Go Green!

In honor of Earth Day on April 22nd, we've decided to declare an Earth Month at our house! During the month of April, you will read about the things that we are doing, each and every day, to simplify our lives and change the planet at the same time. Our hope in sharing this experience with you is to hold ourselves accountable and perhaps encourage some of you (our friends, family, and any other readers out there) to make some changes in your own life.
-H & G

At the HUB

That would be Hopworks Urban Brewery, Portland's only (self proclaimed) eco-brewpub. I've been following the development of the brewery for a few months now, wondering when it was going to open. Well, on the day we got back from Vegas, there was a news story about it, saying it had opened. I figured Friday after I got off work would be a perfect time to check it out, lunch on a weekday shouldn't be too busy. Heidi and both had burgers, that were great, they came on a cheese bun that was really good. The fries are wedge cut with skins on, making them a unique style that was also very tasty. I had their bourbon barrel-aged winter beer and the Survival Stout that's made with espresso from Stumptown, both were good, but the stout had almost too much coffee flavor for me. Heidi had an IPA and the Crosstown Pale, she said both were good.

After lunch we headed to Fred Meyer to return a shirt Heidi had bought and I convinced her to head with me to check and see if they had any Guitar Hero 3 for the Wii. Fortunately, they did. That gift card from work had been burning a hole in my wallet. We've been playing a bit this afternoon, and it's tough, even on easy. Definitely fun though, I can wait to get into this weekend.
-G

Las Vegas Adventure

Our spring break escape started on Friday afternoon when we arrived in Las Vegas. Becky picked us up and had the car all loaded up to go camping for the weekend. So, we headed out of town to Valley of Fire State Park. We were hoping to grab one of the 50 camping sites in the park but they were all full. Our quest for a camping spot took us to Lake Mead instead. Friday night we arrived just after dusk, set up camp in the dark and played some games. Saturday we got up and drove back to Valley of Fire to explore and to try and get some good photos. I think Becky quickly grew tired of being with such photo nerds.

This is Gabe at 7 Sisters...photo taken with our fish eye lens.

We explored almost every inch of the park, had a picnic lunch, and did some hiking. On our hike to Mouse's Tank we passed many prehistoric Indian petroglyphs. They were really cool!

Sunday morning we packed up camp and headed back to Las Vegas. We decided to explore old Vegas on Sunday night and headed out to Fremont Street. The highlight of the night had to be the deep fried Oreo's and Twinkies we enjoyed. It's amazing how something so bad for you can be made so incredibly worse, and yet taste so delicious. After seeing the light show, we went back to the Strip to call it a night. Gabe did go out to get a few pictures of the Strip at night. This was his favorite of outside the Luxor, where we were staying.

Monday we spent the day on the Strip. We did all the things you're suppose to do when you come to Vegas. The Bellagio gardens (all decorated for spring), the Bellagio fountains, gelato, wandering around the Paris and Planet Hollywood. Went down to the Wynn to check out the Ferarri dealership. No, I wouldn't let Gabe mortgage our house to buy one. We also explored the new addition to the Venetian, the Palazzo.
After all that, we had hungry bellies and Becky wanted to take us to a sushi place she'd heard was great, but hadn't tried yet. RA Sushi. It was good and we were lucky to be early enough that we got to enjoy it at happy hour prices. You know me...always looking for a good deal! After dinner we met up with Gabe's cousin Megan, who also happened to be in Las Vegas. The four of us had a great night wandering around New York New York, MGM Grand, and Mandalay Bay. I think we called it quits shortly after Gabe popping 4 cherry bombs. (You'll have to ask him for more details.)

On Tuesday (our last day) I really wanted to check out Springs Preserve. I read about it in the March issue of Sunset magazine. We ended up spending most of the day there because the place is huge! The wonderful thing about visiting the desert in the spring is that even the cactus are in bloom!

I would have liked to explore more but it was hot, we were hungry and starting to get grouchy. So, we spent the rest of the evening hanging out in Becky's new apartment, we rented this movie and made pizza. It was fun to hang out with Becky since we don't get to see her anymore. It was also a great way to spend most of my spring break. The nice warm 80 degree weather was much better than the near freezing temperatures here in Portland. I guess now I'll have to get done some of the work I brought home from school.
-h

Go Vikings!

We're pretty thrilled that Gabe's "boys" have made it into the NCAA tournament! Portland State has never been in before. This is history in the making!
What's not so thrilling is to see that they're up against the powerful Kansas Jayhawks in the first round. Seems like it will be a short trip in the tournament for the Vikings. Of course, they could also be the first 16 seed team to beat a number 1 seed. We can hope right?
Are you ready for the madness?
-h

Happy Birthday To Me

Last night we celebrated my birthday with a bunch of friends at the Horse Brass. The Horse Brass is one of my favorite places in Portland. It's extremely smoky inside, but the beer selection more than makes up for it. The food is also good, as long as you like British pub food, as the Horse Brass is as close to a British pub as you'll find around here. We had a lot of fun last night, we threw a bunch of darts and drank a bunch of beer. Good times were had.

I've also been having fun torturing Jupiter this weekend with one of the presents I got from Steve, Barb, Tricia and Jory. They got me one of the new miniature remote control helicopters. The thing is absolutely tiny, but tons of fun. Thanks guys!

Thanks also to all of you who made it out last night!

-G

Happy Birthday to You!

Happy 29th Birthday to Gabe!
Gabe already got his birthday present (a new racing helmet), so tonight I'm making him dinner. You'll never guess what he requested for his birthday dinner...Mexican food. So, I'm making chicken enchiladas. If that guy isn't careful he'll turn into a taco! Seriously, I've never seen someone eat so much Mexican food.
This weekend we'll do some more serious celebrations with friends and family. Gabe has several beer drinking events planned for Saturday. I'll let him tell you more about them later.
-h

Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden

It was a beautiful "spring like" Sunday, so we decided to take a little stroll through Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. The garden was alive with excitement. Flowers are open, the ducks were playing, and there were more people there today than I've ever seen. We took the camera and were able to get some nice shots. This one was my favorite.
The weekend has been low key and relaxing. Gabe helped me grade papers yesterday! The end of the trimester is Thursday and I've had my kids working on several large projects that now need to be graded. After we'd read enough 8th grade essays about Westward Expansion, we went to see No Country For Old Men and got dinner at Broadway Pub. Sort of like a "date" night. We figured with all the awards the film won, we should probably see it.
After our walk today we did some grocery shopping and went to Borders. I got this book and this book. They're both ones I've had on my to-read list for awhile. Now we're watching Star Wars Episode IV. Guess who's choice that one was? Boy, is Luke a whiny baby!  Speaking of Episode IV...check this You Tube video out!  It is sooo funny!
Why do weekends always have to go buy so quickly? I'm not ready to start the week all over again!

-h