Happy Birthday!

As you all know, Friday was Mom's birthday. It was a quiet day for the most part. Mom took a friend to the airport and had to leave at 4:30 in the morning to get her there on time. Hannah and Dad woke her up after she got back home to sing Happy Birthday to her.

Dad was at work and Mom and Hannah were together all day. Dad was able to get off of work a little early and we all went grocery shopping and then to McGrath's Fish House for dinner. Of all things, Mom had clam chowder and a salad for dinner.

On Saturday we wanted to do something special for Memorial Day. We went to the Korean War Memorial in Wilsonville, which is on the south side of Portland. We learned a lot about the Korean War. There was also a little park next to the Memorial with a wading pool. We all had to get in. It was supposed to be rainy all day so we didn't go to the coast. It ended up being mostly sunny throughout the day so after we returned to the apartment, Hannah was able to go swimming. The pool opened on Saturday, and even though the temperature never got above 65 degrees, there were several kids in the water, Hannah included. It is a heated pool, 85 degrees, so the water feels good. It's when you get out that you have trouble.

Hannah and Grandma have been having a great time shopping all of the thrift stores. Portland is the thrift store capital of the world. Every evening, we make the trip over to the new house building site. It is going up so fast.

The second floor went up so quick. They did it in a day!

The roof went up very quickly and then the windows. they have all but two windows in the house.

It rained most of the end of the week so the house is full of water. Tuesday is supposed to be sunny and warmer so we hope they get the shingles on to keep the rain out.

We Were there and now Hannah is Here!

After a week in KC for Mom and a couple of days for Dad, we headed back to Portland with Hannah in tow. Mom took the grandkids to Science City on Thursday for a great play day. Photos below.

Friday evening before we left we had a pool party at the hotel. See photo's below. Nellie's eye shadow ran and she looked like Rocky Raccoon.

Saturday we headed to Portland and as soon as we landed, we headed to the house. We were afraid that they didn't get much done while we were gone but we were pleasantly surprised. The main level is framed and the sheating is on. We walked around and took a few photos. See below.

To France and Back and On to KC

Last week Dad had the opportunity to go to France. He was in the little town of Civray in south central France and ended up in Lyon before heading home. The trip was all work but he had the opportunity to walk around old Lyon on Thursday afternoon before heading back to Portland early on Friday morning. France is a little more difficult than other countries in Europe to travel in because most French people don't speak English. Most other countries understand that English is necessary for business and tourism, but, the French don't see it that way. They were all very friendly but communication was difficult. From Saturday to Wednesday he was with people from the Belgian office but beginning on Thursday was on his own. He had a nice time but was glad to be back home. Following are a few pictures from old Lyon.

As soon as he arrived back in Portland we drove to the building site. They have graded the property, built the retaining wall (we have told them that they need to make it longer) and have put the floor joists in place. It looks so cool! This week they should get the subfloor on and the walls framed. Mom heads to KC on Monday morning and Dad will be in Denver on Monday through Wednesday before heading to KC. We won't get to see any of the new construction until we return. The builder has agreed to send us photos throughout the week so we can see progress. It is very exciting to see the progress and it looks so different.

 Even though you can't really see it in this photo, the back yard is going to be much bigger than we anticipated. It is not too bad and we may be able to have a nice deck, some garden and some green space.

 It's funny, the driveway will be shorter than the car, so, unless we are parked in the garage, the back of the car will extend into the street. Fortunately, the street ends at our property and is entirely on our property.

The weather was great on Friday with temperatures into the upper 70's. On Saturday we went for a nice short hike on a trail only 5 minutes from the new house. A guy at work told Dad about it. It was a nice hike but pretty steep. Funny, it didn't have any waterfalls so it isn't one of our favorites, but it really was a very nice hike. As you can see, Mom isn't getting any taller! Later on Saturday the rain returned and it has been raining ever since with temperatures in the mid 50's.

 

We are anxious to come to KC this week. We love and miss all of you!

There is a House Going Up There

They have started the house. We went over on Tuesday and they had started putting the concrete forms up.

We went back on Wednesday and they had put most of the rest of the forms.

When we went back on Thursday they had poured the concrete and on Friday they had removed the forms. We are so excited! It is funny, the driveway is not as long as our cars!

Home Construction and More

This past week they began moving dirt at the building site. We weren't aware that they were going to do this since we hadn't closed on the property yet. On Friday we went to sign the papers at the title company. About half way through the mountain of paperwork, we ran into a problem with the finance company. They left a key provision out of the contract. We could not resolve since it was late afternoon so we left without finishing. We are hoping to get the issue resolved on Monday and sign everythign then. As soon as we close, they will begin the actual construction. They are ready to go. If all goes well, it should be finished in mid August.

On Saturday we decided to go back to Silver Falls and walk the rest of the trail. The weather was nice, mid 60's and partly cloudy. It was a very nice day. We saw three more waterfalls and some beautiful scenery.