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Paul Anka Weekend

It's Saturday evening and I am looking out the window at the Pacific Ocean. We are sitting in our beach condo at Pacific Winds. Many moons ago, Pa got tickets for Paul Anka at the Chinook Winds Casino. We figured that since we don't take much time off from work, that we should make a weekend of it.

We left home, yesterday (Friday), at about 4:00 p.m. After getting stuck in Dundee traffice for almost 25 minutes, we zipped on down to Lincoln City, checked into our condo, and quickly drove over to meet Pa and Ashton at Chinook Winds. A short while later, Gordon and Tracy arrived. We ate at the buffet, then went to the theatre for Paul Anka.

Gretchen and I both had rather low expecations. After all, Paul Anka had to be older than dirt, and here he was, performing at Chinook Winds. Well, our expectations were greatly exceeded. Paul was very fit, energenic, and put on a great show.

For those who don't know, Paul Anka has written hundreds of songs for other well-known singers. For the older crowd, he wrote the theme song for the Johny Carson show. He sang both songs that he recorded, and many that he wrote for others. He played guitar and piano. He worked the crowd very well, and sang three encores.

After a very entertaining evening, Pa, Ashton, Gordon & Tracy came over to our condo, which was about 1.5 miles from the casino. We had some snacks, then Pa and Ash took off for home so they could attend the Grand Floral parade in the morning. Gordon and Tracy had a hotel room and were heading home, this morning.

The Mortensen clan stayed the weekend. We slept in, this morning. Gretchen and I went to the coffe shop, then picked up some eggs and milk. We came back to the condo, had breakfast, then went swimming in the indoor pool. Afterward, we went to get a crab/shrimp cocktail, shopping at the outlet mall, and stopped for a Snicker Ice Cream Mocha for the kids (I know, we are very nutritional-minded parents).

Returning to condo, we just hung out. Watched some TV, Victoria and I went hot tubbing -- overlooking the ocean, and Gretchen even entered some invoices (gotta love the Internet). Now, we are all watching the Biggest Loser and I am blogging.

We'll head to dinner, soon, and see if we can make it through another stressful day, tomorrow!

What Did Victoria Do, continued

I left for a business trip in Las Vegas before the final post of Victoria was posted so I just need to follow up and expand a little more. First on Wednesday morning Victoria left for school wearing a darling blouse we bought over the weekend, very feminine and it was worn with her "girl jeans" Right after school was her hair appointment and she asked for layers. She also let the hairdresser complete the special knots in her hair. Next Victoria and I went to the nail salon for manicures and pedicures, it was a fun mother daughter time. Very different than the usual things Victoria enjoys. Victoria even chose red for her toes (her fingernails are too short and bitten for color). I was getting my eyebrows waxed so the lady asked if Victoria wanted hers done to my pure amazement she asked me if she could. I said sure but did tell her it would hurt but she went ahead with it. So it was so much more than the hair and toes Doug showed in his photos.

Lord's Last Supper

Victoria finished another leather tooling project. This time it is a scene from the Lord's Last Supper.

Here she is holding her finished project, which she has every right to be proud of.

A closer look reveals the amazing detail work.

Of course, an original work of art requires a signature — the soon-to-be-famous "VM!"

A Nose Ring!

Just kidding! No nose ring. However, Victoria is looking increasingly like a young lady. Check out the hair in the following four pictures. And in the final photo, Gretchen and her are showing off their newly-pained toes!






And, Gretchen was telling me how much Victoria enjoyed her pedicure!

Hillary, you were right about her hair. Jen, no pink room.......yet!

The Victoria Guessing Game

As soon as there are at least two requests (comments), I will post photos of Victoria that provide answers to Mom's question.

Random Photos II

Some more pics that never made it on prior posts:

This one of Riley was from the garage sale at Grandpa's house. She was operating the "concession stand."

Dimitri during Memorial Day weekend.

Victoria working on a school project.

Another shot from Grandpa's garage sale. There was way more than $40 of memories to go along with each of those bar stools.

Doug and Victoria at the Sherwood Presbyterian All-Church Retreat in April.

Random Photos I

Here are some random photos that fell to the editing room floor during prior posts:

Gretchen on the last day at our old office in Sherwood.

Loyd Matthey on the first day at our new office in Beaverton.

Victoria and Dimitri on Easter Sunday.

Debbie and Dimitri at Kent & Julie's house on Easter.

Gabriella Levasa at her birthday celebration.

What did Victoria do today?

I don't have photos to go with today's activities so you get to guess what she did. Reply soon!

Dad's B-Day

My birthday was on Friday. Those that know me, know that I am really into any lavish birthday celebrations. Spending time with loved ones is all I want. Gretchen asked me on Friday afternoon what I wanted to do to celebrate. I jokingly replied by saying, "A shrimp dinner at Chef Tucker's would be nice!" This was in reference to our most enjoyable Cinco de Mayo dinner.

A short while later, Gretchen called to say that we had a date. When I asked where, she replied that we were going to have a shrimp dinner at Tuckers!

When we arrived at Chef Tucker's, it was easy to see who "The Boss" was. All of you business owners know that running a business means you get all the glamorous jobs — just like Tucker doing laundry!

