hysterical tranquility when mom and dad come to town

Mom and Dad's last full day here was Thursday.  We saved the Japanese Gardens for that day.  Being gardeners and fans of Japanese art the gardens were another must-see for their visit.  It was my day with Eury so there was a bit of preparation to get around to leave.

 Dad spent probably twenty minutes sitting here reading to Eury.

The Garden is adjacent to the Rose garden and had some beautiful light that afternoon.  The shade of the trees was magnificent and everything just had a fantastic green glow.  We arrived just in time for to jump into the guided tour.  It was so neat to hear the stories and meaning behind each aspect of the Gardens.  

 The entrance to the first of five gardens is topped with wisteria.  Wisteria is a very powerful plant so they actually made that arbor out of cement with a faux boise finish.  It is pretty convincing.

 Eury enjoyed the gardens as well.  There were many features that were just her height.

 The fantastic canopy.

 Sketching at one of the tea houses.

 This is part of the koi pond.

 The fish were are fed by hand so if you set there they will come up to your fingers and you can touch them.  It was pretty cool.

 Eury was pretty sleepy when we drove past on the tour.  We ended up trailing off on our own much of the time.  That was neat because then Mom and Dad would give me a second-hand tour with information about what they were excited about the most.

 Dad sketching at the big teahouse.

 The view of the skyline he was sketching.  You can just make out Mt. Hood in the distance.

 Eury fell asleep in our strolls.  What a tranquil setting for a nap.

 The stones in this bed came from a special river in Japan.  They are chosen for very specific qualities.  One of which is looking the same when wet or dry.

After the tour had finished up and Mom had done some browsing in the gift shop, Eury woke up and we did one final walk by the koi.  She loved the fish and was so excited to see them so close to her.

 Admiring the waterfall.  This garden used to be part of the zoo and this pond was the bear pit.  There is a square structure that remains in the water from those days.  It's kind of cool to see.

 I love the layers of growth, especially with the great Portland trees for a backdrop.

 These two were quite the pair.  They have similar humors.

After a quick stop into Trader Joe's we headed home to make pizza for dinner.  Mom made a chocolate cake and we played a round of Yahtzee riddled with straights.  

The next morning Rachel made a fantastic farewell breakfast and they got all packed up for their journey back to the midwest.  Of all the fun things we did and cool things we saw both Mom and Dad both commented on how much they liked the conveyer-belt sushi, which I think is hilarious.  Oh, my parents.  I just love them so much.  Hanging out with them and spending the evening just watching tv together is one of the things that I miss the most.  They can make me laugh so hard, probably because they taught me how to laugh.  I am so grateful they came to visit for the week.  It was such a good time.

Yep.  They are giggling about something.  There is some much love there.