There's Always So Much To Wander About

It has been said that one should collect moments/memories, not things.

We have been trying to do that this summer; however, we have also managed to collect a lot of frequent flyer miles along with those memories. Our family has been traveling in lots of different directions, but we managed to meet up in the Pacific Northwest in July.

We have a lot of family traditions.

Some are silly.

Some are not.

Each Independence Day, we gather together in Vancouver, WA, 

for a family gathering.

Not silly.

When anyone flies into PDX, a photo must be taken before leaving the 'port.

The airport sign must be obvious.

Silly!

We flew from Dallas to Portland on June 30th. It's "plane" to see that we are have fun when we are up in the air.

Over the course of an eleven day time period, there were nine flights in and out of the Portland 'port, as family members came and went. My sister actually had the great idea of writing out all of the flight schedules on a whiteboard so that we could keep all the comings and goings straight. We kept a "shuttle bus" rolling to and fro. HA! Thankfully, it is only a fifteen minute drive from Point A to Point B. I think we all had reminders set on our phones, too, so we wouldn't leave anyone stranded at the terminal. Pulling double duty on the reminders certainly qualifies as the old "belt and suspenders" method. It all worked. Airport arrivals and departures all flowed, and no man was left behind.

Grandpa was the first to make it to the Pacific NW.

Then 4/5 of our family arrived.

The "father and son reunion" was a surprise to one, but not the other. It's pretty amazing that we are able to keep secrets and surprises... These two arrived on different days; #3 and #4 treks to the airport.

Cousin Linda jetted in from San Francisco for a few days. It is always a lot of fun to get to spend time with her!

Moments after Linda's flight arrived, the European Wander Woman flew in from Switzerland via Los Angeles. We all were VERY excited to see her!

She was not exempt from having to take a picture by the entrance/exit (depending upon one's orientation!) doors and that frequently-photographed sign.

After a short drive to our "home away from home," Liesey Lou was able to give her grandpa a big squeeze!

Here is how the rest of the week in Washington looked:

Millie Girl got to visit with 'Lina one afternoon. I think it had been three years since our families had seen one another, so we had a little catching up to do. We were so busy talking that we neglected to get a picture of all of the adults together.

German Chocolate Cake.  

'Nuf said.

 These four heeded the call of nature -- or something like that! 

What I meant to say is that nature beckoned, they listened, and took a hike.

Best of all, no one got lost.

Ape Cave had some effect on these two. They are obviously selfie-absorbed spelunkers.

Grabbing lunch at the food truck block in Portland always presents the opportunity to pose for a pic and really mean it when you say, "Cheese!"

 There's nothing cheesy about this crew...

So, what do you call a fake noodle?

An impasta.

These noodles were NOT imposters, they were the real deal. Homemade fettuccine noodle making is the only way these two roll when they are in charge of planning the menu. La buona cucina! (There were no leftovers, and I may have witnessed someone licking the serving spoon.) 

 The twin grin is in.

 All the cool visitors to the 'Couv sport plaid shorts when playing croquet.

Family photos sometimes feel forced, look awkward, and don't quite capture everyone's true colors...

HOWEVER, this pose describes our family perfectly. 

I think we just might have a winner for our 2015 Christmas card picture.