Portland, you are lovely.

(I don’t talk about this much, but since it’s my own blog, here we go… Marty is just wonderful. While I was 1700 miles away, buying stacks of books and eating donuts and expensive tacos and drinking giant cups of coffee and sleeping in until 11… he did Easter egg hunts, birthday parties, and field trips, never complained once, the kids had the best time, and they all cried when he had to go back to work on Monday morning! Super Dad Marty. I love you.)