by kenny

When we went to Portland a while back we were introduced to Andy Combs and the Moth. And they were great. Really great. They decided to do a small tour through Oregon and Washington and one of the locations was Pendleton, Oregon, a town not too far away from us. Ben drove Linnea (Lorin's mom), Laura, and I to Pendleton and we had, as expected, a great time hanging out with friends and listening to the Moth. We hung out late into the night and left early in the morning just in time to see a chicken actually crossing the road. We don't know why.

by laura beth

So we decided to saying John Day, at least for the summer. Kenny's able to work at the pizza place where he used to work and I quickly lined up several house cleaning jobs. Diesel is expensive.

by laura beth

Jennifer, Jennifer, Jennifer. I really love this woman. We became great friends in Jr. High. She was a cowgirl from a ranching family. We had sleepovers all the time. We were in at looking and sewing classes together. In high school we double-dated for proms, and were on homecoming court together. She was a rodeo queen and an incredible academic achiever. She got straight A's and was our class president and Valedictorian. She went to Stanford. I visited Jennifer her first year there, and she had the hugest secret crush on this guy, Nate. That was in 1997 or 1998. Now he's her husband and she's a doctor. They make a wonderful couple don't get excited for every wedding, but when it's right, it's right, and they are right. their moving from Portland to Boise, ID where Jennifer will begin her residency. I suppose we have drifted since high school, busy with our separate & different lives, but she will always be special to me.

They got married at McMenamin's Edgefield. The outdoor ceremony was short but wonderful (I started crying, which made Tyler cry), hurried by a downpour in the last few minutes. The reception was great, made even better by great food and an open bar. Jennifer, in her wonderful foresight sat 8 friends together-- Tonia, Mitch, Thadd, Jess (and baby Charlie), Tyler & his partner Frank, and Kenny & I. We had such a great time.

On our way home we stopped at Multnomah Falls along the Historic Columbia River Highway, which we take when we can. It's gorge-ous.

by laura beth

While in Portland for Jennifer's wedding, we visited some other friends that live in town. I went to high school with John and Lorin Coleman, and only after Kenny and I were married and living in John Day did I get to know Steve Coleman. All three brothers live in Portland now. Their parents, Neal and Linnea, are wonderful people and live in Canyon City. John is married to Barb and they have two beautiful daughters, Frankie and Violet. Lorin and Steve live in a house with several other people, including a couple other Grant County natives I know from high school, Tom the photographer and Luke the painter. Another painter and friend, Maggie Willis, was also in town. She lives in Salt Lake City but had been traveling (Vermont to Alaska) with an art installment called Waves of Mu. I'm so glad her flight home to SLC coincided with Jennifer's wedding. I love this woman and rarely get to see her. Check her out here and here. We also got to see friend Eben, who might be the epitome of awesome.

The Coleman brothers are all very musically gifted. Lorin has been drumming with a local band, Andy Combs and the Moth, and we were able to see them play our first night in town. Quite possibly the most alive live music I've seen. The band members are individually incredibly talented, but together they create something so unique and beautiful and fun. And they have such a great time, which is what makes it such a joy to watch. After the crackerjack music we ate some crackerjack Belgian style frites at Potato Champion. Thanks, Steve, for sharing this little gem with us!

Next morning, we had an amazing brunch at John and Barbs. It was sooooo good to spend time with far away friends.

by kenny

3 years ago our friend, Ben Willis, invited us to an annual Cinco de Mayo party at Don Hann and Anne Schneider's house. And so far we have gone every year since, but I think this will be our last year as hopefully we will be in another state this time next year. I love this party. I was so excited when we came back for Jennifer's wedding that we would also be able to go to the party. The house has a big yard on Canyon Creek. There is a nice fire pit, a sauna, and hammocks all over the place. Everybody brings different food dishes to share and everything is unique and good. There are drums to be played inside and various kinds of rum to be tasted. After dark the strobe lights are brought out as well as a pinata. The kids have a go at it and eventually adults bust it open. Out flys candy and airplane bottles of booze. The kids can't have them, so you have to be quick to offer them candy for booze before someone else gets to them. I ended up with 3 bottles and a little candy left over. It is just a great night and I hope whenever we stop moving we will have our own Cinco de Mayo celebration.

Cinco de Mayo is also my dad's birthday and my brother-in-law Tim's. So happy birthday Dad and Tim.

Oh, and earlier today we went to a festival celebrating the local Chinese history and the Kam Wah Chung museum re-opening. A multi-cultural day for us.