This week Kevin and Alexa made it back to Oregon for Kevin's PhD defense and everyone was super excited to see them and Ronan. When they got to Portland they stayed with us for a night before heading down to Corvallis. Their visit was right in the middle of the ugly QSI lawsuit against us which was super unfortunate but it didn't stop us from having a good time with them and our friends in Corvallis who still work for that horrid company. Read on
On Saturday morning Kevin and I grabbed some morning waffles from a waffle cart on Alberta Street before going for a walk in at Pioneer Park nearby to check out the rose garden and fountain. We also stopped by a coffee shop next to the park for some morning Jo. At the fountain Ronan had a good time with Leo running around and exploring the nearby playground but at one point while running toward the fountain he tripped and ended up face planting HARD right into the cement side of the fountain. I was mid reach for my phone to call 911 expecting terrible results but unlike every other kid in the world he pulled himself up, looked to dad for affirmation he was ok and just shrugged it off. I think he's been through so many surgeries for his newborn cleft lip that perhaps he just has a crazy tolerance for pain. Nonetheless, tough ass kid!
We still had a bit of time so we headed back to Alberta Street to check out the annual Alberta Street walk. It was basically a bunch of local vendors with handmade art and food carts set up. We did have some fun at a booth with bubble makers set up for children before leaving though. But it wasn’t really a fun place for a young child so we decided to turn around and head back to the house.
From there it was down to Corvallis for an afternoon bbq at Tim & Lindsay's where Amanda stopped by with her mom and Ruby so the kids could play together. Super cute watching Ronan and Ruby play together, and Leo and Cathy's pug Dougie hang out together. Of course Colin brought some meat to grill and everyone was super curious to hear about the 7 of us exiting the Portland office all at once. I filled people in briefly about how and why and everyone agreed the lawsuit against us was only hurting QSI, not us. But I tried to keep the talk to a minimum as this visit was supposed to be all about Kevin's defense, not my legal problems.
On Sunday we spent much of the day at the Willamette Park along the shore of the Willamette River with Bosun, Leo, Tim, Lindsay, Alexa and Ronan. In the morning I went with the guys to play a round of disc golf though. Was a wee bit hungover as well after a long night chatting with Colin. I had forgotten how beautiful the Willamette River is. While living in Corvallis we really never made it down to this part of the park and it was really great. We watched as tubers floated by all afternoon and got Leo to venture into the river for a couple swims after some sticks we threw which was a first. We of course also had beers and snacks that Tim had packed up for us.
On Monday was Kevin's defense and he did great! There was a large showing of friends and supporters and he pulled it off just fine. After, we headed to Squirrels for drinks and then to Skyhigh Brewing rooftop for drinks to celebrate. We even convinced Emily to stay the night as she didn't need to be at work the next day as she thought. Slow I guess. We actually had three different cars. Kevin and Alexa were using my mom's Prius for the week while Emily and I each had the Prius and Truck with us as well because with the lawsuit I couldn't work and didn't need to be back for anything... Tim and Lindsay were nice enough to host us while we were in CVO and it was great to catch up with him and Colin.
It was great to see Kevin and Alexa and Alexa told us that she may or may not be traveling more to Corvallis for work as she still serves remotely as their calibration expert. I hope this means that we will see Kevin and Alexa for a few weeks each summer in the future as it was very clear from this trip that Kevin deeply misses us all as well as living in Oregon.
This week Kevin and Alexa made it back to Oregon for Kevin's PhD defense and everyone was super excited to see them and Ronan. When they got to Portland they stayed with us for a night before heading down to Corvallis. Their visit was right in the middle of the ugly QSI lawsuit against us which was super unfortunate but it didn't stop us from having a good time with them and our friends in Corvallis who still work for that horrid company. Read on
On Saturday morning Kevin and I grabbed some morning waffles from a waffle cart on Alberta Street before going for a walk in at Pioneer Park nearby to check out the rose garden and fountain. We also stopped by a coffee shop next to the park for some morning Jo. At the fountain Ronan had a good time with Leo running around and exploring the nearby playground but at one point while running toward the fountain he tripped and ended up face planting HARD right into the cement side of the fountain. I was mid reach for my phone to call 911 expecting terrible results but unlike every other kid in the world he pulled himself up, looked to dad for affirmation he was ok and just shrugged it off. I think he's been through so many surgeries for his newborn cleft lip that perhaps he just has a crazy tolerance for pain. Nonetheless, tough ass kid! 
We still had a bit of time so we headed back to Alberta Street to check out the annual Alberta Street walk. It was basically a bunch of local vendors with handmade art and food carts set up. We did have some fun at a booth with bubble makers set up for children before leaving though. But it wasn’t really a fun place for a young child so we decided to turn around and head back to the house.
From there it was down to Corvallis for an afternoon bbq at Tim & Lindsay's where Amanda stopped by with her mom and Ruby so the kids could play together. Super cute watching Ronan and Ruby play together, and Leo and Cathy's pug Dougie hang out together. Of course Colin brought some meat to grill and everyone was super curious to hear about the 7 of us exiting the Portland office all at once. I filled people in briefly about how and why and everyone agreed the lawsuit against us was only hurting QSI, not us. But I tried to keep the talk to a minimum as this visit was supposed to be all about Kevin's defense, not my legal problems.
On Sunday we spent much of the day at the Willamette Park along the shore of the Willamette River with Bosun, Leo, Tim, Lindsay, Alexa and Ronan. In the morning I went with the guys to play a round of disc golf though. Was a wee bit hungover as well after a long night chatting with Colin. I had forgotten how beautiful the Willamette River is. While living in Corvallis we really never made it down to this part of the park and it was really great. We watched as tubers floated by all afternoon and got Leo to venture into the river for a couple swims after some sticks we threw which was a first. We of course also had beers and snacks that Tim had packed up for us. 
On Monday was Kevin's defense and he did great! There was a large showing of friends and supporters and he pulled it off just fine. After, we headed to Squirrels for drinks and then to Skyhigh Brewing rooftop for drinks to celebrate. We even convinced Emily to stay the night as she didn't need to be at work the next day as she thought. Slow I guess. We actually had three different cars. Kevin and Alexa were using my mom's Prius for the week while Emily and I each had the Prius and Truck with us as well because with the lawsuit I couldn't work and didn't need to be back for anything... Tim and Lindsay were nice enough to host us while we were in CVO and it was great to catch up with him and Colin.
It was great to see Kevin and Alexa and Alexa told us that she may or may not be traveling more to Corvallis for work as she still serves remotely as their calibration expert. I hope this means that we will see Kevin and Alexa for a few weeks each summer in the future as it was very clear from this trip that Kevin deeply misses us all as well as living in Oregon.
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