So, I finally got to spend some time with Brian and his fiance, Kami. They had the day off work, so we had all sorts of adventures. We started by going to Sushi Tsunami, one of those conveyor belt sushi places. You grab what looks good as it comes by.
I have always been a little afraid of sushi - I don't exactly like eating raw things, or cold rice. But I told myself I would try it for Brian's sake. It was actually pretty good. I only ate one piece that had raw salmon on it, but everything else was good. I think my favorite was some kind of california roll with a sweet chili sauce on it. After the sushi adventure, we decided to hit up downtown Vancouver, WA. It was very small, or quaint, but Brian and Kami introduced me to their new hobby, antiquing. It was fun to imagine ways to use all the old items. We also stopped at a store called Pop Culture. I think it's popular at night for concerts and such, but they sell an amazing assortment of soda in bottles. Brian had a pomegranate soda, Kami had some sort of blue cream soda, while I stuck with a good ole Harry Weinhart's cream soda. Delicious!After touring downtown, we headed over to Portland and hit up OMSI - Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. I have loved this place since I was a little kid. Sadly I did not take any pictures. They had an amazing Einstein exhibit going on and I was thoroughly impressed. A lot of the other exhibits are geared a little too young for me to enjoy anymore, but it was fun going down memory lane. After OMSI, we headed back to their apartment to watch some Fraggle Rock. Brian also decided to cook up some oysters he had gotten. In case you've never seen one, this is what they look like in the shell. Usually when you buy them they've already been shucked. They're not very appetizing still in the shell...
Here's a picture of Brian cleaning out the oysters...
The adventures continued when I got back to Kat's that night. Apparently one of the chickens got out of the coup and Michael and Kat were running around trying to catch it. It was hilarious! 
They did eventually catch the chicken, and duct tapped the coup so it couldn't get out again. Those were the highlights of the vacation. Now I'm back in Vegas dealing with another round of tonsillitis (the second round this month!) I'm working on getting some work projects done and getting a gym routine established. I'm also registering for classes at UNLV in the fall to finish up my master's degree and looking at administration programs for the next year. It's gonna be a busy year, so I'm relaxing while I can!
I decided to take a little trip to Washington this summer, so I wouldn't get too bored hanging around Vegas. Kat and I went to go see the A-Team and both really liked it. It's kind of like being reunited with old friends, since we watched so much of the original tv show growing up. We also had a whole bucket full of oysters, which are by far my favorite seafood. They were pretty amazing! On Friday we had lunch with Aunt Marti. It was really good to catch up with her, especially since she was recently diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer. We wish her all the best with her upcoming treatment! We also managed to convince (guilt trip) Cheri into coming down for a couple days...
Cheri wanted to go wandering, so we went out to Lackamas Lake and hiked around a bit. It's really pretty out there, but the mosqitos practically ate us alive! Cheri was constantly swatting herself and by the time we left it looked like she had some weird disease. I thought I got away without too many bites, but mine just took longer to show up. 2 days later and I seem to have bites everywhere!
We found a nice bridge on one of the trails we were on, so of course we had to stop and take a bunch of pictures!
I don't know what Cheri was thinking when she took this one...
At least we got one, somewhat normal looking one.
Saturday, we decided to hit downtown Portland. 
Cheri had never been to Voodoo Doughnuts, so we took her there first. They make crazy doughnuts and there is always a line!
I got an m&m doughnut and Cheri got some sort of mango doughnut. Kat couldn't decide, so she got one of each. None of us were feeling very adventurous this time.
Next we hit up Saturday market. It's down on the waterfront and tons of fun. For the main area, people are only allowed to sell handmade items. There's another area where people set up booths and sell whatever they want. You can find some really great, unique stuff. It's kind of like Etsy, only live. I've been here many times, so the only pictures I took this time were of things that caught my eye.
This Shakespeare shirt made me think of Mary...
Such gorgeous flowers!!
