January, the big travel month, began with a trip to Long Beach.
Some of you may have heard that Portland can be a little wet and dark during the winter months. To ensure that we get a healthy does of vitamin D between December and April, I have found that making a trip to a warm beach is a must.
This one was a no brainer: Trevor had a conference in Long Beach, which meant he had a "free" hotel for Cecilia and I rest our heads. Jet Blue has daily deals to LB and Cecilia still flies free for another month. It was great for the girls! Unfortunately, Trevor didn't get much sleep the first night we were in town, because his ladies showed up with hacking colds. We also spent most of his per-diem each day on really bad chain food dinners. Thankfully, we have a most loving and understanding husband & daddy who didn't seem to mind that we invaded his space.
Besides, our last day biking on the beach boardwalk was priceless.
........now i just have to figure out how to download the pictures from my phone.......
You may just have to imagine the scene: chain stores/diners galore, freshly tractor-raked sand beaches every morning, oil rigs masked by water falls and palm trees on the horizon. Its saving grace was 85 degree weather, ubiquitous sunshine (truly magical- our hotel was placed just so that we watched the sun rise and set over the ocean everyday!), an awesome aquarium, an afternoon with Jono and boardwalk biking.
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The next weekend Renae showed up once again. This time she stopped by after a three week bike trip along the California coast with her friend Jen. It was a blast to follow her progress with daily text/phone reports.
It was even more enjoyable to watch her and Cecilia reunite and laugh!
After hanging with Renae in Portland for a couple days, we all jumped in the car and fled north to Seattle. Renae went to visit a friend and then made her way back to Chelan. The Lujans spent an afternoon with Oliver, Betsy and Kyle. In the picture above, Oliver shows off his whirling car launcher, which was a huge hit with Cecilia.
Happy parents, serious babes
We departed from the Griggs residence and made our way to the Michaels home.
Jen focuses and mentally prepares for another big night as the leading actress in a thriller production at a local theater. Steve stayed home with the babes while Trevor and I had a great evening watching a most entertaining play. Nice job Jen!
The kiddos in the morning
Guess what is captivating this duo?
A quick run on the beach before the drive back home.
---Check back soon for Salt Lake pictures----
We woke up to a most amazing snow report! We were expecting only an inch and found 15" of perfectly fluffy snow on a somewhat vacant Mount Bachelor. 
