Happy Memorial Day!

Yesterday after Cooper's nap we headed to what will I think will become one of our favorite places, if it hasn't already. Washington Park. This is a view from the top. And this is a view from inside the rose garden. It is gorgeous there. The sun broke through a few times and Cooper loved being able to jump in the puddles and get wet! There is this area you can walk through that is full of roses and they start blooming in mid May. You can walk through the whole area and see beautiful flowers until about July so I can imagine we'll be back there soon.

This morning after breakfast, we packed up again and headed out to the Coast. It's about an hour and a half trip to get to the beach and the drive out there is amazing. We kept saying all the places it reminded us of (Ireland, Scotland, Greer AZ) and then got excited all over again about the fact that we live here now! It was the first time we saw pine trees on the beach. It was hard to believe that when looking straight ahead of you in the car, you saw green trees and rolling hills but then there was an ocean right out your window. The Coast was beautiful, albeit misty. We saw Haystack Rock, one of the largest coastal monoliths in the world. Cooper was enjoying the sand everywhere, including in his mouth. It was too cold to get in the water, but he definitely tried to break free from us a few times and get there. He's getting mischievous as he ages. We ate lunch at a brewery in Cannon Beach and then drove down a little further along the coast to Tillamook (you know... where they make the CHEESE!). I thought for sure they would have tons of cows that they milk to get their cheese and ice cream, but it turns out they just have 1.7 millions gallons of milk brought in EVERYDAY to make their goods. We had to sample the ice cream just to see if it was any better from the factory; it's delicious! After that, we headed back to Portland on another gorgeous drive through the country. We didn't take nearly enough pictures but we will definitely be going back.

~Ahna & Ryan

PS

"A Haiku by Ryan Ward"

Pretty Oregon
Where have you been all my life?
I love your greenness

--Bet you didn't see that little gem coming, did you?

What We've Been up to

Well, we've been spending many of our weekends outside exploring the city. I thought I'd better get a blog up before we take off on our next adventure. We're driving to the coast this weekend for a day trip! We are very excited!

A couple weeks ago the weather was gorgeous for about 5 days straight. During one of those glorious days, Ryan and Cooper came and stole me from work for a picnic at the park! The park was up by the river so we got to see a 'big boat' (as Cooper likes to call them) come in to the harbor. That weekend, we went to the Hoyt Arboretum here in town. It's basically a huge park with all the local trees, bushes, and flowers. It was a gorgeous day and there were lots of people just enjoying the weather.

Then, last weekend we went to a botanical garden that is maintained by some old residents of Portland on the outskirts of town. It was like a huge forest with a creek running through it and it was all FREE! There was this whole area on how to do compost (that's right, lots of environmentally friendly people up here!), and then on our way back around to the car... there were two deer following us! We got some good pictures. Cooper wanted to try and pet them but luckily they were a bit too far away so even at a dead sprint, there was plenty of space between them! Cooper is still learning to excel at running but it's funny to watch him try!

The weather has been crazy all week with tons of rain today, but it must be okay because I still get a big smile on my face when it's raining outside!

Happy Memorial Day weekend everybody!!

~Ahna

Cooper is TWO!

Cooper turned two last weekend. We had a great weekend celebrating. Friday was the actual day, so when I got home from work, we had dinner, presents, and CAKE! We actually made him 'blondies' which turned out fantastic. Ryan said I under baked them but I mean really, a half baked cookie is THE way to go! On Saturday we went to the pet store to get Cooper's gift from us... a fish! He loves animals and I have wanted to get him a fish for his room since he was really little. He says 'night night fishie' every night and every morning says, 'feed fishie??'. We also spent some time in the park, which I can see us doing on most weekends for the foreseeable future as the weather has gotten gorgeous here.

Sunday was Mother's Day. It started with some delicious crepes made by Ryan... then I got to open MY present!!! Oh man, I got a game that I've been wanting for months now! It's called Just Dance and it's for the Wii. It's hilarious, or I should say I LOOK hilarious dancing to it. I am 6 months pregnant, so I can imagine people that might catch a glimpse of a ginormous pregnant lady rocking out to the TV would think it's quite comical. It was a great day and a fantastic weekend!

~Ahna

POPS

I know I'm not alone here when I say that my Dad is hands down the most amazing person I've ever known. I got to spend the weekend with him and my Mom on a spontaneous visit. You may or may not know he was recently diagnosed with an aggressive form of Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML). He was even, for lack of a better term, adorable when he broke the news to me over the phone. He said, 'well, it's not exactly good news.' I laughed when I thought about the conversation later because I am entirely certain the news should have been laden with lots of profanity and expletives; not delivered in a calm and cool demeanor, but that's my Dad.

