Gail's 60th Birthday

Nik's mother Gail was turning 60 and the entire Kosach clan was meeting in Reno for the celebration. Nik and I flew down just in time for the event. A limo picked us up at the house and drove us about an hour and a half to Mt Tumba restaurant near Quincy, CA. The limo ride was the best part. We laughed and told funny stories and enjoyed every minute of Gail's birthday. At dinner we had a sassy waitress (who fit the setting perfectly) and we ate plates of all different cuts of meat for dinner. Gail's mother, Winn, came along too and Gail was so sweet to thank her mom for the life she has given her. It was so much fun and such a creative way to spend a monumental birthday.

The restaurant

The Kosach Family

The bride and groom to be

Keri, Nik and Susie

Happy birthday Gail/Mom!! We love you very much!!

The next day, we found out my mom had returned home early from visiting the LaDukes. So, my Mom and Ben picked us up and drove us to the lake where we enjoyed a great lunch at Garwood's on the lake and then headed to the Hyatt in Incline to hangout on the pier and take in the wonderful sunshine. Afterwards they took us back to their house where she cooked us her famous salmon and we sat outside in the gorgeous weather enjoying our last bits in Reno. 

Mom and Ben at Garwoods

The newest LaDuke

I would like to welcome my newest nephew to the family. His name is Liam Robert LaDuke and he was born at 8 lbs 11oz. He is the first boy for my sister Addie. We are so excited for the LaDukes and can't wait to meet him. What a cutie!!

David and Heather's Wedding

David and Heather

Nik's best friend, David, was getting married to his high school sweetheart, Heather, in Lake Tahoe, so Nik and I took a quick trip to the lake for some good times. Nik was in the wedding so I was fortunate to spend much of the time with Nik's parents. On Friday we went to the rehearsal dinner at Davids parents' house. They had a local girl do the catering (I forget her name) and friend's of the wedding party helped out. A good friend of my mom's (Sandy Beckett-Johnson) was there serving us food. She's great!! Nik gave a wonderful speech to his buddy, followed by many other speeches and it ended up being a fantastic night.

Pat, Nik and Josh (Nik's friends)

The next day, Nik left early with the wedding party and Gail, Steve and I headed up later. It took us a little bit longer than expected to get to the wedding and we got there just as Heather (the bride) was about to enter the room. It was a catholic wedding in Incline Village and the ceremony was so heart felt and sweet. At one point the priest asked all the couples who have been married for more than 35 years to stand up and give advice to the bride and groom. Gail and Steve stood because they are at 36 years and Steve's advice was to David. He said, "David, you can either be right, or you can be happy." Everyone laughed. He also spoke of trust with one another and it was very sweet.

Afterwards Nik took the wedding party "Party Bus" down to Heavenly and I rode with the Kosach's. At Heavenly we took the tram up to the top of the mountain and enjoyed great food, dancing, dancing and more dancing. The bride and groom were gorgeous and you could tell they were having the time of their lives. We had a great time as well and enjoyed every minute of it.

Sarah and me

Nik's wedding attire

Nik and Josh

We forgot the camera, so please excuse the bad pictures from the iphone. 

Nik's new gig

Nik has been so patient in his job at Everest. It definitely was not his ideal job, but it was a job and he was happy to have just that. He applied and applied for many jobs, just trying to get an interview on his down time. Finally, he got his chance. Not only did he get an interview, but they flew him to LA for a day to do a ride along and now he has the job.

He has been hired by Warner Chilcott as a Pharmaceutical Sales Representative.  This is a big jump in careers and he and I are very excited for his new adventure. Currently he is in New Jersey for 12 days training for the position. His territory will be NW Oregon, so he might spend a night here and there away in Bend, but luckily not too much more traveling than that.

Nik, I am very proud of you and admire your patience and persistence to get a job you want. YAY!!!!

Nik celebrating!

Sunday Parkways

I am getting a little behind in my updates, only because the weather has finally gotten better and we are spending much more time outdoors. About four times a week, Nik and I are BBQing on the roof of our building. There is a BBQ and a fire pit to enjoy when the weather is good and we have been fully embracing this amenity.

Every weekend there seems to be some sort of festival or event going on, so we make sure to try as much as possible. A few weeks a go, Nik and I participated in Sunday Parkways. It is a series of Sundays, where the city shuts down a loop of regular streets (each time in a different neighborhood) so the public can walk, ride their bike, skip, skateboard or do what ever they want. This is an excuse to explore the city without having the burden of traffic. Nik and I participated in the downtown event and we enjoyed ourselves on our bikes around town for the day. Sunday Parkways

The next weekend was the Oregon Brewers Festival. Nik is kind of a beer connoisseur, so this was a definite must for the weekend. There were hundreds of breweries participating in the event and we did our best to try a few. Nik always teaches me a few things about the flavor and taste of beer when we do things like this so we had a good time sipping the different beers. We went on a Sunday, which was supposed to be the "not so busy day". By the looks of the pictures below, it was definitely busy. We had fun regardless.

Summers here really are so much fun. It makes up for the rest of the years weather. I am lucky to have the best partner in crime to go to all of these events. Nik and I are really enjoying our life in Portland.