Henry and I decided to zip down to Portland to see a concert of his favourite
band, Imagine Dragons. But first, a birthday party in the Ghost for Ty.
First some photos from Walter on the weekend
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While Henry and I went to the US, Walter got to crush it with his little buddy Grayson. Here they are
at the Flying Squirrel fun centre in Calgary.
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Then they got to go to Olive Garden for dinner.
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Having quesadillas with his friend Niko. Check out the pumpkin pattern.
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I'm not totally sure why Henry wanted to play box head, but they both got a kick out of it.
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Ty, Rhys, and Henry having a party in the Ghost. Do you think they got a bit wet? I think Ty
actually managed to lose his shoe in that last puddle.
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Henry quite liked ripping around on a little quad.
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Crossing point 324 was a decent spot for the kids to play.
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Henry and Rhys after Rhys had to wash himself off again.
Henry goes to Portland to see Imagine Dragons
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This was Henry's first trip anywhere without his brother. He was mighty excited and pretty proud
to be leaving the country by himself. This is at YYC at the US side of security. He thought it was
cool that we're actually on US soil on this side of the airport. I find it uncomfortable but
necessary.
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Henry thought the Q400 was a bit louder than he likes. He's not wrong.
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Landed at PDX on the same side I used to use so much. The carpet in some places is still
the same, which was pretty rad to see.
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After fighting traffic for longer than I'd like, we made the trip to Corvallis to see Jason and Avie
and their boys. Here Jason is showing Henry Avie's new pottery studio.
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And one of the finished insects. Henry liked the gold paint that was actual gold.
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Avie and her carrot that her friend Laurie painted and I think is awesome.
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Henry liked their neighbour's water feature.
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Jason, Avie, and I having dinner in Corvallis together.
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Henry was super excited to have a soft pretzel for dinner.
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This is a great bathroom sign and speaks to the world we live in today.
One of the things I was really happy to see was how independent and funny Porter and Oliver have
turned into. Here's a video of Oliver rocking out a unicycle
Henry also loved their spider toy
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Giant pencil from Jason and Avie's house.
Video of the Lego roller coaster that both boys love
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Henry liked this invention that Oliver made to allow him to turn on the light without leaving his
top bunk.
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Oliver crushing it at the local bike park.
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Our next stop in our Oregon tour was Oaks Park, an old amusement park that I thought Henry
would like.
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Really awesome roller coaster that I couldn't convince Henry to try. He thinks they're cool
but he's just not quite ready to ride the upside down ones yet.
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Mini roller coaster with still some pretty effective jerkiness and moves.
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Henry and Elianna on a ride that you sit on like a motorcycle. Henry didn't love the back
support that basically squeezed you down into the seat.
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This ride was FAST, as I clocked it >40 km/hour.
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Go karts were definitely a highlight for Henry on this trip. He got a slightly faster
kart than I did and he was super pleased to be able to pass me.
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Henry and Elly on another ride, this one a slow boat.
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Allison, Tamaya, and Quinley (I love Quinley's smile here) on the boat ride with me.
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Henry thought Coke from a glass bottle was better than plastic.
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This was at dinner in Beaverton at the food truck festival area. Henry again thought this was
pretty sweet since he could eat whatever he wanted.
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I had BBQ ribs and he had gooey grilled cheese.
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Using the leaf blower to move leaves off the trampoline was a big hit for Henry.
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We went to a sweet arcade in Hillsboro with my friend Jeff and his family that allows you full access
to the games for a fixed price. There were >^600 arcade games and pinball tables here. Just foolish.
And a stupid number of memorabilia like lunch boxes and other video-game-related crap.
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Henry and Quinley playing Nerf arcade shooting.
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LOTS of pinball machines ranging from brand new to old vintage ones.
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Killing dinosaurs was something the 5 year old loved. Hmm, is that a good thing to promote??
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And finally, the main event - Imagine Dragons! We got lawn seats for the show and had to rent
chairs, even though we brought our own. Here are Tamaya and Henry waiting for the opening act.
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Unusually for a band like this, there was no encore at all. I think the rural area amphitheatre we
were in has noise bylaws that govern big shows. Here's Allison and her girls loving the show and
trying to stay warm on a late September evening.
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They insisted you rent chairs from them but we could bring our own blankets.
Rose Garden
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The next morning Henry and I explored the Rose Garden and the Japanese Gardens. I noted the slope
comment here on this sidewalk for posterity.
