Oregon trip...

Here I am between two of my oldest and dearest friends, Sarah and Amanda, and I'm the only one in the picture who was not pregnant. Sarah had twins, and Amanda is expecting her second baby (boy) anytime now. We all met up in Oregon where Sarah and Marie-Christine (see below) live. Amanda and I got to stay in a nice hotel room on her husband's points one night (gotta love that!), and I stayed with Marie-Christine on the second night. All four of us--and Marie-Christine's son and my godson, Daniel--met up at a fantastic ethnic restaurant on Saturday for some good conversation and delightful, hot and doughy pita bread that was half the size of the table. As usual, I had a great time visiting my treasured friends, but this visit felt a bit shorter and more scattered for me since I got in around lunchtime on Friday and had to be leaving already by late afternoon on Sunday. I stole away some much-needed time to myself out at Marie-Christine's rural abode on Sunday morning, and I'm really glad that I did. It's so peaceful and beautiful out there, and I was glad that I could experience it with and without my dear friend.