Cooper | Our Oregon Trail

PDX in the Rearview

November 6, 2014 by kristikrass

I can’t believe it’s been five months since Jeff, Cooper and I pulled away from our empty Portland apartment and drove across the country to our new home in Grand Rapids, Mich. What?! Five months! That’s almost half of a year! Time flies by achingly fast. It’s so strange to flip from one life — apartment living in a big(ish) city, hanging out with the loveliest mix of friends, both working at Nike, super liberal environment — to another life entirely, with […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: Cooper, michigan, mountains, vacation

Goodbye for Now, Oregon Coast

May 26, 2014 by kristikrass

Jeff and I are moving. Let’s just throw it out there, otherwise it’d be the big white elephant in this post. We made the (super hard) decision to leave our beloved Portland, leave our rad Nike jobs, leave our amazing West Coast friends, and embark on a new adventure in Grand Rapids, Mich., starting next month. I’m in a state of mild shock, I believe, despite the mountain of moving boxes that have accumulated in our apartment, and despite the fact […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: coast, Cooper, vacation

A Doggie Decade

April 10, 2014 by kristikrass

Happy 10th birthday, Cooper! Double-digits. He made it. One year ago I thought he’d never see this day. He’s rockin’ it, still cheerful, still chomping down on lots of meds and expensive grain-free grub every day, but overall he’s pretty darn healthy. He’s also a happy camper since he got two walks today and a surprise birthday package from his human and kitty buddies across the hall. I must say, he looks especially fluffy (euphemism for “getting a little chubby”) in these pics because […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: Cooper, holidays

Turkey Time with Tillmans

December 3, 2013 by kristikrass

Jeff and I have strung together an interesting run of Thanksgivings since we’ve lived on the West Coast. 2011: Cabo San Lucas. 2012: Fountain Hills, Ariz. This year, we headed south again, this time for Auburn, Calif., to visit our friends, the Tillmans. Surprisingly, the nine-hour drive down I-5 flew by. Jeff, Cooper and I left Portland at sunrise last Wednesday, and watched as the terrain morphed from woodsy to mountainous to farmland to high desert. We paid a quick (and […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: california, Cooper, holidays, mountains, vacation

Feasting

September 28, 2013 by kristikrass

The Krass fam has been holed up in our apartment most of September, which explains the dearth of blog posts lately. Somehow we’ve hit a rainy stretch (blah) and Cooper is struggling through some issues that landed him at the emergency vet (the fantastic DoveLewis) twice in one week, and has kept us in frequent contact with his doggie oncologist, Dr. Cyman. Thickening of the bladder, it sounds? For now, I’m getting a lot of use of my rug steam […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: Cooper, festivals, restaurants

Dune Doggie

August 11, 2013 by kristikrass

Where in the world has the summer gone? Seriously, it’s almost September? The thought makes my chest clench up a smidge – it’s scary how quickly the time sails by. Jeff and I realized we need to get outta town and do something cool. What’s cooler than spending an impromptu weekend at the Pacific Ocean shore? (And I mean that literally: The temps at the coast are frequently in the 50s and 60s. Brr!) One other factor in the mix […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: coast, Cooper, lincoln city, pacific city, restaurants

The birthday boy with his new felt ball (and his funky white-haired patch)

Nine Years Young

April 10, 2013 by kristikrass

Happy 9th birthday to my pup Cooper! It’s been about six months since his cancer diagnosis and he’s still livin’ it up. Tomorrow marks his sixth palliative (aka just trying to keep him comfortable) chemo treatment with the doggy oncologist Dr. Cyman, who just so happens to be a Michigan State grad. The tumor in his pelvis area keeps growing, of course, which makes it tough for him to go to the bathroom, and he’s on a twice-a-day med cocktail […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: Cooper

Thunderballs

February 3, 2013 by kristikrass

What do you do when winter hits, bringing dark evenings, chilly temps, and a dearth of festivals and other fun events? Head to the bowling alley. Jeff and I are in the thick of a Monday night bowling league through Recesstime Sports, a local organization that keeps old people like us moving in “alternative” sports such as kickball, ping pong, dodgeball and something called mushball. Where bowling leagues back in the Midwest usually stretch months and months, this league lasts […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: bowling, Cooper, restaurants

Lesley and me perched on the outdoor seating at Amnesia Brewing

Kristi and Lesley’s Excellent Adventure

October 21, 2012 by kristikrass

The first weekend of October brought an awesome milestone: The first major visit to Portland from a girl friend of mine from back home. Yay! Welcome, Lesley! Lesley and I are Pinny High grads, cheerleading buddies and we lived in Chicago at the same time. It was great getting her out to the West Coast – and witnessing her first visit to the Pacific Ocean! We had 48 hours and a lot of ground to cover. First stop: lunch at […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: breweries, coast, Cooper, restaurants, views, visitors

Our Oregon Trail

Portland through the eyes of a festival-loving, dessert-feasting, travel-addicted Midwesterner.

Tag: Cooper