A Visit from Val, Brian, and Jim

Tonight Debbie's family came over for dinner and a visit. Jim was in town from Arizona, which was the main reason we scheduled our trip when we did. He was incredibly tan from a recent trip south of the border. It was fun to catch up with him as we haven't had a chance to see each other in a number of years. Clara liked her Great-Grandpa and played with him for a while. Cute pic below to the left.

Valerie, seen above right, also came over. Valerie lives in another suburb of Portland. She's always good for a story and a laugh or two. We really enjoyed visiting with her and hope to see Clara's two other Great Aunts who live in California on our next visit.

Here's a random picture of Debbie and Dirk's cat, Kitty, taken Thursday night. I dislike all cats and Kitty is no exception. Usually when we visit Kitty gets some attention from Kristin, Kitty has an odd habit of crawling up on Kristin's shoulders, but this time all attention went to Clara. Kitty was NOT pleased.

Dinner that night was pacific salmon cooked on the grill by Dirk with fresh strawberry shortcake from Debbie. Dirk prepared the salmon with mayonnaise, vinegar, olive oil, and a bunch of spices. When I first heard what he was putting on, I had my doubts, but it turned out delicious!

Brian, Kristin's cousin, was also there, sans wife Cassie. Brian is a total crack up with a dryer sense of humor than his mother. Jeff also stopped by for a while. Clara hadn't been in the best mood the night before at Jeff's house, so it was good for him to be able to experience a happy Clara. It was a fun night and everyone had to head home way too soon.