The New Roomate

For those of you wondering about the new addition to our small apartment, wonder no more. Watch this video to see the new guy in action! Pictures later....if he'll stay still long enough.

The REAL west coast

Last weekend we finally used a free car rental (which Brian won) to travel out to the coast. It was the first time since we moved to Portland that we got to see the ocean. We spent all day at beautiful Cannon Beach....which is apparently only 1:45 away from our apartment.



Here is Haystack rock up close and personal. It's huge.



We got to the beach early and here Brian is looking hard for sand dollars.



After the long search, Renee guards the treasure. Renee found 6, Brian.........2. But Brian found the first one.



We met some crazy kids who started pulling live crabs straight out of the ocean.



Renee, making sure they don't get wet.



The kids also found a pair of these little guys. They kinda looked like spiders.



Here's papa crab.

Wedding!

The trip back to Michigan for Renee's sister's wedding went swimmingly. Here are some random photos to commemorate the excellent time that was had by all.



Here are the boys practicing for their impressive dance number. Hopefully video will surface soon! (Renee's brothers Paul and Tony are the two on the right)



Carla getting her hair done, something Renee didn't have to do for some reason.



Here are the two sisters and mom. If only there were some way to tell which is the bride.....



Here is the devilishly handsome groom just minutes before the ceremony. Nerves of steel.



Awww......what a perfect picture.



Apparently I wasn't the only one who thought so.

Studio Hartig

In preparation for the flight back to Michigan Renee has been trying to dry and ship out as many paintings as possible. This is what her studio looked like this morning.



Brian finally went out and bought pets, just like the ones Renee has been asking for (sort of).

Portland Saturday Market

This past weekend Brian set up a booth and sold illustrations at the weekly Saturday Market. It is times like these that a car would come in handy, however our entire set up broke down and fit into a single suitcase (the tent and table were rented from the venue). The booth was a hit and I'm sure we'll be doing it again. Check out Brian's website if you want to see examples of what he sold.

Fireworks

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Now you can tell how behind we are with uploading pictures! This is a view of the fireworks display in downtown Portland. The Portland fireworks are said to be twice as big as any other display in Oregon. There were amazing views from the bridges (which they close down).