Such class

There are many differences between the town we currently live in and the beautiful city of Portland that we left behind two years ago. Quite often we see or experience something that reminds us that we "aren't in Kansas anymore, Toto!" But, this weekend, we experienced one of the most obvious and stark differences yet.

The "Bite of Oregon" vs "Pig Out in the Park"

In Portland, we attended the annual "Bite of Oregon." We would drive down to the waterfront, pay our entry fee, and then peruse the park with classy folks where "culinary creations abound featuring top Oregon Chefs." I remember enjoying a sampling of fantastic entrees, some of which were too fancy to pronounce.

In contrast, here in our new hometown we attended "Pig Out in the Park" where we also drove down the waterfront and perused the park for our dinner. But this time, we had to watch for puppy poop all along the way; were surrounded by profanity slinging, scantily clad, unbathed, smoking, beer-drinking folks; and had a large assortment of fried food choices -- curly fries, funnel cakes, foot-long corn dogs, fried Snickers, fried Twinkies, etc. We found plenty to eat, but, -- sigh --, I miss Portland.

Cousins

While we were in Utah recently, my boys had a blast playing with my sister's tiny poodles, Murphy and Dexter. The entire visit, Jordan could be found with one cradled under his left arm while he played fetch with the other with his right.

The first morning we were there, I was getting ready in the bathroom to go to the zoo, and Jordan came in with Dexter in his arms and said, "Mom, I thought you said we didn't have any cousins on this side of the family. Your nephew wants to say 'hello'."

So I guess there are cousins for my children on my side of the family, they just have a lot more hair per square inch than most.

Let boys be boys

Every once in a while, the dormant sports fanatic that lurks inside my husband just can't lie in wait anymore. Then we have to feed it. This time, we satisfied the beast by sending Brett to Denver with 5 brothers to meet his friend and go to all four games that the Atlanta Braves played against the Colorado Rockies. The Pack boys have been Braves fans since their diaper days and this is a trip that they won't stop talking about for years . . . maybe decades.

While all 6 wives and 14 (of 15) kids were safely visiting, playing, and jewelry-making back in Idaho, we received many phone calls and texts about game highlights, caught homerun balls at Braves batting practice, and lots of good food and good times. Brett's home office was the second of our rooms to get a makeover. Nicely framed posters of his childhood sports idols, newly-found sports collectibles, and souveniers from his trip have made his room truly manly. It has a slightly different feel than the rest of the house. We are so happy that Brett had such a great time with the guys, but we missed him a lot and are happy to all be back home.

For my sister . . .

As part of our recent summer vacation, my boys and I spent a couple of days in Salt Lake City with my sister. She bought a house the same week I did, just over 2 years ago, and I had yet to visit. Her town house is immaculate and very classy. She and I each have a style of our own, but her decor inspired me to add a little bit of color to a room that has been driving me crazy with drab. Before she took me to a few of her favorite places to shop, my family room was nothing but black and brown. So, in response to her patient nagging, I'm posting some pictures of my family room makeover for her to see. It may not go along with her "muted Europe" motif, but I think she can appreciate it.

(you can't even see the surround sound speakers that I'm trying to disguise on this sofa table . . . right?)

Sorry that the pictures are a little bit dark. The windows are large and plenty on that side of the house, so the right lighting for picture taking is really hard to come by.

Now, I should mention the real adventure behind this makeover. My husband left from Idaho with my van full of brothers for a guy trip to Denver, so my mom was great enough to get my boys and I down to Utah in her car. It was a lot of fun for the boys and I to ride in her bright red Volkswagen convertible bug the whole way down and back. But, we had a bit of a clown experience on the way home as we had to fit all of my art, throw pillows, vases, candle holders, and such in the tiny car with our luggage and four bodies. Have you ever seen the trunk in one of these babies? It was definitely interesting. But, we made it. I did have a few things shipped to ML from Salt Lake. I couldn't convince my mom to ride home with a vase on her head like an African woman could. What a poor sport.