Our Visit To Oregon

We have been rather busy since we returned from our trip. We spent almost three weeks in

December and January traveling to see family and friends in NJ, PA, NY and OR. Being a bicoastal family can be challenging in that our families live far away from each other. But it is also neat to have family and friends on both coasts. Now that we are living in AK, we try to make the most of family visits. We spent a long weekend in Oregon on our way back to AK.

We thoroughly enjoyed brief but meaningful visits with Don and Dee Bubna, Lanette, Tara, Liz's parents and Aunt Eleanor.

Our time (around four hours at Gerry Frank's Konditorei) with Lanette and Tara, two of Liz's

closest friends from George Fox University (Liz's Alma Mater) was spent eating lunch, laughing and recounting stories from college and encouraging each other. Towards the end of our time together we exchanged hugs at which point the waiter offered us hugs too. I think he was planning to collect rent if we would have stayed much longer. He took our picture and then snapped a picture of himself too. I think he felt like we were all family.

We also had a great time connecting with Liz's parents. Brent had fun teaching Dad Hunt how to play Sudoku. Brent, Liz and Mom Hunt enjoyed baking a pumpkin bundt cake. The packaging on the box of cake said it was simple and easy to make. However, after assembling the cake it became clear that it was a complex, multi-step process. After all the hard work, it was delicious!

Finally, Liz's sister, Julie, sent us a huge box of 686 clothing. Julie is the Director of Apparel at

686. We had a blast trying on ski clothes and found some great items. Here is Brent wearing a winter ski jacket and pants ensemble that will keep him warm even on the coldest days Alaska has to offer!