Sabbatical, Japan, Oahu, Traverse City, Lolo Surprise and Back to School

Our family trip to Japan was a whirlwind adventure.  It is easy to fall in love with Japan as a tourist with the chance to peek in on a culture that intertwines nature, history, and modern technology so beautifully.  The food is delicious and the Japanese have created this clean and impressively safe society.  

Overall, I'll remember the following from Japan

- Seeing our dear friends Aya, Ichiro, and Ren from Okinawa.  We had one of our best days ever spending time with them.

- Goosebumps moment:  seeing a sticker that says "Eric Around the World" on a railing while taking a picture of Tokyo Skytree during an early morning walk.  No other sticker in sight - my brother Eric and family were very much on my mind due to Eric's 1 year heavenly anniversary.  

- Observing my kids fall in love with new food and new sights. They were troopers moving around every couple of days to someplace new.

- Missing being able to chat with the locals freely; I really do love the light chitchat with strangers. Grateful for Google Translate which is as necessary as taking your passport to navigate Japan.

The good easily outweighed the bad.  Japan was really good to us. 

Oahu stop on the way back to Portland.  Turtle Bay Condos on the North Shore. 

Nate took Paul and Elise to Traverse City shortly after our Japan trip to see his family while enjoying life on the lake for a week.  

Lolo came to visit during the first week of school.  We always LOVE having Lolo here.  Lily started her sophomore year at Lincoln and is busy in some new classes like Journalism and Computer Science and playing her 2nd year of varsity volleyball.  Paul and Elise started 7th grade and they have mixed feelings.  They have math, language arts, and art together which was a nice surprise.  Paul is going to do a mountain biking team, cross country, and tennis this fall. Elise will start up karate again.

Paul was able to take his boot off shortly after returning and slowly get back to enjoying his sports. He joined a mountain biking team and completed his first race. He and Nate also love watching Timbers games together.  Our 9th Annual neighborhood Block Party also happened with special remembrance of our dear neighbors and Block Party regulars Johanna and David who passed away this summer.

We are quickly all coming back down to Earth as we think past Labor Day Weekend.  Nate's 2 month sabbatical is ending. He is returning to work on Tuesday in a new managerial position for a company that is going through a lot of layoffs right now.  The day-to-day routine and fewer family dinners together is about to start.  We knew it was coming.  It's okay.  We had a heckuva summer.

2024 Start of Summer & Japan Eve

We are leaving on a family trip to Japan tomorrow.  Nate has very much taken the lead in planning this trip. We both went on separate work trips to Japan years back and loved it.

Nate earned a work sabbatical that started in early July and will extend into early September.    This provided an opportunity to take a "big" family trip and Japan won. We will explore several cities around Japan.  We are especially excited to see our good friends Aya, Ichiro, and their son Ren whom we haven't seen for about 5 years now.  

Other than this trip taking up plenty of real estate in our heads, we have also taken advantage of what Portland is so well known for - wonderful summer weather. 

Here are some glimmers from these past couple of months. As I was looking back at pictures I had taken, I noticed that I was picking family and sibling shots for a certain reason: there wasn't any fighting between my daughters for +/- an hour or so from the photo snap, a true glimmer reprieve. Yes, it's hard to believe looking at the pictures how much our girls fight.  Paul really does a good job staying out of it.

Family trip to Bend over Memorial Day to cheer on Paul in his baseball tournament.  Enjoying an easy Spaghetti dinner at our cute Airbnb.

Our girls did a nice job cheering on Paul overall.  Giving Elise the fancy camera to take pictures definitely helped.  Had a little fun with a sibling shot 10 years apart.

End of year 6th grade band concert.  Paul really likes the drums and plans to continue band next year.

Elise made this crafty vase out of shattered Paulaner beer bottle and fabric flowers

Thank you Inside Out 2 for helping me get all my kids to the tennis court for some family tennis before hitting the movie theater to watch what will easily be one of my favorite movies of the year. 

Elise and I took a quick 24 hour trip to Bend to see her favorite band, Vampire Weekend.  It was in an outdoor theater. I was watching her almost as much as the stage.  The moment they started playing, her face lit up. I included a couple links to the concert below.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/65ad9GTEFHB9QDA99

https://photos.app.goo.gl/16hXAji63HREW3R69

Father's Day at Olympia Provisions.  Charcuterie and Octopus for the win.

