Our first month living in Portland

Sorry it has been so long since I've written. Things have been going so wonderfully since we arrived here that I have not had a second to sit down and write!
God has simply blown our minds with how much He has blessed us since arriving here. It seems that everything has fallen into place beautifully and we have loved absolutely every aspect of the city. For the first two weeks we decided to use graduation money Derek/we received to be tourists and really see the city. We realized this would be the only two straight weeks Derek would have off again for a very long time and we decided to take full advantage of it and really get to see the city. Here are a few things we did...

We had a lovely welcome dinner with Kristen, Terrance, and Jack at a yummy sushi restaurant!
We went to the Portland zoo, which was actually much more fun than I thought it would be. It was small but we had a great time hanging out! We even saw a baby elephant.
We had a wine tasting day in Willamette Valley. The wine country is breathtaking. We had amazing weather and the sights were like nothing I've ever seen before. We also met a super nice girl (who worked at the first winery) and invited her and her fiancee over for dinner a few nights later. They came over and we had a great time!
Took a lunch boat cruise on the Portland Spirit (thanks to help from Kristen!) which was way more fun than we expected. It was beautiful!
We visited Voodoo Donuts which is a must for newcomers and visitors. This place is nuts. People come here from all over the world, it's totally crazy. There was even a bride and groom there taking pictures which I later learned you can actually get married there! There was a huge line, but we waited, and then ate WAY too much sugar!!
Had a BBQ on our porch. It was very funny since this was Derek's first attempt at a charcoal grill. Much different than gas. We had some good laughs!
We got caught in the middle of a hail and thunder shower while on campus with no umbrellas and no jackets! It looked as though we had jumped into a pool with our clothes on by the time we ran all the way to our car! We laughed very hard!
After the first two weeks here Derek started orientation which has basically been 8-5 pretty much every day. On the evening of his first day there was a family BBQ for interns where we met lots of people who Derek will be working with. Including the other 3 neurology guys he will be working with for the next 4 years. Two of them are married and the third is getting married in September. We actually had the two couples over for dinner last weekend and had a great time. I've hung out a couple times with one of the wives and have really gotten along well with her.
Last night I went to a "girls night" through the OHSU Resident Family Network. It's basically a group for spouses of doctors to get together and have a support group / people to hang out with! The girls were so nice and I had an amazing time. I'm really very excited to be involved with this great group of girls! I can't wait to hang out with them again!
Tomorrow is Derek's last day of orientation and then he starts work for his first official day on Sunday. Then the real craziness will begin!
Overall we have really had an amazing time since moving here and God has blessed us with more than we could have ever asked for or even imagined. It has been amazing. We truly feel blessed and at home here. I am so thankful.
Since Derek's schedule will be so crazy this first year we will not be able to do much traveling away from Portland, but please know that everyone is always welcome to come visit us at anytime! We would love to see you and our door is always open!