Rose Garden in Bloom

Last weekend was the "best rose" judging ceremony at the Rose garden (a short walk uphill from the apartment). The roses that have made it into the running have a special flag with a number next to them. There are apparently two categories - Best Rose & Most Fragrant. We happened to be there when this was going on so we got to walk around with all the official ballot carriers and smell along with them.



Wow.



Half the people there were dressed like this. One guy had a furry robe on like a king. Apparently that means they're really good smellers or something...at least that's what I think.



There are about a bajillion different roses in the garden. In the background you can see all the white "suits".



Each rose really did smell different.



This one smelled like mandarin oranges! Crazy!



Calender ready pictures....



No Photoshop work needed here.

Rose Festival Parade

This past week was Portland's Rose Festival. On a errand run downtown, we ran into these huge creatures walking down the street.



The parade had floats...and lots of roses.



These dancers must have been planning for warm weather.



Bonus points to anyone who can name this instrument (Hint: It does not appear in a Dr. Seuss book)



Renee was excited to see the horses, but not as excited to smell them as they passed.



This guy borrowed Brian's teaching uniform for the parade.

Find Renee Winners!

CONGRATULATIONS WINNERS!!!



Ingrid Hartig took 1st place in our 'Find Renee' challenge. She is pictured here with the grand prize of a flashy new sports car. In addition to her brand new automobile she has also won 372 Fun Points*. Congratulations Ingrid, hope you enjoy the new wheels!


Our second place prize goes to Mark Cook. He is pictured above with his brand new Rockin' Wheels 3000. With only $3 to fill this sucker up at the pump, it's perfect to combat the summers high gas prices. Watch out ladies, Mark is out on the town.

*Fun Points can only be used at participating retailers (of which there are none). Fun Points are not redeemable for cash, and in actuality are of no value at all.

Saturday Market

Every Saturday here in Portland locals set up tents and participate in the Saturday Market. This Saturday was the first time we attended. Part of it is held underneath one of our many bridges (pictured above) - probably to keep out of the rain. However, there are booths that line the surrounding blocks as well.



This is the outdoor portion. There was a lot of art, a lot of soap, a lot of junk food and a lot of music. It was incredibly involved for a weekly event. We talked to one of the booth owners who told us they are set up from March through December!

Dropping Obama on yo Mama

Today we attended a rally in downtown Portland for Barack Obama. Apparently we were not the only ones who thought it was a good idea to go sit in the hot sun in 80 degrees with no shade for 5 hours, as the rally was reported to have a record setting 75,000 attendees. The line to even get in was estimated at nearly 20 city blocks. We managed pretty good seats however (shown by the white star in the first two pictures). The stage is all the way to the right in the top picture.



Take that Woodstock.



For anyone interested in the news coverage of the event please click here.

Watering Hole

Yesterday was around 95 degrees here in sunny Portland. In order to beat the heat we decided to go and investigate a public fountain that we had been told about. It was awesome! It was actually more of a swimming area than a fountain as there were tons of people climbing in and out of the pools. Bonus points if you can pick out Renee!



There are no railings or anything and there is just a sign that reads, "swim in the fountain at your own risk". From these pictures you can see how high some of the pools are though and people kept standing right on the edge. We decided that no one would be allowed to have this much fun in a fountain in west Michigan.