Hi ho, hi ho... It's off to Portland, Seattle and Vancouver we go!!

Portland, Oregon

We stayed at the coolest hotel ever, The Kennedy School Hotel. We swam in the salt water pool located in the old teacher's lounge, stayed in Miss Dobie's classroom, watched "Water for Elephants" on a couch in the old auditorium and enjoyed dinner, drinks and a few games of pool! We also walked around the neighborhood and fell in love with the unique homes.

We stayed in Mrs. Dobie's Room at the Kennedy School in Portland, OR!

We loved walking around in the neighborhood - the flowers were gorgeous!

The original Voodoo Donuts in Portland, OR.

Union Station in Portland, OR.

Remember when the worst thing you could imagine was being kept after class? My, how things have changed! At Kennedy School, you'll never want to leave. Here you can have a pint in a classroom, enjoy an aged whiskey and a cigar in detention, take a dip in the pool in the teacher's lounge, enjoy a movie in the old auditorium.... The possibilities here are endless. 

In March '10, the Kennedy School was named the #1 Quirkiest Hotel in the U.S. by TripAdvisor.com -- an A+ for us!

Since its 1915 opening, this historic elementary school has been a beloved fixture of its Northeast Portland neighborhood. McMenamins renovated the once-abandoned scholastic gem and turned it into Portland's most unique hotel. Here you'll find 35 comfy guestrooms fashioned from former classrooms (complete with original chalkboards and cloakrooms, private baths and telephones), a restaurant, multiple small bars, a movie theater, soaking pool, gift shop and a brewery (just wait until the principal hears about this!). Extensive original artwork and historical photographs cover the walls, ceilings, doorways and hallways.

In the morning we went to check out Voodoo Doughnuts (a Portland staple), but after a few minutes in the LONNNG line, they ran out of doughnuts! We also walked the Broadway Bridge in Portland before boarding the Amtrak to head to Seattle. The weather was in the 70's and sunny... perfect day!

Seattle, Washington


What a great place for food lovers! We stayed at the Hyatt Downtown...which was in a wonderful location. We were just a short walk from all the tourist hot spots and tons of food!  On the first night we headed down to Pike's Public Market (an awesome strip of shops and sights located where they toss the fish around in the mornings and afternoons).  Also located within Pike's is the original Starbucks location.  Of course the line was out of the door.  Just a short walk from the original Starbucks is the famous (of infamous . . .) "gum wall". The entire wall is covered in gum from tourists who have visited.  Naturally, Richard contributed (it was pretty gross . . .).

Original Starbucks in Seattle!

Pike's Place Market in Seattle!

Richard adding gum to the gum wall in Seattle.

That night we ate at Ivar's Acres of Clams right on the harbor (next to Ye Olde Curiosity Shop).  We had some great seafood and a nice view.

Dinner at Ivars

The next day was very full! Richard woke up early and jogged to Elliott Bay Park (great views of the ocean).  Then we hit the gym and the steam room & sauna.  Then we did the underground tour of Pioneer Square (where the "old" Seattle used to be before it burned to the ground and they built on top of it).  Afterwards we checked out Elliott's Oyster House (with a great patio on the pier).  We ordered a dozen raw oysters, and ate them all (Jessa was . . . iffy about them but she ate her 6).  After that we went to zig zag cafe for some creative drinks and then on to The Pink Door for a great dinner on a great patio.

Elliott's Oyster House

View from our hotel room in Seattle.

Space Needle in Seattle.

Seattle

Vancouver, Canada

Our experience in Vancouver had a rocky start but quickly turned into a fun, exciting and active trip! We stayed at the Sheraton Hotel and Spa in Downtown Vancouver - a great hotel with an amazing view of the city. We toured historic Gastown, then ventured into China Town (which we do not recommend). China Town was filled with crazy people, dark alleys and suspicious activity... thanks for the recommendation Trip Advisor! I couldn't help but look down every dark alley....Richard kept telling me to look away and not make eye contact! lol We ended our night at the Pour House Restaurant in Gastown. Not only was the food great and the venue unique, we had a live performer singing Frank Sinatra songs (Richard's favorite)! 

Gastown in Vancouver - Steam Clock

Dinner at the Pourhouse in Vancouver, Canada

Scary Chinatown in Vancouver, Canada

The following day was packed with fun and adventure. Richard kicked off the morning with a 6 mile run around Stanley park, then we worked out / swam at our hotel. One of my favorite parts of trip was experiencing a Thai Massage from Smile Thai. The massage was a mixture of a Swedish massage with yoga - it was wonderful and much needed. This was definitely a new experience and I would recommend it to anyone! 