There are always a lot of really cool artists with their works on display. This artist's work made me think of Rick and art that would be good for a dance studio...
This statue guy is usually hanging around somewhere...
This girl mad a dress entirely from newspaper...
An impromptu break dance session...
After Saturday market, we stopped by Subway and brought lunch to Michael, sort of an impromptu picnic at the park. Michael was working at Mt. Tabor that day and it's a gorgeous park on top of the hill, with a great view of Portland. It also has about 4 reservoirs of the city's water supply, which is why Michael works there.
Cheri also wanted to stop by and see Aunt Marti, so we went to her house in Washougal. I guess I've never been there in the summer, but it sure is pretty! Their house is next to a city park, and it sure is gorgeous! They also recently got a little dog, Charlie, who is adorable but a little skiddish around people. We had a good chat with Aunt Marti and Roy. I love being able to hang out with them! (We bought her some flowers at Saturday market, aren't they beautiful?!)
Cheri had to head back up to Tacoma, but it was nice that she could come down. I still can't believe she graduates from nursing school in December!
With Memorial Day and the end of the school year, there's been a lot going on. For Memorial Day, we decided to have a barbecue and invited tons of people. I even bought a nice gas barbecue for our new house. We had about 25 people show up from church, work and some neighbors. We made tons of food, including grilled corn and pineapple. We even had the wii going for the kids/teens.
The next day I went with some friends to the OK GO concert at the Red Rock Resort. They were letting teachers in for free! They were really good, although a little loud. Just to be different, they did one song where all 4 band members played the hand bells and sang, and they were actually very talented!
The last day of school for the kiddos was June 2nd. I somehow got conned into going on the senior grad nite trip to Disneyland. It wasn't too bad. All the rowdy kids wound up on the other bus. We spent the first 3 hours at California Adventure, which was pretty fun. I'd never been there before. 
We actually got to go on all the rides and the lines weren't too bad. There was a really cool Toy Story ride - they give you 3-D glasses and you have to shoot targets on a screen while riding around. It was pretty cool, even if my friend Joe did get the higher score.
At about 11:30 the move all the kids over to Disneyland. It was crazy crowded and loud. We got to go on a few rides, but mostly the lines were really long. I did find my dream hat, but couldn't bring myself to buy it.
Joe was very excited to get his picture next to club 33 - it's the only place in Disneyland where they sell alcohol. You have to have a membership which is somewhere around $30 thousand a year and the waiting list is like 7 years long!
We stayed until 6 am, but by 4:30 all the chaperones were ready to drop. The floor of the Opera House was covered with sleeping teachers, including Joe, Elena and I all cuddled together in a corner. We made it back, but I can't say I really remember much from the next few days because I was so tired.
Tomorrow is graduation for Del Sol, so I have to work, but then I have the whole summer off! I love being a teacher! (Sometimes!)
I have always been a little afraid of sushi - I don't exactly like eating raw things, or cold rice. But I told myself I would try it for Brian's sake. It was actually pretty good. I only ate one piece that had raw salmon on it, but everything else was good. I think my favorite was some kind of california roll with a sweet chili sauce on it. After the sushi adventure, we decided to hit up downtown Vancouver, WA. It was very small, or quaint, but Brian and Kami introduced me to their new hobby, antiquing. It was fun to imagine ways to use all the old items. We also stopped at a store called Pop Culture. I think it's popular at night for concerts and such, but they sell an amazing assortment of soda in bottles. Brian had a pomegranate soda, Kami had some sort of blue cream soda, while I stuck with a good ole Harry Weinhart's cream soda. Delicious!
Here's a picture of Brian cleaning out the oysters...
The adventures continued when I got back to Kat's that night. Apparently one of the chickens got out of the coup and Michael and Kat were running around trying to catch it. It was hilarious! 
They did eventually catch the chicken, and duct tapped the coup so it couldn't get out again. 
