Garden

We have rented a small 4'x8' raised bed in the employee community garden at Tektronix.  The garden committee was also kind enough to let us move in our hop plants so they can have a nice place to grow.  So far everything we've planted is doing pretty well.

-Brandon

Peppers: Jalapeno, Serrano, Poblano, Thai Hot, and Holy Mole

Basil and cilantro

Tomato plants

Broccoli and cabbage

Big Daddy onions

The hop monsters

Brandon's Birthday Dinner

Last week we went to Benihana with a few friends to celebrate Brandon's birthday.  As usual the food was excellent!

Tigard Balloon Festival

On Saturday Lauren and I went down to Tigard to the Festival of Balloons.  We didn't get to see any in flight (hot air balloons aren't allowed to fly at night), but we did get to see a few balloons get inflated.

-Brandon

In Memory of Tesla

On April 15th we had to say goodbye to Tesla. She had a tremendous impact on both our lives and she will always have a special place in our hearts. She brought us a lot of joy and happy memories. We don't always understand why things happen the way they do, all we can do is be thankful for the time we had with her. We know that she loved us very much and we loved her also.

Here are a few pictures from our last hike with her:

And here are some of our favorite pictures of Tesla.  Some we have posted before, but we never get tired of seeing them again.

Farewell friend,
Brandon and Roxanne

The Hakka Village

Rice field

A 130 year old house.

We cooked our dinner of chicken, corn and sweet potatoes in a little stone stove.

Getting Oriented in Hsinchu City

I arrived in Taiwan and stayed in a hotel in Hsinchu City, which is the sister city of Beaverton, OR. About 30 graduate students from the US and Canada are attending an orientation at the National Tsing Hua University.

Money! One US dollar = about 30 New Taiwan Dollars

The intersection across the street from my hotel.

We had a welcome banquet on our first day. The restaurant was a beautiful traditional Chinese garden style building.

Across the court yard.

Another view from the restaurant.

Columbia River Gorge

Lauren and Roxanne hiked 4 miles in the Columbia River Gorge to see some cool water falls.

Lauren is ready for hiking.

Wahkeena Falls.

Lauren by Horsetail Falls.

Horsetail Falls.

The trail went behind a waterfall.

Another waterfall.

Lauren on a bridge on the trail.

Lauren totally pooped.

Cannon Beach

Lauren and Roxanne visit Cannon Beach, Oregon.

Lauren standing in the Pacific.

Haystack Rock.

Lauren wandering off.

Sisters hanging out together.