Smile Thai Massage

Following our massage, we took a bus to the Capilano Suspension Bridge (longest suspension bridge in the world). It was SO scary and shook like crazy. 

Cliffwalk

Suspension Bridge - so scary!

Suspension Bridge 

We also rented bikes and biked around Stanley park. The views were absolutely gorgeous! 

Biking in Stanley Park

Biking in Stanley Park

We rounded out the day by grabbing fresh sushi in Northern Vancouver at Octopus Garden. Yum! Following dinner, we attended Bard on the Beach to see "As You Like It" (a Shakespeare play). What a cool performance. The theater was open and the background was the water and mountains. We really enjoyed the Shakespeare production! 

Octopus Garden - For dessert, "octopus" gummies!

Bard on the Beach

Another trip down. We loved every minute of it (minus Vancouver's China Town...ha!)! 

Headed East :: She said YES! :: The great outdoors and much more!

Headed East.
We were able to get away and take a weekend trip to Nacogdoches to see family on Memorial Day Weekend 2011! Little Miss Chloe and Mr Jude are growing so fast...and they are way too adorable! In true Chloe fashion she called us Uncle Jessa and Aunt Richard. hahaha Richard's Uncle Craig was also visiting from Ohio. Richard was able to spend the morning fishing with Craig and Papa. As always, Sundae gave Turbo an earful with her crazy barking. However, she eventually warmed up to him.

Richard being Silly with Chloe and Jude!

Say Cheese!

Richard fishing with his Papa and Uncle Craig.
Memorial Day Weekend 2011

She said YES!
We had the pleasure of helping coordinate Brenda's surprise engagement. Will proposed in Reunion Tower...Brenda said YES...and we all celebrated with a hotel party following the engagement. I am beyond excited to start wedding planning with Brenda. We are SO happy for them both!!

She said YES!

The proposal inside of Reunion Tower.

Yay!!! So happy for Brenda and Will!

Celebrating after the proposal!

Camping 

We were able to have a mini-vacation in Glen Rose, TX with some of our closest friends! We packed up the cars with our camping gear and headed to the cutest little cabin. Our fun little trip included fishing, grilling out, "ghost stories", being visited by a wild horse and over 10 cows and a night filled with games. Sounds like a fun tradition for years to come!

Trickle Creek Cabins

All of us on the Creekside Cabin porch!

I caught a FISH! I wouldn't touch it though... Richard had to hold it for me. :)

Life as a CARES Team.

We had a "Pizza by the Pool" CARES event this month with almost 100 attendees! IFratelli Pizza was a huge hit. Several Bluffs residents (that have already moved out) joined us during our second to last event for The Bluffs!

One more reason we are sad to leave The Bluffs. We have the funniest neighbors. There are three little girls that live on our floor...all from different countries... and English is not their first language. However, they have no problem communicating or playing with each other. They often leave notes (which I can't read) on each others door. Too funny and sweet! 

Yep, this is Sonny. Some of you have met her and most of you have heard stories about her. This night was probably the funniest and most memorable night as a CARES team. Our date night was joined by Sonny (a 70 year old Indian lady) showing up by surprise after getting lost in our apartments for an hour and a half. Her main mission: to bring us tea from India. :)

One of the best parts of being a CARES Team - Sonny always cooks Indian dishes for us! YUM!

Other happenings.

Capital One Spring Carnival! Helping to prep for the fun event with my co-workers!

Whitney and Nathaniel took us to Bolsa in Oak Cliff. What a cool restaurant! It has been featured in D Magazine and uses  "the best naturally-raised and organic ingredients we can find, and source from local growers, ranchers and fishermen throughout Texas whenever possible". All drinks are made fresh and right in front of you! We would definitely recommend this popular spot. We had a great time! 

A month full of adventures!

Tennis and Kickball 
Richard loves all sports.... me, not so much! So, this past Christmas I gave him tennis lessons at the Village Country Club. He was so excited! He is now on his fourth lesson and has been playing with a few people in his class each Saturday. No injuries, yet. Ha!


Richard also joined his company's (TPN) kickball league. It has been such a rainy season, that most games have been canceled. However, he still managed to beat his legs up in the two games he has played. He loves it though. Oh yeah, the team is named "Fire Breathing Rubber Duckies"...I mean the obvious choice for a work kickball team, right?

