First Day of Preschool for 3's...

One of the first things we did when we got to Portland was find Kaila a preschool. She seems to be really enjoying it! Here are some pictures of her first day of school.

First day of school pic...
Of course we gotta get one with Sissy...
First she gravitated toward the books, then toward the race cars...
...then the puzzles.
End of preschool...
Since I feel like I rarely get pictures with the girls (because I'm always behind the camera), I decided to take one with them on Kaila's first day of school to look back on.
Kaila's school picture (had no idea they did that in preschool!)...

Dinner with the Epeneters...

One of Cisco's high school friends, Becky, now lives right outside of Portland. She was so nice to invite us over for a dinner at her place. They have a little boy named Lucas, who is pretty close in age with Kenna. It was nice to catch-up with them and see their beautiful countryside home.

Kaila using the stone wall as a balance beam...
Kenna lounging in the sun...
The guys talking sweetly about their wives...hehe...
Kenna & Lucas enjoying some time in the garden...
Kaila picking some fresh corn to put on the grill...it was yummy!

Kamehameha Schools Alumni Gathering...

My high school has alumni associations all over the country, but especially on the West Coast since that tends to be where people from Hawai'i are more concentrated. So, it was no surprise that they had one a few months after we arrived in town. The nice thing too was that is was at Cisco's job, Concordia University (they also have a lot of Kamehemeha School alumni). It felt good to get back in touch with my high school & home (Hawai'i), even though Amy & I were amongst the much younger alums, as you may notice.

Roomies!!!

Shannon came into town a few weeks after we arrived in Portland, so we called on our other friends, Brian & Amy, for a dinner since we all haven't seen each other in a while. It's funny because all three of my friends have been my roommates in college at one point or another. Shannon has been my roommate since Sophomore year in college until Senior year. Amy (who I also went to high school with) was one of my roommates, along with Shannon and our friend Tina, Junior year in college. And Brian was one of my roommates, along with Shannon, Senior year in college. It's so nice to be back around such longtime friends :)

Making New Friends...

Upon arriving into Portland, we instantly got busy at work making new friends, especially for the girls (and for us too ;)). Kaila would talk often about how she wanted to go back to Chicago because she missed her friends. Then she would go on to name all her friends, which instantly made me want to cry :( Luckily our friend Lori knew a couple with a little girl named, Ava. Ava Mo, as they call her, has become one of the girls' first friends here. The funny thing is that Ava is right in between the girls, age-wise...1,2, &3! We kinda like her parents too ;)

Strolling to the pool...

Final Destination: Portland!!!

I forgot how beautiful the drive down the Columbia River Gorge into Portland is. I was truly awe-struck starting from about 3 hours outside of Portland. Here are some pictures for your enjoyment!

Driving down the grade & into the gorge...

Here comes Mt. Hood...
What a beauty!
Getting excited!!
This was taken a few weeks into being in Portland, but I just had to include this here because it was such a beautiful Oregon sunset.

Saying Good-Bye to the Lokteff's...

It was really nice getting to see our BFF's for the first time in almost 2 years!! And it was also nice getting to meet Macie for the first time. It's nice knowing that we're closer now, but we always miss them when we're away :( Hopefully we can see eachother more often now!

Thank you Aunty Erin, Uncle Mike, & Macie!!

The boys...

Until next time my fren...

Visit with the Schumakers: God-Mama & God-Papa...

We hadn't seen our friends, the Schumakers, in a really long time, so it was nice to be able to visit them while we were in Boise. They are also Kaila's God-Parents, so we were really excited for Kaila to "meet" them ('cause this she might remember!) and so was she.

They have such a beautiful place. Lots of outdoor space for Kaila to run around.

Catching up on old times...

The girls loved playing in the hammock with Aunty Andrea...

Miss Macie enjoying the outdoors...

Their poor puppy, Waylan, was teething, so picked this cup to chew on. It was the cutest thing watching him carry it around. Although, he also chose Kenna's arm to chew on a couple times...ouch!

Having a good time...

Kaila with God-Mama Andrea & God-Papa Will...

Old friends. Good times.

How it was back then...

Meridian Fountain...

What's more fun on a hot summer's day than playing around a cool water fountain?!! This is the Meridian Fountain in Meridian, Idaho, where Uncle Mike & Aunty Erin live. The girls were a little intimidated at first, but warmed up quickly.

Boise Farmer's Market...

We also made it to the Boise Farmer's Market while we were there and the girls just had to have their arm/face painted. We agreed because this lady looked like she needed some business ;) And I must say, she did a great job.

I wonder what Kaila's getting???

It's PASCAL!!!

What about Kenna???

A BUTTERFLY!!!