The Blog Days of Summer {NORTHWEST OR BUST #1}

In June we hit the road for an amazing trip to the Northwest to see family and friends for a few days (for ideas on how to travel more easily with kids check out this POST)!  The drive to Portland is as beautiful as it is long!

First stop was Portland for my cousin Cory’s wedding!  We got to have a “family reunion” and relax at a fun hotel in Portland that was by the water and had a great breakfast (the Residence Inn RiverPlace)!

Cory (who is quite possibly one of my favorite people ever) and his lovely Bride Lisa were amazing hosts and made our entire extended family feel welcome in Portland and involved in the festivities.  Paige & Grant got to dress up and be a flower girl and a flag bearer. It was adorable to see them in their roles and see their personalities come out! The wedding took place at a unique & awesome venue:The World Forestry Center

Getting ready for the Wedding…

The Wedding and Reception…

The Reception Games…

To see some of their photographers pictures check out this blog post at: David Burdick Photography

Breakfast the Next Day…
The food was great and the company was lovely but we Panfilio’s had a few issues.  The private area of the restaurant where we were eating with the wedding party was positioned in an open upstairs area with regular diners below.  Paige decided to drop her mini book over the balcony to “see what would happen…” When she finally got the nerve to fess up to what she had done I had no idea what book she was even talking about.  While I was picturing someone being smacked on the head with a large kids book I was relieved and mortified to see an unhappy bartender come upstairs and deliver Paige’s tiny 3 inch book to us with a look of hatred plastered across his face.  I managed an apology and thought we had dodged a bullet (considering it was a mini book) but before too long I was shocked back into “kids do strange things” reality when Grant tumbled over a small couch and smacked his head on the glass balcony. And when I say smacked…I mean smacked. My back was turned but apparently he was jumping on the couch and fell…landing flat on his back after smacking his head.  I impulsively picked him up without knowing how he fell or how he landed or even thinking of the fact that he could have hurt his neck.  Poor baby laid on my shoulder and then my sisters for over an hour. Kids just do weird things (and often when it is the least convenient time/place to do it). All in all it was a great way to see the family one more time before the festivities were over!