Thanks for all the encouraging comments about my getting braces!  I really appreciate your support.  I'm sure I'll mention this new adventure from time to time but I'll try not to repeat myself.

A few days ago, we stayed two nights in Portland at our favorite such-a-deal hotel.  We went to a concert on Monday night (The Waifs, an Aussie band that we saw 2 years ago) and it was terrific.  We really love this band and how cool it was to see them again so soon.  Really talented musicians.  I enjoyed them more this time because my daughter is 2 years older now and was very well-behaved (amazing!)  Actually, Alec was the one who was bored before they even went on stage.  Just before the concert, I took him downstairs to get some bottled water when he saw they were selling little bags of pretzels.  I saw it as a sign and bought a bag as well.  He shared them with his siblings and you should have seen them!  They acted like it was the greatest thing I'd ever done, allowing them to eat pretzels in the Aladdin Theater!  I don't know what that was all about but I didn't question it.  It made intermission go that much quicker and I praise the Lord for putting those pretzels there.  I made a note of it for next time!

So that was Monday.  Tuesday, we slept in, had breakfast in the hotel (we love their continental breakfast) and went to ... Nordstrom!  I love this place.  We shopped for a while, then ate lunch at the Nordstrom cafe.  Hung out at the hotel until dinner, then went to our favorite restaurant.  Went swimming after dinner.  I wore my new Boden bathingsuit (If you don't know what Boden is, go to their web site - cute, cute clothes!)  A nice, relaxing day (I never relax when we travel so it was a real blessing).  We hadn't told the kids yet what we were doing on Wednesday.  I had a hard time keeping it a secret.

Wednesday - OMSI!  This is a huge children's science museum that my son, Alec, has been asking to go to for at least 2 years.  He was about 6 the last time we went so it's been a long time.  We finally made time to go and boy, was he thrilled.  He is crazy about subs at the moment (some of you know that from my posts) and there is a retired sub docked in the river that runs alongside the museum.  Guided tours are available and we actually had a tour of the sub all by ourselves.  A private tour!  Alec loved it.  So did the rest of the family (I didn't go, I'm not hip on enclosed spaces and it saved us $5.50.)  I stayed in the museum and watched a video about the sub - that was all I needed.  The traveling exhibit right now is dinosaurs and we enjoyed seeing all the huge displays.  Some of those dinos were tall enough to walk right under!  They have all kinds of science exhibits and hand-on stuff, which made for a fun time for all of us. 

While I was waiting for the tour to be over (45 min) I walked around the place a bit and at one point, stopped by the door that went outdoors to the sub.  Just then, a young mom walked in carrying a green leather tote bag.  Here's the story:  We recently discovered Boden (mentioned above - it's an English clothing co.) and in the catalog, there was a leather tote bag that my dh and I really like.  Todd said I should get it but I hesitated because of the price.  After pricing similar bags, I realized that the Boden was a good deal.  But I hadn't ordered it yet - still not sure.  Back to the museum:  This young mom stops right next to me and puts the bag down between us as she reached in to get her phone.  I stared, wide-eyed.  I asked her, "Is that Boden?"  She looked at me, startled, then smiled and said, "Yes!"  We talked about the bag and such and she went on her way.  It was a sign - I ordered the bag tonight.  But not in green, though it was really cute.  The tan is more practical and I like it just as well.  Isn't that funny?  I seem to have a lot of coincidences like that.  Are some people more prone to these kinds of meetings or am I just extra sensitive to them.  Don't know.

Now this was an even more cool meeting:  At breakfast on Wed. morning, we started talking to a nice lady who had an adorable baby at the next table (we love to meet people when we travel) and at one point, I mentioned that we homeschooled.  She said that she was going to start homeschooling her 6 yr old in the fall.  I was so thrilled.  We spent the next 20 min. discussing hs stuff and I gave her my blog site here, encouraging her to start a blog for support and hs info.  I know this site has been a blessing for me and I hope she joins as well.  Jill, if you read this, I hope you had a safe trip home!  Enjoyed talking with you very much.  I can still see your little daughter blowing kisses to us as we left!

I absolutely love to encourage people to homeschool, but only if they mention a desire to do so.  I never push.  But I love to talk about it.  I remember when I started out, I was desperate for information and like-minded people.  I love to hear people say that they can't imagine sending their kids away all day.  That's just how I feel.  It's not the only reason people give for hs'ing but it's a good one.

An interesting week.  And a fun one.  Thank you, Lord!