Wine, Shopping & McMenamins...who could ask for more?!?

 
We were very fortunate, this last week, to have a visit from Will's mom. It sadly has been almost (exactly) a year, since we have seen her... such a crazy thing going from seeing someone so often to once in a whole year. It is just not enough.

 Will and I were so glad she could make the trip. The kids had a fantastic time with Grandma ("gama" to Meli) and were very sad to see her go. Meli keeps asking me where Gama went. "Where gama go?" When I explained she had to get on a plane to go home..."oooh, plane? Oooh".

I am very lucky to have been blessed with a wonderful mother-in-law. No complaints here. Honestly... I love her dearly and truly enjoy spending time with her.

Her first day, we took it easy so she could adjust to a late flight and west coast time. She did better than I did, whenever I traveled between the coasts! She was able to take Colin to school. He was so excited to have her there. Colin wanted to show her to everybody. She also went with me to Mi-Mi's school.

Liz - a few of the ladies thought you were my mom! They thought you were so sweet.

On Friday, my mom was able to take the kids, so we could have some adult time with Liz. We took her to a beautiful winery in Eugene, King Estate. So beautiful. The view was just gorgeous, the wine was delicious, and the company so much fun.
                 

One of our favorite wines was the N x NW (North by Northwest). I also loved the Pinot Noir and actually the Chardonnay, which I am not usually a big fan of.

After we did our wine tasting, we thought we would have lunch there. I had heard great things about the restaurant portion of the vineyard from friends who live in the area. It really was delicious. We did have a good laugh at our lunch though. We, for some reason, thought we were ordering this big platter of duck, chicken pate, and a pork dish...but it turned out to be this tiny, little dish...if we had paid attention, I am sure we should have known...it was still oh so good. Liz and I were trying very hard to not giggle when it was presented. We had already tested a few wines and were now working on a bottle. Will just cannot take us anywhere! My favorite was the duck, but all three were delicious. Liz and I decided to make up for the lack of food, we would chow down on dessert. Such a great idea. Very tasty! We shared a Vanilla Bean Crème Brulee and a Dark Chocolate Tart. Yum.

N x NW

Our lunch. Small but so good!

Will and his mom

My hubby and I

Since we were in the Eugene area, we took Liz shopping and to McMenamins for dinner. If you come to Oregon, you have to go to  one of the McMenamins (http://www.mcmenamins.com/).  Will and I are trying to go to all of them. We have been to several in Portland, two in Eugene and the one in Roseburg. They are all over the state. Washington state too.  We took her to North Bank. It was one Will and I had been to before when spending time in Eugene. There is such a nice ambiance at this location. It is right on the river and is just so beautiful. Peaceful.  I love eating outside next to the fire pit. Lucky for us, it was a nice April spring day. We talked Liz into trying a beer flight. I have such a cool mother-in-law. We all picked great dishes...not that you can go wrong there.
              
 Will still had to work a bit when Liz first got here and he had his 20k on Saturday (more about that to come), so we got a lot of mother/daughter time. I took advantage and had Liz show me a new stich for my crocheting. We went to a local shop and bought some yarn for our new project...a cowl. I am very excited and almost done. I will post pictures, Liz. I think I am going to add a big button...but we will see.

More to come on our time with Liz soon...

My lovely mother-in-law