Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day. It brings me such joy to see giant trees, wildflowers, raging rivers, and Mt. Hood in the distance. There is nothing better than a sunny day in Portland! Besides being home, I got to see some of my most favorite people on the planet.

My mom, sister, and I traveled out to St. Vincent's Hospital to see my grandma. She is actually doing better than I anticipated. She's still in pretty bad shape, but I think she's going to be able to hold on a little longer now. When I heard she had pneumonia, I thought she was going to leave us, but she's recovering & looks great. While we were at the hospital, the paramedics showed up to move her to a rehabilitation center. My sister rode with them in the ambulance while my mom and I packed up her stuff. As we were arriving at the care facility, my aunt, cousin, and grandpa pulled up. It was so nice to see everybody. My cousin Jessie currently lives in Pennsylvania, so we don't see her that often. What a treat to see my family. Somebody may argue with me, but I really do think that I have the best family ever!

After spending some time with the family, we headed back to Troutdale to get ready for Alex's wedding. Benny and I spoke, but it just wasn't going to work out to hang out that evening. : (
The wedding was beautiful. Alex looked stunning & Tyler looked great too. At the reception Alex's mom Lori recruited me to cut the cake. Apparently they didn't have someone to cut it, so they asked me. I am a professional! It was nice to be able to help out, and I even got plenty of compliments on my mad cake cutting skills. Seven years of working at a wedding place trained me well.

It was 10:30 before we got out of there & we went over to the Aladdin to see if I could catch Benny. Luckily, they were still playing & the lady out front gave me a comp ticket. I was able to see the band play a few more songs & they were incredible!! Benny was on piano, Essiet Essiet on bass, Ingrid Jensen on trumpet, Jon Wikan on drums, and Kevin Mahogany & Nancy King on vocals. They were fabulous! Steve Christoperson sat in on piano too, which was awesome. After the show, I saw my good friend John Nastos & Mary Kadderly. I caught up with Benny & was able to spend some time with him. What a great friend! I was re-introduced to Kevin Mahogany, who actually remembered me from the concert I played with him a few years ago. He was super sweet & invited me to come back and hang out after his performance at the Cathedral Park Jazz Festival tomorrow. It's too bad that I have to leave before he plays. I told him that I wasn't playing trombone anymore, but I had started singing. He said that the singers won since I came over to their side. Nice guy.

Benny was great. He spent some time talking with my mom and Katie. He didn't even recognize Katie at first (it's been over 2 years since he'd seen her), but really complimented he on how much she has grown up & how pretty she looked. As we were leaving the theatre, we bumped into Mary again. If you ever need a self esteem boost, talk to Mary Kadderly! She is an amazingly sweet woman. She always makes me feel good about my singing, even when I'm not sure I should be doing it. I have a feeling she and I will be a little better about keeping in touch.

Today I get to hang out with my dad & my best friend Alicia. Later, I'll be going back to my old work, East Fork Country Estate, to sit in and help out. I'm really looking forward to seeing all of my old friends & my old boss (who is a great friend herself). So far, this trip back has been wonderful. Each time I come back, I realize how much this place and these people mean to me. There really is "no place like home."