Partying with the Ellefsens

We LOVE to have visitors! We welcome any chance to have fun, make and eat good food, and spend quality time with people we love. We feel really lucky to have spent time with the Ellefsens weeks ago. They were all at our house for a weekend before they left to the Oregon coast for a week. Then Ali and the three youngest kids spent three more days with us. It was fantastic to get to know their kids better - we hadn't seen them in three years! 

We tried to show them a good time. One day we drove to an area in Portland with a lot of food carts, with a block and a half filled with every type of ethnic and American food imaginable. Thai, Ethiopian, Chilean, Peruvian, Bolivian, Mexican, German, French, Chinese, Japanese, Mediterranean, etc. It was so much fun!  I really like the way that Portland is so diverse. We walked around the block to check out the food and everyone picked out their favorite food to try.  The Ellefsens had dressed for warmer weather (they erroneously believed that it would feel summery during the middle of the day in August - they were wrong!), so we had to bundle everyone up in jackets.

Joseph and I are in the far left of the picture below, waiting for our dessert crepes to be finished.

After eating our meal we walked a few blocks to Pioneer Square to see some of the famous landmarks, including this mile post sign - showing the distance to just about anywhere you can imagine. And the bronze statue of a guy with an umbrella.

This is so Portland . . . on the way back to our car we saw a storefront showcasing clothes made of all kinds of recycled items. Including the outfit on the left, made of discarded umbrella skins from Portland streets. And the outfit on the right, made from used coffee filters!

One evening Aubrey, Brynlie, and Lindsey put on a fabulous performance for us. They sang "Popular" from the musical Wicked. 

Afterward, cute little Logan played a Star Wars game with Bailey. It involved lots of snarling, lightsaber fighting, and acrobatics. And we must note that Logan has the cutest voice we have ever heard. If he lived at our house and asked for absolutely anything, we would seriously be unable to say no to him.

 We also introduced the Ellefsens to the joys of our favorite frozen yogurt shops.

 And we spent a lovely day at the park.

 

 

 Aubrey, Brynlie, and Lindsey spent a lot of time painting and sketching.

 We drove the Ellefsens to see the Columbia River Gorge and some of our favorite waterfalls.

 

 

And we showed them how to play one of our family favorites . . . "Just Dance" on the Wii. Their kids were amazing at the game, and Ryan and Ali wiggled their hips like pros!

And more lightsaber fighting, this time with Dan and Ryan.

 

On Saturday we took them to Merwin Lake, on the south side of Mt. St. Helens. We had a great day boating, riding a Waverunner, and playing in the water.

Most of us took a turn riding the tube behind the boat. It was fun! Aubrey is fearless. She wanted to go faster, faster, faster, but I was fine with wimpy speed.

 

It was a great trip, and we hope we can see them again one of these days (years). We appreciate the opportunities we have had to get to know one family at a time and strengthen the friendships between cousins.