East coast trip day 12: One last visit in Shrewsbury

The 12th day of our trip was spent visiting with Vienne's great grandmother and great grandfather out in Shrewsbury. It was neat to see 4 generations of beautiful ladies in da house! Vienne's great aunts Kathie, Taffy and Diane along with her great uncle Danny and auntie Arianne stopped by to say hello.













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East coast trip day 11: Elaine and Hebert's Candy Mansion!!

Day 11 began with a visit from Nana Sian's friend and ex-roommate Elaine. Vienne was instantly in love with her new dalmatian puppy, courtesy of Elaine.

Then afterward, it was off to the Hebert's Candy Mansion! Read more about the history of candy mansion here!





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MUSIC: Big Rock Candy Mountain by Susie Tallman

East Coast trip day 10 - Chris, Donna and Vienne's party

Day 10 was spent in Easthampton visiting Danielle's good friend from high school, Chris Wayne. Chris lives in NY and is an assistant director with The View. We had the pleasure of attending a taping of The View a few years ago, courtesy of Chris. Next up was Donna, the mother of Danielle's ex, with whom she has stayed close.

Finally, we ended up back at Meme's for a party thrown in Vienne's honor by her Pepe and her Aunt Ellen. Many of Danielle's cousins and a few of her father's motorcycle buddies attended. We snacked on ribs and Thanksgiving leftovers.

Chris and Vienne:


Donna, Danielle and Vienne:









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East Coast trip day 9 - Frank and Ruth's!

We slept in a bit on Friday, day 9 of our trip. Nana Sian was at work that day, so Danielle, Vienne and I ate a late lunch at the local greasy spoon (ok, ok...it wasn't that greasy) then it was off to Woodstock, Ct. for a brief visit with Frank and Ruth Wilson.

Frank is my dad's cousin, and as teenagers in the 60s, they had some rascally times: cruisin' for chicks and racing their hot rods all over Eugene, Oregon. I met Frank and his wife Ruth many times as a kid (and as an adult as well, most recently being Danielle and I's wedding), but it had been MANY years since I had seen their kids, Heath and Marnie. Their other daughter Linn has since moved to Montana. We had a great time visiting for the night while watching the Oregon Ducks football team squeak by the Arizona Wildcats. We also gave ourselves migraines trying to figure out the exact relation of Vienne to Frank & Ruth, their kids and their grandkids. 2nd cousin, twice removed is about the best we came up with.





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East Coast trip day 8 - Thanksgiving!

On Thursday - a little more than a week into our trip - we had a wonderful Thanksgiving at Great Grandma Meme's house. The feast consisted of the usual delightfulness - red wine, ham and turkey, punkin' pie and great conversation!




As usual, Vienne slept through part of the evening, but ended up showing off for everyone near the end of the night. Trust me, there was plenty of "ham" on the table that night!






(Click on any photo to see the large version)

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MUSIC: Simple Gift by Jewel

East Coast trip day 7 - Mount Auburn Cemetary

At the suggestion of Auntie Arianne, we visited Mount Auburn Cemetary, located in Boston. Unfortunately, Nana Sian couldn't join us because she had to work. But first, before we could explore the cemetary (with such famous inhabitants as Oliver Wendell Holmes, Henry Cabot Lodge and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) we had to change Vienne's stinky poo pants in the only place possible - in the trunk of the car!!!!







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MUSIC: I'll Wait by Van Halen

Monumental day!!

Please pardon me as I take a quick detour from the videos of our East Coast trip in order to present to you all a very special moment in Vienne's life.

Take a gander:

East Coast trip: Day 6 - Yankee Candle

Day 6 was an eventful trip to the Yankee Candle flagship store. We had a great time (although Vienne slept through most of the fun as usual) but the experience really put us in the mood for the upcoming holidays!!

East Coast trip: Day 6 (Two ladies)

Day 6 was our big trek to Yankee Candle, but first, in the morning, Vienne was entertained by Nana Sian's little ditty.

East Coast trip, day 4

Day 4 was my birthday, November 20th!!

We started out at Danielle's grandma and grandpa's in Shrewsbury, ate way too many Coney Island dogs, but we had a great visit all around and received a few, very nice gifts.

Later that night, the whole gang ate near Sterling - a wonderful birthday feast with lobster and prime rib!

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Day 4, part 2:

East Coast trip, day 3

Friday, day 3 of our trip, was pretty uneventful. Nana Sian had to work, so Danielle and I slept in as much as we could, then bundled up (Vienne included) for a lllllooooonnnnnnggggg walk down to the local mom and pop book store. Once we arrived, we read some kids books to Vienne, bought some Golden Books from the sale rack and sipped on a hot mocha. Since it was getting late and it was even colder outside than when we arrived, we decided to hunker down at the bookstore and wait for Nana to come pick us up. Later that evening, we ate dinner, watched a little boob tube, read to Vienne some of our new books and hit the hay in preparation for our next day: Saturday November 20th or otherwise known as Poppa's birthday!!!

East Coast Trip Day 2, part 6: At Meme's

For part 1, scroll down the screen

East Coast Trip Day 2, part 5: At Meme's

For part 1, scroll down the screen

East Coast Trip Day 2, part 4: At Meme's

For part 1, scroll down the screen

East Coast Trip Day 2, part 3: At Meme's

For part 1, scroll down the screen

East Coast Trip Day 2, part 2: On the way to Meme's

MUSIC: Panama by Van Halen

East Coast Trip: Day 2, part 1

We arrived at Nana's super tired and we tried to hit the hay, still on our Pacific Time schedule, meaning going to bed at 10pm Eastern. But of course, to Vienne's still developing brain, it was still only "7pm." She simply wasn't ready for bed and unfortunately, Danielle and I were up till 1am Eastern time waiting for V to go sleepy sleep for the night. This wonky time shift in our nighttime schedule held up through most of the trip.

Anyhow, the 2nd day was spent mostly at Danielle's grandmother's house. Mainly we went to Leominster in order to pick up some baby formula her dad had purchased, but we ended up staying later than expected since we were having such a grand time. This visit with Meme, Ellen, Dick and Elisse also marked the first appearance of the dancing Santa that Vienne became quite fond of. (see the more recent post for these videos)

But before we left, it was sing-a-long time!!




Click here to see a video of Dick Van Dyke dancing with penguins.

I don't know when I'll be back again...

On Wednesday, November 17th, we boarded a jet plane on our way to Boston for an East Coast visit with Danielle's family. We were mostly excited about our time away from Oregon and looking forward to many exciting adventures in Massachusetts, but we were also a little trepidatious about Vienne's first plane ride. We didn't know what to expect, but as always, Vienne was simply an angel as she was quiet, while sleeping most of the way. We arrived on time - although a little tired - but grateful to see Nana Sian at the arrival curb.

And the adventure began.....




MUSIC: Leaving on a Jet Plane by Chantal Kreviazuk

Pittock Mansion

Before I dive into posts about our recent trip to the East Coast, I had a straggler post from before we left that needed to be seen, so here it is.

One day in late October, we were blessed with a nice Saturday and so we spent part of the day outside at the Pittock Mansion. For those unfamiliar with the mansion, located up in the West Hills of Portland, click here!