Over the years, Ryan and I have gotten to know my parents more as people and have come to cherish our time with them. In making our decision to move to Portland, being further away from them was the hardest part. Not everybody gets along with their family like we do and while we all have our weaknesses and idiosyncrasies, our strengths come together beautifully in a crisis. My Dad is stuck in the hospital for a minimum of six weeks at this point, he's on week three. My Aunt and Uncle have been there almost every other day and every single day on the weekends. They've brought my brother and our nephew to come visit and driven countless miles back and forth, just to be with my Dad. My Mom is inherently upbeat; she exudes positivity from every pore in her body. She has been so strong and solid for him through this it's unbelievable. She spends most all her days there and some of her nights, but it's not just because my Dad needs it, it's just where she wants to be. My parents aren't the sort of people who are meant to be apart. You look at them and think what a wonderful couple they are and then to watch them through this and actually see them grow stronger is amazing. Each day we got to that hospital room, my Dad lit up to see my Mom come through the door, and while they have always been that way, it's still nice to see it after so many years. He makes my Mom happy and I think that's actually all it takes to make him happy. This weekend we were talking about marriage and he said 'you have to choose your mate wisely'. He told me when Ryan asked for my hand in marriage, he asked him why he thought we could make it work and Ryan said, 'I think I can always make her laugh'. He told Ryan that was good because all he cared about was that I would be taken care of and that I would be happy. My Dad is amazing for a plethora of reasons, not the least one being that he just wants to see his family happy.

I kept trying to prepare myself for this really sick person in a hospital gown with cords and needles and the like attached all over his body. So walking down the hallway to his room, I was taking lots of deep breaths. When I walked in the door, this is what I saw... He was dressed to the nines (as he always is) and he was just my Dad. I didn't even pretend to shed a tear during the long hug I got from him. We were able to walk down to the patio and have some coffee and talk about everything that was going on. The only difference was that it wasn't our patio at home, he hasn't seen that patio for three weeks; but he will again soon. The next day, my brother came up and we had a head shaving ceremony (you can see pictures at www.caringbridge.org/visit/michaelhmckiernan). And wouldn't you know... my Dad looks G-O-O-D. Of course he has a perfectly shaped head and no weird bumps or dents so it's as if he just decided to cut off his ponytail and go hairless for the summer heat. It was not as if he was losing his hair already due to chemo. He actually looks perfectly healthy. It doesn't make sense that he's sick on the inside because he's SO not on the outside. He's so strong for me and for my Mom, so when something little happens; a bloody nose, or putting on a mask to leave the room, it takes me by surprise because it's only then that I remember he can't just escape the walls of this hospital whenever he wants to. I met lots of his nurses and doctors while I was there and many of them hugged me as if they knew me. Apparently my Dad talks about me once in awhile... hopefully, they all know that I am only the person I am today because of my parents.

My Dad is not like anyone I've ever known. He's strong and compassionate and really intelligent (although I think it took years of convincing from my Mom for him to believe that) and he's also really good looking! While you could use those words to explain a lot of people, I think most people would understand that I'm ONLY using those words because the real words to describe my Dad don't exist; you can't put it into words. I sat in that hospital room for three days and I can't even count the amount of times I heard the words 'lucky' and 'grateful'. To think we were talking about him having leukemia is odd. We were 'lucky' that they seemed to have caught it so early and we are 'grateful' that he happened to be in such good shape when it happened so he can be stronger to fight it. In reality, I don't feel 'lucky' at all. I'm glad I still have my Dad, but not glad he's in the situation he's in. Being lucky would have meant NO ONE would ever have to encounter this. And yet, there we all were, together, telling stories and laughing and singing 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star' to Cooper before bed.

We spent my last night there with my Aunt and Uncle having a candlelit dinner and talking about how nice it was to be together. It will be a long road to recovery but Dad is only 62, so he has a whole bunch of years to spend with my family and his Grandbabies. And yes, we are thankful. We are thankful to have the support of our immediate family and the thoughts and hope of our extended family all over the country and world. And although I would like to be spending my next trip to Phoenix with my parents at my childhood home, I'm open to spending it anywhere as long as we are all together. Saying goodbye this morning was much different and a whole lot harder than saying hello, so hopefully we'll be saying 'hello' again soon. I love you Dad and can't wait to hug you again.

~Ahna

The Four Of Us

About Us...

We are Ahna, Ryan, Cooper, and Olivia. We try to always be looking for the next adventure, and when we find one, we share the stories here. Our family is spread all over the place, so this is how we keep everyone updated.