My first nephew!

I am proud to announce my sister Sarah has brought a beautiful baby boy into this world. His name is Dax and I can't wait for the day I finally get to meet him. Congratulations Sarah and Zach for your new addition. I am so happy for you!!

Dax Lyle Latham was born on April 18th, officially Tax Day this year. Nik has renamed the official day as Dax Day. Welcome Dax to the family!

Easter Weekend Wine Tasting

For Easter weekend Nik and I wanted to do something fun. We don't have any family here, so we decided to get out of town and head to Hood River for some wine tasting. Nik has always been a beer guy, but he swore it off for Lent, so I figured this was a good time to break him out of his shell and taste some wine instead. He had never been tasting before, so I new this was going to be a treat. We started at a place called Wy'East Winery and worked ourselves around the valley at different wineries tasting away. 

The Hood River Valley is actually becoming really well known for its wines. We enjoyed most of the places, buying bottles to take home. The best part was, we met two couples who were staying at our hotel. We kept running into them around the wineries and really hit it off. We finished the night having dinner with the group. It was so much fun! To top it all off, the weather was spectacular. It was the warmest it had been all year and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. 

The name of the winery is Naked Winery

The next morning, Nik and I had a great breakfast followed by Wanda getting her swim time in the Columbia River. We really just spent Easter Day shopping around and enjoying the last bit of sunshine we were to get for a few days. Bad weather was coming again. 

We enjoyed ourselves immensely, but at the same time we missed being with our families. We hope each of you had a wonderful Easter. We love you!

Kosach weekend

We have been trying to get family to come visit for quite some time. Nik's parents (Steve and Gail) decided they would be the first ones. They flew in late Friday in time to go to a late dinner. Saturday I had to work, but I met them for lunch and Nik was able to go to a baseball game with his dad (their favorite). That night we had dinner at Irving St Kitchen (a place Nik and I have been eyeing for sometime) then we met our friends for some drinks at a near by martini bar. All of Nik's friends are very fond of the Kosachs. The Kosachs spent many weekend here during Nik's college days, so they are close with all of his friends. Sunday they were already heading back to Reno early so we walked the downtown area for some exercise then had a nice lunch at our favorite italian place (Piazza Italia). It was a quick trip for them and we were sad to see them go, but we were so excited they finally got to see our home, my work and our new life up in Portland. It was great to see you both and please do come back soon! I forgot to snap the photos this weekend. So sorry I only have one.

After Nik's parents left we took an afternoon nap to settle all the food we had eaten, then we headed to the Winterhawks hockey game. This is the minor league hockey team in Portland. All of the players are under the age of 21 and they are feisty things. It was playoffs and the testosterone was flying. Fight after fight, but also some really great plays and goals. We were fortunate enough to get free tickets from some nice man, who just happen to have some. As we were walking to the ticket counter, he asked if we had tickets yet. When we told him no, he said he had some for us. It was great!! We had great seats and great company and the stadium was a 15 minute walk from our apartment. It was a wonderful weekend with great company, food and entertainment.

A break to the sunshine

Nik and I were fortunate enough to fly down to La Quinta (near Palm Springs) for the weekend to visit my Dad and Sherri. It was so nice to get away from Portland and see the beautiful sun, but it was also the first time we have gotten to see their new house. It of course was beautiful. Right on the golf course with a pool and great views. It has been quite sometime since we have spent any real time with my Dad so we made sure to spend all the time possible together. Nik and I had so much fun. We golfed, we swam, we ran, we ate, we rode bikes, he learned to cast a fly (on the golf course) and we laid out in the sun. What a wonderful weekend!!

Thanks Dad and Sherri for having us down. We enjoyed every minute of it. Nik already has his golf clubs up in Portland and he is ready to go to the driving range. We love you and look forward to having  you guys up here!