Albany

Yesterday we got to see David. We haven't seen him since I put him on a plane for Florida back in August. He didn't really come all this way to see us, of course. He came to visit his girlfriend, Kimberly, who grew up here in Newport but attends Western Oregon University. However, since he was here, he "allowed" us to take them out to lunch at our favorite restaurant, Red Robin. This restaurant chain is all over the country but the closest Red Robin for us is in Albany, a little more than an hour's drive from Newport. And bonus for them! -It's only about 20 minutes from Western Oregon University. They have a full menu of burgers, which are pretty good, but the real draw is the all-you-can-eat (or all-you-can-keep-down, as my grandmother used to say) french fries. The fries are really good and unlimited is good with growing boys, who sometimes seem to be bottomless pits when it comes to food. So we got to spend an hour or so wolfing down food and chatting with David and Kimberly. Kimberly is a very nice and personable young lady and we all enjoyed ourselves, even if they were LATE. Here they are. Just as I clicked the picture, David did his puffer fish imitation. David, when you read this, let this be a lesson to you! No more puffer fish! David caught a plane back to Florida this morning and we won't get to see him again until Christmas.

After lunch, we went to visit some friends of ours who live in Albany. Devin and Colin go way back to college days when they were roommates but, coincidentally, Colin and I actually grew up only about an hour away from each other in Montana, although we didn't know each other at the time. Now his family and ours only live an hour apart and we get to see each other every month or so. We are also godparents to Colin's youngest boy, who is such a cutie at just over a year old. We took four of the seven boys we have between us to this very cool playground that had an honest-to-goodness merry-go-round, among other things. You hardly see these anymore and we all had a blast playing with it. I was laughing so hard at one point my stomach hurt. Here's Dylan running around it pushing for all he's worth.... And another of both Dads pushing it with all the boys loaded on.... Dylan also got to practice a little with his skateboard. He's getting pretty good at it but I'm just waiting for the broken bones to start. If he's anything like David we'll be on a first name basis with all the emergency room doctors within a hundred mile radius any time now.

Today was a day off school for the boys and I have to admit I am soooo looking forward to them being back in school tomorrow so I can have some quiet time. I'd put myself in time out but they follow me there. Also, today Dakota finally had that dentist appointment that I posted about a couple weeks ago. They were so sweet about rescheduling that (contrarily, I know) I felt even worse about it. With absolutely no segue I have to mention that my hygienist is named Destiny. So, whenever I have an appointment, I think of it as my "date with Destiny." Cheesy, I know, but I take amusement wherever I can find it.