Jennifer, Gretchen, and Victoria lined up in the pastry kitchen, prior to dinner.

Not sure how why we went to B&W, but Victoria and I enjoy some desert after dinner.

Victoria and somebody's arm.

Dimitri was most excited to be celebrating with me!

14 Days and Counting

If you haven't checked out the Terada blog (you are missing photos of the cutest little girl), Adrienne has posted a countdown for her move home to Oregon.

I was going to post one on our site, but she beat me to it (only because I procrastinated too long). Right now, I see that it is only 14 days until I get to hug my daughter and grandkids. Then, I get to hug Hillary, four days later (see countdown for Hillary).

June is going to be a fun month! If only we get to celebrate by dining on some of that shrimp with avocado and lime at Chef Tucker's! (hint).

Looking forward to seeing everybody.

Weekend Preparations

Croppin' in Sunriver

I'm not sure how it turned out this way, but Gretchen and I are taking a weekend trip to Sunriver (Central Oregon) this weekend. Not your typical weekend getaway, rather we are staying at a house with people I really don't know. And, one of the primary activities is scrap booking.

Anyway, Gretchen is quite excited about it. So much so, she started gettig ready on Wednesday evening, which for those who know her, that is really advance planning.

Gretchen begins accumulating her scrap booking materials on the kitchen table. Flowers from Pa are in the foreground.

Look at that smile on her face. The anticipation is making her giddy.

Hey, kids, bet you didn't expect to see all of these photos out on the dining room table. Thought I would do this one in B&W for a little nostalgic feeling. Two more shots appear in color, below.


It should be an interesting weekend. I'll post some photos from our Sunriver adventure after we return...maybe. After all of the scrap booking stuff gets loaded in the car, there may not be room for me!

Mother's Day - Part II

Gretchen, Grandmother, and Hailey. Did you notice how thin and attractive my wife is?

Tracy prepared one of her very tasty salads.

Amy, Mckenzie, and Adam make it look like a warm, summer day (It was actually rather cool most of the day).

Miles winding up for some action.

Mother's Day - Part I

The Root clan got together at Ashton's house on Mother's Day.

Taylor and Haily pose for a pic in the kitchen.

Several Moms dish up to enjoy dinner. Here is Bev, Hailey, and Kimberly, while Gabby peeks out from behind the rice cooker.

The weather was not great, but that did not stop the kids from enjoying a little water action.

Here are two very attractive Moms watching the outdoor activities.

Kimberly, Tracy, Gretchen, and Gordon enjoy a sun break.

Dimitri the Golfer

Dima spends a day at Nike world headquarters

Dimitri and Gretchen spent the good part of Saturday learning to golf at the Nike campus in Beaverton, Oregon. He had a good time, and he brought home a ribbon, certificate, minirature shoes, and a Nike Go t-shirt.

Victoria the Leather Artisan

As seen in the first, photo, below, Victoria can be a very funny girl. She also has some talents that some of you may not be aware of. She has taken a keen interest in leather tooling. One of her works can be seen in pictures 2, 3, and 4.




Lisa Esquerra (our neighbor) was the lucky recipient of this work of art. Currently, Victoria is working on the Lord's Last Supper.

The New Victoria

What do you think?



Looks like a girl, to me!

Cinco de Mayo

Unfortunately for everybody else in the world, the Cinco de Mayo party at Chef Tucker's was a bust. However, this was very good news for Doug & Gretchen. Tucker and Jenn invited us to a private dinner on Saturday to enjoy what others could have — the best Cinco de Mayo dinner in town.

It was a delightful evening. The sun was shining. Flowers were in bloom. And, we had the restaurant just to the four of us. We enjoyed conversation and food over a nearly four-hour span of time. It was a truly memorable evening. I didn't want it to end.

Jennifer and Gretchen behind the pastry case as they scout out some tequila for the chef.

Here is Tucker preparing the Chorizo sausage appetizer. Since it was just the four of us. We moved back and forth between the kitchen and dining room. We got to visit with the chef while he worked.

Each of us had a plate of the sausage that looked like this. It was very good — perfectly seasoned.

This was the best part. Having the chef sit down with us. It was fun to visit with him while he prepared our food. More fun to have him sit down and enjoy it with us!

Since it was a Cinco de Mayo dinner, there was lots of lime and tequilla used in the preparation. Jenn assists Tucker by chopping some limes for the main course.

After enjoying our appetizer, it was back to the kitchen. Here, Tucker prepares the prawns while Jenn looks on.

If I was preparing the prawns, I would have probably served a plate that looked like the ones, above. Of course, if you're a real chef....

...you add lots of good stuff. Tucker added a lot of avocado and lime stuff (technical chef talk).

This is this is the end product. Guess that's what happens when you send your son off to chef school in Paris. He even learns to cook "Fancy Mexican!"

This pic washed out a bit, but you can see that everybody was having a good time. Gretchen and I have talked about this meal several times since Saturday night. The superb food was complemented with such an enjoyable time with Tucker and Jennifer. I wish my distant daughters could have joined us.