Our Trip to Oregon

We took Levi to the Portland Temple.  It is beautiful, but that is an understatement.  I have been inside once, and LOVED it.  There is my favorite Celestial Room found in this Temple.

I think the spires are especially cool.

Here we are, at the ocean, on my birthday!  Cory is running like they did on Chariots of Fire.  Only he's not wearing white shorty shorts.  And music is not playing.  And it's not the same beach.  And he's not as fast.  But still, it was a cool moment.

It was cold and breezy...

Here is Cory's fun jump into the dune below...

And here is my very boring, not really a jump, into the dune below.

So we went on business, (why else could we afford a trip to Oregon?), and these are our funny and very nice hosts, Kathy and Fritz.  We were there for a "20 group", which is a meeting of campground owners to share and discuss financial stuff.  There were 5 other campgrounds represented, and we learned a lot.

 So I have to tell you why this was one of my favorite birthdays...
I have been wanting to learn how to make stained glass stuff.  Mainly little things like stars to hang in windows like these:

I had never found a glass shop where you could buy supplies.  Well, my friend Kathy (above) had some stained glass hanging in her windows, and I asked her about it, and she told me about her friend Lucy in town who helped her with her creations.  When I found out about Lucy, I knew I had to meet her!  So, on my birthday, Cory took me to her shop, and she stayed later than her usual hours to show me how to cut glass and work with it, and she gave me a deal on all the stuff to get me started, and she was such a sweetheart to us-- especially Levi.  She has a cool raspy voice and curly long hair and hands that have worked with a lot of glass and made many beautiful things.  I wish I had taken a picture of her.
Cory was glad to find something I really loved for my birthday, because last year I pouted more than I'd like to admit about the fact that he really hadn't planned anything.  (Last year's birthday was probably my least favorite ever.  Up until that point, I ALWAYS had a sunny day for my birthday.  I considered it my present from Heaven.  Well, last year, it was cloudy, I was grumpy with my Husband, and the spirit pretty much flew out the window.  So, I determined from then on that "you get what you get and you don't throw a fit", as I always tell my children, and.... I was very excited with what I got this year. )   AND on the night before my birthday, KOA bought our group dinner, and I had the honestly best food I've ever eaten in my memory.  Halibut stuffed with crab and shrimp in a casserole dish with a lovely cream sauce.  Holy cow I felt spoiled after all that.

And my next post is going to be about April 2011- our MONTH of SPIRITUAL HIGHS!  But I need to do some picture gathering first.  But yeah, it was so awesome.