January 2009 Trip to Arizona (and Las Vegas).

We were lucky enough to escape the single digit temps around Michigan for awhile by going to Arizona and Las Vegas. We took a trip to Lake Havasu City, AZ to visit Andrea's Aunt Judy and Uncle Gene.

We really lucked out on the weather, as it was in the 70s and sunny every day we were there. I was able to do four 4.8 (about) mile runs in the mornings while we were there in perfect conditions!

Here are some pics from the trip, showing one of the hikes we did in a nearby canyon. What a gorgeous location this time of year!

The down side of the trip was the night we spent in the Luxor in Las Vegas. This hotel reeks of 20 year old stale cigarettes! Plus, LV is really no place to bring kids (this may be obvious to most, but it had been a long time since I was there). I felt that inside had too much bad air and outside had too much input for Kaisa. She didn't seem to mind our walk down the strip (and we all really enjoyed the fountain at the Bellagio), but overall it was a disappointment.

November Trip to Florida

We took a recent trip to Florida this year. We went earlier in November to avoid higher airline costs around the Thanksgiving holiday - and what a great choice that was. The weather was spectacular!

Kaisa loved playing in Grandma & Grandad's pool, as well as the Gulf of Mexico. She also loved the beach, and tried to eat as many handfuls of it as she could. ;) I wonder why she sometimes refuses the food we give her on her highchair's tray, but will go ahead and put sand in her mouth. Yikes! :)

It was a very nice trip. Eileen and Megan drove down from Jacksonville for a couple of days. Ryan was busy winning one baseball game after another in his late fall tournament, so he & Mike had to stay home. We hope to see them in the spring.

Trip to Washington!

Last weekend, Oct 24-26, we made a nice trip to DC to see Kevin, Merkey, and for a performance of Andrea's piece "Halfmoon Nocturne." This was performed by her friend Armando's group on Friday night.

Things went well through the trip! Kaisa was great on the airplane rides (thankfully, no delays), and we had fun despite the Saturday rain (wow, another Amer/Reinkemeyer trip with some rain, imagine that).

Kevin's new apartment is very nice & before he got home from work on Friday, Kaisa and I helped by unpacking his kitchen... Kaisa mostly played with the paper. :)

Here's a pic!

Dad & Kaisa at the Columbia!

I like this picture, taken by expert photographer Andrea! :)

It was taken on the Columbia River in the Gorge.

Trashdale

Am I the only one who thinks our 4th of July traditions are among the stupidest in the world? Around here, in Troutdale OR, last night was like living in Baghdad, with small arms fire and the occasional mortar round. This went on until nearly midnight, with every boom from an M80 rousing our sleeping baby. Real nice, Oregonians. Way to spew unnecessary noxious gasses into the air. And, of course, these idiot rednecks didn't even bother to clean up after themselves. The streets around here were littered with shrapnel this morning, which will of course all flow to the rivers and eventually the Pacific Ocean. My Father In Law had to hose off his cars and house to clear off all of the debris left on them by the "celebration."

And don't tell me this isn't a celebration of war. You can talk all you want about the visual "coolness" of fireworks, and when I was 13 I would have agreed. But when a great deal of the stuff is just explosions (blowin' shit up) I don't see how that's anything but a celebration of war.

Oregon has a good reputation in the Midwest, for the most part. But it is undeserved in Trashdale.

Portland Trip - post #1

June 30, 2008 marked Kaisa's first trip to Oregon. Mom, Dad & Kaisa endured a looooonnng flight out here (saved a few bucks going through Houston - not recommended since the total flight time wasn't much less than going to Italy!) Flew on Continental, which we can recommend because they still give meals and drinks for free. We were expecting to have to pay for it these days.

The thrill of the day was sitting behind someone with some sort of issue. He would scold us out loud every time the baby made a noise. Made Andrea's blood boil! We think he must have been autistic or something like that. Blech! What a long day. :^P

The Amer/Reinkemeyer/Simpson Family!

Kaisa.


Mom.

Dad.