Super proud of Paul and his bike crew riding to school regularly throughout the year up a steep incline in the early morning for several miles.  

Gma and Gpa came in early June for a quick visit after their Canada adventures.  This visit ended up being a bit of a doozy with both Gma and Gpa bringing Covid with them and most of us ended up getting sick too - but testing negative...?  At least we got to enjoy one meal out together with Gma.  

Proud of Elise for marching in the Pride parade with a couple of her friends in an inflatable unicorn costume.  She had a blast.   She even made it on the news.

Enjoyed a quick weekend getaway with dear friends on Bainbridge Island.  It was super chill, calm, and relaxing.  This is at Boedel Reserve.

Fun Girls Night on Abby's boat.  20+ years of Girls Nights.

This is the first picture of 12 year old Elise where it took me aback looking at it because I saw a grown up Elise in it...like I know what she'll look like when she's much older for the first time.

Family dinner celebrating the first night of Dad's sabbatical.  Sushi of course.

Paul and Nate making time for mountain biking in between baseball games.  Ironic that just one month later, it would be a baseball game that resulted in a broken foot for Paul just a day before he's supposed to leave with Nate, a couple of best biking friends, and their Dads, on a mountain biking trip/camp.  Trip canceled.  Nate and Paul were super bummed.  This was how Nate was kicking off his work sabbatical too.  Oh well.  Best silver lining is that a walking boot will suffice in Japan.  No crutches - yay.

May 2024 - Spring moments

There are two phrases I tell my kids a lot before they take on whatever it may be:

1) You only have control over your preparation, effort, and attitude. 

2) Work hard, play hard, and be a good sport.  

We've been saying these phrases a lot these days.  Raising tweens and teenagers feels like putting our foot on the gas of time (literally) in different directions.  

I think Nate and I are pretty chill overall with what is thrown our way - a teenager with minimal interest in hanging with her family, troubling health news from loved ones, job stress and security, and child anxiety come to mind. We are so very grateful for the good thrown our way too seen in the pics below.

Lily is now 15.  She is a focused and competitive young lady, whether it's being super motivated at improving her volleyball game or staying on top of her school work.  She is super independent with big goals and little interest in spending time with her family.  She is kind and goofy with her friends. Slowing down to learn life skills like doing her chores correctly (psst sweeping the floor or helping cook dinner) has plenty of room for improvement.  She isn't a hugger but she is responsive and ready to help when we ask (even with the eye roll) which we appreciate.

Lily loves playing front row

Here are a few more heart happy moments from the recent past.

                Our robins Lenny and Larry are back on our front porch.  The amount of joy and the number of "Hi Lenny" we say when entering or exiting our home is high these days.

Elise tried Track and Field for the first time.  High jump and long jump were the events she enjoyed the most. Super proud of her effort sticking with it the whole season.

We are no longer a home needing a playset in our backyard.  Paul and Elise enjoyed destroying it to make way for we don't know what next. 

Lolo and I took Oma and Opa to the Indian Wells Tennis tournament.  It was tennis heaven.  We all enjoyed the warm sun and the high quality tennis. My "heart beating fast can't stop smiling" happy moment was watching Sinner play.  

Elise spoiled us by teaching all of us how to make our own sushi. Even Oma and Opa rolled their own sushi.  

Our good friend Sara visited Portland with her beautiful family.  Just a simple visit with a good friend.

The only change to this year's Easter traditions was Lily being out of town at a volleyball tournament.  The rest of us made sure to enjoy Solleier and a backyard egg hunt.

Honoring and celebrating Eric on his first heavenly birthday sharing memories while out for lunch together.

Enjoying Chipotle late on a Sunday night after Paul won a tennis tournament.

Mental health day for Elise landed us in the Gorge enjoying the wildflowers.

Over 20 years of Monday nights with these beautiful ladies. Enjoying a change of routine with a private fashion/styling party at a local boutique from an auction win.  I'm so grateful for each of them.

