What our family did in Portland, including but not limited to the #familyselfie.

Our family took a bit of a getaway recently. We’ve stayed put all summer… not even a camping trip, which is a big bummer for the kiddos.

Heck it’s a bummer for me too. As much as I DETEST packing, especially CAMP packing… I love camping. Especially with my family.

However, it just didn’t work out and probably has a lot to do with the fact it is emotionally impossible for me to put something on the calendar in March that won’t happen until July or August.

Not only is long-term (by long-term I mean anything beyond a half-day ahead) planning difficult for me, but also commitment.

I do not have a hard time BEING committed, it just seems that with 3 kids and jobs… things seem to creep in and screw up plans or just make life veeeery, veeery complicated. It has happened so many times that now I have a negative, immediate physiological response to having to put anything on the calendar that is beyond a week or two ahead.

Did I ever tell you that writing/blogging is where I therapize?

I digress.

All that to say, it’s been a great summer at home, but our family has desperately longed for an escape.

So we packed overnight stuff, hopped in the car which only means one thing…. FAMILY SELFIE!!!

Don’t hate us cuz we’re beautiful cheesy!

And then we headed for Portland!

But first we had to go back home and drop off the garbage can that was in the back of the car.

And then we had to go back to leave a key for Annie so she could get into the house and take care of Gus and Kevin.

AND THEN WE WERE OFF!!!

The overnight piece of our adventure was so spur-of-the-moment I spent the first hour on the road searching for hotel options… which may or may not be prudent on a Labor Day weekend. But Lady Luck was on our side and we may or may not have landed the last room at the Inn. The HOLIDAY Inn.

And then we just had unplanned fun.

We got to Portland at 3:30. Checked into our hotel and though it was the most beautiful of beautiful days, we spent the first hour in the hotel’s indoor pool. We live in the PNW and indoor pools are just about the only pools and my kids would live in a pool if it was possible, hitherhencetofore – POOL!

And then Mom and Dad we all, “HEY! LET’S GET OUTSIDE!!!”

Our hotel was 1.5 blocks from the most charming downtown-ness and we just meandered about downtown PDX, and our children never got eaten…

 I have to say, the magic of having older children is — no diaper bag, no stroller, and the horrible looks from shop owners has decreased substantially.

Plus, we bought three fedoras, and shop owners like it when you buys stuff.

After strolling through antique shops that weirded the kids out a little bit, we needed to fuel.

I wanted to go to The Matador, but it was 21 and over. So we scored a quick table next to the open restaurant next door – Southland Whiskey Kitchen. We got a table close to the wide-open front and chowed down on some fabulous ribs. There are 2 things certain in this world… my children will eat ribs and they will eat ice cream.

So we did both.

Gelato!

We had hoped to stand in line at Salt and Straw, but it was an hour long and my kids wanted ice cream NOW. It was actually better we moved along… the kids didn’t remember having gelato before and they got to try something new.

NEW IS FUN!

Even the weather was perfect. Like, shorts and t-shirt weather, no sweating… no need for a sweater. AB.SO.LUTE.LY. perfect.

We scooped up out gelato as we walked back to our hotel. Once back guess what happened?

MOARRRE SWIMMING!

Nevermind it was 10 at night.

Then we all CUH-RASHED in a very content and serious way. We woke up after 8 (parents of small children – YOU WILL SLEEP IN AGAIN!!!) and the kids got on their suits and went swimming AGAIN! I took my journal, washi tape, and fun pens and played lifeguard who writes in a journal while on the job…

On our road trip last summer, we stopped my VooDoo Doughnuts in Eugene, Oregon. Since we were in PDX, we HAD to go to the VooDoo THERE!

So we packed our bags and got our tastebuds ready for some VooDoo goodness!

An aside: THANK GOODNESS THERE ARE TWO LOCATIONS. Once again, we were faced with a loooooong line so we kept the car in drive and headed to the *other* VooDoo.

As far as our family goes, there may or may not be a difference difference between voodoo and zombies?

One thing is for sure, my girls are not camera shy!

We purchased and consumed: one Butterfinger, one bubble gum, one Memphis Mafia, one glazed, one glazed with raspberry, one Cocoa Puff, one powdered and TWO maple bacon.

BECAUSE MAPLE AND BACON.

An aside: the doughnuts were AMAZEBALLS. The coffee, however, was NOT. We threw our entire full cups away. I am not one to throw coffee away. But at the risk of making a false accusation, I would say VooDoo done did try to serve-up some INSTANT coffee.

If it was not, it TASTED like instant coffee. And that is not OK.

But we got over it. And found better coffee.

*gives a fist bump to Google Maps*

And before we headed back onto I5 for the trip home, we drove by the Kennedy School… a converted schoolhouse-turned hotel. I wanted to check it out on account of the fact I have it in my sights to stay there at some point.

Can I share one more fedorable shot, because these girls make me so happy…

And then we headed home.

We got home 24 hours after we arrived in Portland. It was fast, but relaxed, unplanned and all about us just being together without chores or expectations or any of that life stuff that gets in the way of eating too many donuts and taking too many pictures with your daughters in fedoras and stuff.

It was perfect.

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