Kusaba's Happy Place: The Dog Park

There is definitely not a shortage of dog parks up here in the Northwest! It seems like everyone owns a dog and is so laid back, which is so awesome. In Utah, you would get a ticket if you touched foot in a park with your dog. Since we moved up here, I have started taking Kusaba to the dog park. At first he was a little hesitant to go play because, in the past, he would get in trouble for running off. Now that he actually can run off and play, he is in a whole new world. He absolutely loves going to the dog park. As we drive to the dog park, he can somehow sense it, and proceeds to stick his head out the window and violently start wagging his tail. It's definitely a toss up of who likes the dog park more, however. I (being the passionate over-the-top dog lover) find myself having just as much fun.


First things first, he has to get his sniffing in



And then he gets his play on, which consists of wrestling, running with, and neck-biting other dogs


A friendly face-off


And then his favorite ball enters the picture (hasn't been used much obviously)


He runs around even more crazy until we've had enough of the throwing. If we left it up to Kusaba we would still be at the dog park.


All in a day's work...being a dog is tough


While at the dog park, Cody and I played around with our new camera. I absolutely have no photography background, but I'm trying to get better, especially with portrait shots. So here are a couple of Cody (note to Cody...if you take these off the blog, you will pay a price). He's quite the handsome subject in my opinion. Me, on the other hand, I could use some "photogenic" lessons.

Yay! Visitors...finally.

We were so excited to finally have visitors here in Portland! Brandon and Courtney(our fellow travel buddies) came up the other day with their cute little girl, Reagan. They were only up here for one day so Cody and I showed them the best that Portland has to offer (at least in our heads)… are you ready?
1)Voodoo donuts- There is something about eating these obscenely named doughnuts that is so fulfilling.2)Winco- How we have ever survived without this grocery store is a mystery. The bulk candy section alone is as good as a ticket to Disneyland.
3)Montage Restaurant- We were all first time customers to this restaurant, but it was highly recommended by some of my friends. It was nothing short of awesome. Montage is located underneath a scary looking bridge in a dirty part of town…who could ask for anything more? Well there’s more. Montage serves gourmet Mac and Cheese. So good.

4)Lacamas Lake- In an attempt to entice Brandon and Court to move up here we took them to this beautiful lake that is ten minutes away from our house. We even offered to buy a boat so that we can go OUT on the lake if they move up here. (The pressure is on guys!)
5)Camas Airport- A second attempt to entice Brandon…he and Cody really want to build their own airplane. This airport would be a pristine location for their airplane building dreams.

Wow, what a day. Thanks for coming to visit you guys! Kusaba misses Reagan already and we do too.

Boating in Florida? Well, okay...you twisted my arm

MEET CODY'S FRIEND PHIL...
WHO WE GOT TO GO VISIT IN ORLANDO...

PHIL HAS A REALLY CUTE DOG NAMED RUDDER (one of my favorite parts of the trip)...AN INTERESTING FACT ABOUT PHIL. HE BUILT THIS BOAT....(yes, I said BUILT)
I think we are still in awe! Phil has worked for over two years now (50-70 hours weekly) to build this awesome wakeboarding boat. Now that he is finished, he plans on opening his own boat company and we just might be his first customers. He took us out on a lake near Mt. Dora, Florida and we had a blast. I am so impressed that someone could dream so big and actually turn their dream into reality. Here are a couple more pics from our sunny weekend in Florida!! Thanks for showing us a fun weekend Phil and Claudia (and Rudder)!