Obligatory Mother's Day ask - picture of my kids.  Elise wearing jeans is the biggest surprise in this snap.

Speaking of surprises, my sister and I had so much fun laughing while prepping for her surprise visit to Portland wearing an inflatable unicorn costume.  Lolo is such a good sport.

On Lily's bday, we did some shopping before dinner.  Such a random and kinda mundane moment but it makes my heart happy being all together.

Lily on her 15th Birthday.  She wanted Indian food (mostly for the Mango Lassi).

My two faves at the Fireside bar talking about how many times we say Gesundheit before it's annoying and won't say it anymore.

Progressive dinner with our SDC friends crew.  It was a super fun night being all together. We all knew each other before Covid but Covid really brought this crew closer and we continue to have a blast and support each other however we can.

One more month of school left.  Unlike previous years, we don't have much planned other than our big trip to Japan in July.  The days of camp spreadsheet tracking activities are fading.

Our Friend Troy

When our kids were young and we had recently moved back to Portland, we were blessed when a couple of long time friends, Dot and Troy, moved to Portland too.   Dot was Nate's college roommate, and before she and her husband Troy moved to Portland, we were friends who saw each other here and there whenever we happened to be in the same town.

The few years we all spent living in Portland at the same time was incredibly special and we knew it in the moment.  Nate and I both recall telling each other how lucky we are to have such good long time friends in our lives that live so close. The extra icing on the cake was how much they cared about our kids and showed it over and over again.  They truly exemplified what it means to show their love through action towards our kids, and I'll be forever grateful for the impact it's left on them.   They hosted fancy tea parties with my girls, taught them how to do handstands, made the best grilled PB&J and BLT's, did fancy hair up-do's, gifted us the most detailed carved pumpkin of a scenic landscape at Halloween, played dress up, and we shared so many delicious meals together.  Keep in mind, they did not have children of their own, yet still chose to include our kids the majority of the time.   

We spent a lot of time together.  We threw the football around in the street during halftime of Michigan football games (Go Blue!), enjoyed Thanksgiving together with a side of sushi, adventured to Mt. Angel Oktoberfest, the list goes on.  Troy blew us all away when he wrote and illustrated a children's book for Lily about her and our family after a simple conversation he had with her.  Dot got it bound and gifted it to us.  "Lily Skis Mt Hood" sits proudly on our bookshelf.

Dot and Troy ended up moving to Bainbridge Island to their dream home after a couple years in Portland.  We visited them once as they were settling in.  We searched for sea glass on the shore, explored their large garden and their new home full of so many large windows and lots of light.  We could easily see why they wanted to make the move to this dream spot.

 A short while later on Father's Day 2018, Troy was on a morning run with his friend.  A high school student fell asleep at the wheel and hit them both.  Troy's friend died from his injuries.  Troy was airlifted to the hospital.   A devastating spinal cord injury resulted in Troy becoming a quadriplegic.  His days as an elite athlete running ultra marathons, climbing mountains, and skiing were no longer possible.  Dot's role became not only wife and best friend to Troy but also nurse, caretaker, and advocate 24-7.  So much changed in an instant.

I had mentioned in a previous post that the time around my brother's final phase of life was not only devastatingly painful but also full of genuine love.  I was witness to the most pure, deep, and beautifully raw form of love at the end of his life.  Dorothy and Troy's journey from the helicopter airlift to over five years of living as a quadriplegic introduced my whole family to what it truly means to take care of someone in sickness and in health with such love and concern every moment of the day.   The hardships they faced are truly unfathomable.  I'll never forget how his smile and humor still lit up the hospital room even with the knowledge he'd have to accept a new quality of life simply through no fault of his own.  I remember hunting down a Burrito Supreme from El Farol near the hospital and on the walk to his room passed so many staff members who spoke so kindly of Troy and his positive spirit. Troy was an intellectual, a PhD economist, Michigan football lover, and so driven to be so damn good in all his varying interests.  His kindness though was the common thread through all of it.  

Troy died last week from complications from his injuries.  I wrote this post because I want people to know who he is.  I want to honor him and his loving wife Dot.  We love you so much. 

One of Troy's favorite quotes was

"Only deeds done for others have meaning on both sides of the grave."

