Portland

Can I just say, for the record, that I am having a hard time being back from Portland?  I know it was a choir tour, but it was still wonderful.  I really enjoyed spending time getting to know my husband in the role that most defines him when he is away from us.  I think he's pretty good at it, and despite his antics, the kids even seem to like him.  I got a kick out of the kids getting his opinion on all things about our trip.

We boarded a charter bus and drove through the night.  Not sure if there was sleep intermingled with bus riding or bus riding mingled with sleep, but there you go.  We drove and drove and arrived, 2 hours ahead of schedule, at Multnomah Falls where it was pitch black and raining.  So we went and stopped for breakfast, then went to Voodoo Donuts for a second breakfast.

It was a pretty irreverent atmosphere, but kindof fun.  I have to admit that we couldn't stomach the idea of the famous maple bacon donut.  I think if the bacon had been crumbled on there, I maybe could have, but just the slices of bacon plopped on the frosting was a little much for that point in the morning.  I opted for this amazingly moist blueberry donut.  Steve opted for a lemon chiffon crueller.  Then we got a peach fritter to share, and ended up sharing it with half of the bus' occupants because it was HUGE. Yum-O!

Afterwards we unloaded at a mall and shopped until it was time to gather the troops for our viewing of "Wicked."  I actually should post that in all caps and multiple exclamation points.  I was so excited to see this musical.  What an awesome experience, even though I pretty much knew the story and the music.  Still.  So.  Awesome.

(Not sure what this look is, but it is kind of the "touring a new city with a bunch of kids i'm in charge of" look that one would expect.  Ha ha.)

We walked to the symphony and enjoyed dinner (and no sales tax, yay!).  The symphony portion of the concert was fine, but the Irish tenor was boring and it was honestly too late and too "easy listening" for the group of us who hadn't slept really well on the bus.  Steve and I just laughed as we could see heads from our group bobbing all around us.  Oh, well.

On Sunday the kids sang at "The Grotto" as part of their mass and were able to enjoy the acoustics and setting of this amazing church.  Then we drove out to Seaside for a relaxing day.  So nice.

Monday was the real "choir heavy" day with 3 workshops at local universities and an exchange at a high school in Beaverton.  I learned a lot, and Steve learned that he really knows his stuff because the professors kept recommending that the kids do things he had already told them to do.  So he came home convinced that he needs to just stick to his guns and insist that they do what he says.

I was impressed by the abundance of green and moisture.  The moss that is everywhere is fascinating and totally foreign  to this desert native. It was actually a bit chilly while there, but I enjoyed the change of scenery.

The kids were well taken care of by our fabulous parents plus my sister.  I don't think our kids really even missed us.  Today they were lamenting that it was only 4 days that we were gone.  I guess we'll have to go for longer next time :)  No problem.

I know Steve didn't probably enjoy it as much as I did, but it turned out really well.  He put a lot of thought and effort into it.  I appreciated the chance to be with him and not just hear about another choir event after the fact.