Weekend Up North

Saturday was the first day of March.  HALLELUJAH!!!  Getting through February and January is really an achievement to be celebrated each year.  Especially this year, as it has taken a while for John to regain his full health - which he is nearly at (still waiting on his vision to fully improve) - and it was a very hard season for me with a lot of dark skies leading to darker moods.  

So, when February ended with sunshine - it was even better.  This pic of Flowering Plum Trees was not too far off the mark, as they were fully bloomed by the second week of March.  Gorgeous - spring is almost here!

It was another tournament weekend for Mikayla - this time landing on a Sunday.  So, we chose a Springhill Suites about 10 minutes from the tourney site and stayed Friday night through Sunday.  On Saturday morning, I stayed behind to be lazy with Brayden while Mikayla and John took their "Early Bird" personalities on an adventure - shopping, picking up electronics, and ending up at Red Robin.  I know these Saturday morning dates are priceless to them both.  

I had to prove I was there too by taking a selfie with the kids later that afternoon in the hotel's hot tub.

Sunday was a LONG day.  It's a good thing we were able to get a lot of "chill time" in on Saturday in light of that.  There was a lot of waiting for games to start, dead time, and food wasn't allowed on the premises.  To top it off, we awoke to freezing rain coating the streets, and turning the trees to crystal structures.  I don't know if the forecasters saw that coming - we just happened to be at the right place at the right time to experience it along the gorge.  

That bottom left picture was snapped by Brayden as we drove home through downtown Portland.  Obviously, it was late.  Getting home at 9:30 on a Sunday night isn't really my favorite way to end a weekend...