He loved it so much, he wanted to memorize it in the language it originated in.

"Nur die Tat die fur andere getan worden ist hat bedeutung beide seits des grabes."

I'm so glad I found this moment between Troy and Nate.  Troy was trying to shake Nate's hand and Troy said the handshake was the start of forming a committee that believed Jim Harbaugh should serve as coach Michigan Football in perpetuity.  This was when he was still pretty controversial.  Troy knew....

I hope you to take the time to look at these pictures, see his face, hear his voice.  We feel so blessed to have had Troy, for the short time it ended up being.  

https://photos.app.goo.gl/2mwkuaZ7

 

2024 - Go Blue, Vegas Baby, The Comfy

 2024 started out with a big teary eyed smile seeing Michigan win the National Championship again after 30 years of close seasons and plenty of disappointments.  My brother would have loved to have seen it happen; he was emotionally vested and so passionate about his opinions of the team.  Go Blue! 

A devastating storm hit Portland in January that shut most of the city down for a week..  The ice and wind wreaked havoc across the city with so many downed trees, loss of power, and damage to homes.  We were very lucky keeping power. Nate and Lily made it out before it all went down to Lily's volleyball tournament in Houston.  We had tickets to a Blazers game at the start of the storm when the Phoenix Suns were already in town and chose to keep the game on even though conditions were only getting worse.   I was proud of Paul and Elise for braving the conditions to make the long walk to the arena for a little adventure. 

Paul and Elise making churros together during the storm.

Nate and I took a 48 hour getaway to Vegas to see U2 at the Sphere.  A U2 concert was our first date on tax day 2001.  It was the first time the two of us have flown anywhere together alone since having kids.  It was exactly what we hoped it would be, not only the concert, but simply traveling and exploring again - just the two of us, like we once did a lot more of back in the day.  Here is Nate drinking a margarita while watching the gondolas go by indoors at the Venetian.

I fell in love with Meow Wolf years ago on a trip with my sister to Sante Fe.  I'm so glad Nate was game to give the only other location of Meow Wolf a go in Vegas.  Its such a fun interactive art experience that is so wonderfully silly and creative.  Big recommend.

We are super proud of Elise for passing her Karate belt test.  We were all able to go and see her earn her purple belt.  She is such a strong force out there and we are super impressed with what she has learned.  Don't pick a fight with her.

Another rare outing we got to do was take Paul out on a date, just the 3 of us.  We took him out to eat at an upscale Mediterranean restaurant, checked out a packed Portland Night Market, and enjoyed the Portland Lights Festival on the way home.  We were loving every moment of our date with him.  He can be so fun.

Snapped a pic of my Valentines before they headed off to school.  Please note Elise wearing something other than sweatpants and a sweatshirt.  Woohoo.

Our Valentine's Day celebration of king crab legs continues.  Opa knows where to get the best deal in town.  They spoiled us this year even making mashed potatoes with bacon.  Such a fantastic meal.  Thanks for joining Oma and Opa.

Paul is not our big reader so I had to document him immersed in "The Martian." He has finally experienced getting sucked into a novel and the feeling of not wanting to put it down.

Moxie gets around.  Plenty of cozy cuddles and kids in their "Comfy" hoodies in 2024.  The Comfy has been a staple fashion choice by all the kids for the last few months around the house.

President's Day weekend has us all in different places.  Elise and I are home busy with Girl Scout cookie season and group fun.  Paul and Nate are in Black Butte with friends skiing and hot tubbing.  Lily is living it up in Vegas doing what she loves on the volleyball court and getting to check out a new city with volleyball friends.  

                                    

My sister and I are taking our parents to the Indian Wells tennis tournament.  Going to a tennis tournament has been on my mom's bucket list for a long time; it's about time. My Dad went to Wimbledon long ago. It'll be fun.  Eric definitely played a hand in making this trip finally happen. Thanks Eric.   I am a HUGE Sinner fan.  My favorite Christmas gift was a T-shirt of Sinner.  He won the Australian Open which also brought me a teary smile.  I hope I get to see him. Watch out small children; I'll elbow you out of the way for a picture or an autograph.  Maybe I should bring my rackets in case he'd like to hit :)