Richard's "Fire Breathing Rubber Duckies" Kickball T-Shirt

We are MOVING!
We have always known at some point The Bluffs in The Village would be torn down for remodeling. However, we all thought we had another year or so. On Monday, all Bluffs residents received a notice on their door saying they had 60 days to vacate the property. Fun news, right? The same week we had a "CARES Burger Night". With the insane storms that night (we had to evacuate the event and scramble to close everything down) and news of the property being torn down, we were sure that our attendance would be extremely low....we were in for a surprise! We had approx. 100 people attend the event! It felt like a going away party. We never realized how close we have truly gotten with our community. We are so sad that our little community is going it's separate ways. We have loved knowing our neighbors, their stories, struggles, successes, dogs and kids. This community has truly changed us and we are forever thankful to the CARES program for that amazing experience. 


What happens next? We are not done with Apartment Life, Inc. and serving as a CARES Team quite yet. We will be transferring to the Corners East in The Village. Another older property and one of the only pet friendly properties. For the first 6 months, we will still serve as the CARES Team for The Cliffs (we served both The Bluffs / Cliffs). At the end of the 6 month period, Apartment Life, Inc. and Lincoln Properties will make the decision of probably having us strictly serve the Corners East and its adjoining property, The Corners. As always, our lives are never boring. We will continue to follow God's plan for us!


Let the packing begin! The funny thing is, when we moved into The Bluffs, we were not a fan of the condition of the property and how old the apartments were. However, we have grown to love our apartment and all the work we put into it. Plus, this is the only home that Sundae has known with us! We will miss it for sure! 

Mother's Day
My Grandma (Mom's Mom) is currently in the nursing home. She is getting much better though! So, this year, we did brunch at Enchiladas before church and then visited my grandma. We will celebrate with Richard's mom during our next visit! :)

Three Generations!

Olivia's 25th Birthday
We have celebrated many good times at Sherlocks in Addison....our engagement, friend's birthdays, work outings, and just because. So, in true celebrating fashion, we went back to Sherlocks for Olivia's 25th birthday! We have been friends since 6th grade and I look forward to celebrating many more birthday's with Olivia.

Birthday Girl

Us with Brenda and Will

Keller's Drive-In
We love to watch the Food Network and Travel Channel (evidenced by all of our travel and food stories...haha). We were so excited to find out that "Keller's Drive-In" (featured on Food Network) is within walking distance from our apartment. How cool is that?! Keller's is known to the locals as a burger/beer drive-in joint with super cheap prices. You can get a burger for $2. Plus, everything is served to you in your car...just like Sonic! It is also a biker hot spot and I don't recommend going to the bathroom...but, it was definitely worth the experience. It is a sure bet that we will be going back. 

Other food happenings....

Piggy Pies on Greenville Ave.
Richard liked it...I wasn't a huge fan. 

Whiskey Cake in Plano.
YUM - This cake is amazing - it doesn't sound good, but it is!

In-N-Out Burger
It has finally arrived in Texas! We were introduced to In-N-Out while visiting LA, we are both fans. 

Fellowship Serves
Our church, Fellowship Dallas, did a big service day! We were split into two groups: labor intensive and family friendly. We went one way and my parents went the other. Once you were loaded onto schools buses (it has been years since we rode a school bus), you were told what your project was going to be...which made us a little nervous! We had the opportunity to paint inside of a low income apartment just around the corner from where we live. It was so eye-opening to see how others live and everyday struggles they are going through. My parents helped pass out food at a low-income apartment community. After our events wrapped up, the church had a big BBQ with live music in our parking lot. The weather was perfect!

One Week 
As of my first major projects with Capital One, I had the opportunity to help out with a company-wide volunteer initiative, One Week. Over a one week period - the company completed over 500 volunteer projects across the United States (and 1/3 of our associates participated). Pretty amazing for the first year! I had the opportunity to oversee community projects in the Dallas / Collin County area as well as volunteer for a few. We did everything from landscaping projects with the Boys and Girls Clubs to teaching financial literacy to school-aged girls at Girls, Inc. I feel so blessed that I love my job. 

Volunteering at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Collin County during One Week!

Dog Sitting
Meet Lily and Daisy. The super cute and sweet dogs that we watched for a week for our friends (Megan and Luke Baker). The Baker's were our mentor team when we first became a CARES Team! We love them. When we first met, it was just them and their 2 dogs. Now, they have a 2 year old and and newborn twins! 


These dogs definitely have a personality. Between, fighting Lily to give her benadryl twice a day, calming the dogs when the fire alarm battery went out and they refused to eat their food and dragging hyper Daisy across the yard because she wants to explore... we had an experience! haha