August was Busy

This August just flew by. We started it out by taking a 10 day trip back to Minnesota. The majority of the time we were in Ely with Amanda's side of the family. There was a lot of tubing, fishing and relaxing. We also got to spend a few days in Detroit Lakes with Chris's family. After we flew back to Idaho we almost immediately signed the papers and purchased our first house. Things are still a little disorganized, but it feels great to finally have a place of our own. After one day in our house we also went out and got a little golden retriever puppy (that didn't take long). She has been so much fun, and work, so far. The month ended with Chris's parents coming to visit. They spent a week here, helping to put our house in order while seeing some sites and playing lots of pinochle.

A secluded lake near Ely where we picked blueberries

Duluth, MN

Enger Tower

If we hadn't known any better, this could have passed for Chris's brother Kevin

The park at Enger Tower

Justin took a whole lot better pictures than we did

The Kallis klan

Megan, Caitlyn and Michael

Amanda, Lumberjack Joe and Stacey

Stacey, Emily, Amanda and Courtney in their Ely T's

Michael blowing some bubbles

Megan and Michael

Megan

Chris

Courtney, Emily, Amanda and Stacey in their Boundary Waters sweatshirts

The crew at the beach

Chris and Michael riding the waverunner

Abbi and Levi playing in the sand

Amanda and Michael eating around the campfire

Caitlyn smiling for the camera

Our house

The park that borders our place

Some flowers in the front

More flowers

Lois loves the dining room window

Our kitchen

Counter and tile work

In the heat of an intense game of pinochle

Nēka in the park

A nap with her favorite bear friend

A little wet from the sprinklers

Lois is wondering why she has to put up with this dog

Chris's parents in an underground cave at Crater's of the Moon National Park

A couple of Alligators we came across at a park near Twin Falls.

House Update

Just a quick update on our house. They have finished texturing the sheetrock with a style called the "Sun Valley Swirl" and we are expecting them to start painting this week. Everything looks great and continues to go very quickly.

Living Room

Kitchen

Room above Garage

Other side of Living Room

Amanda in a closet with a fish face.

Portland Oregon

Over the Fourth of July weekend we decided to head out to Portland. We left on Thursday after work and arrived there at 1:30 in the morning, only to be awakened at 8:00 am by the fire alarm... fun. Not really sure what happened, but we stayed another couple of nights so everything must have been okay. We pretty much just bummed around town and saw some fun shops and interesting sites. The Japanese Gardens were supposedly the best outside of Japan with good reason. We navigated around town on the light rail system, avoiding traffic and getting lost. It was a very fun and exciting trip that was well worth the drive.

Our 8:00 am wake up call.

The World's Smallest Park (24 sq. in.).

Apparently, the creator of the Simpson's named his characters after Portland streets.

On the Willamette River.

Japanese Gardens

Peace

Us, posing for the camera.

The Chinese Gardens

Tea Time

It's Good

Mmmm... Crawfish

Our Transportation around town.

The Saturday Market.

Enjoying Treats at Pioneer Square.

Good Times... Good Times

Chris was a little lost.

Multnomah Falls (611 ft.).

Not quite sure what Amanda is thinking.

Dolor de cabeza (Headache).

Always room for the Holy Spirit.