3 Weeks With Ines

We have had the best experiences hosting foreign exchange students. 

And having Ines in our home for three weeks was no exception. 

She came to us from France and this was her first experience in the U.S.A.

It was crazy knowing that her experience with our family would make or break her feelings about America.

Thankfully this story ends very well:

 By the end of her stay we felt like she was part of the family. We did not want her to go home and tears were shed as we said our goodbyes.

Waiting for Ines to come.

 Introducing Ines to Shari's. A totally American kind of place.

She had never heard of "doggie bags" and was shocked that we could take our uneaten food home. 

Her face was that of total shock when we assured her we were not joking and she finally decided to believe us. Too funny!

She immediately fit into our crazy world!

The Waffle Window in Portland.

 Blue wall in downtown Portland.

 Rylie loved having Ines as her sidekick. They became great friends.

  Oh, beautiful Portland.

 Cool house in Portland.

Ines had never seen the pacific Ocean before. Too bad it was so cold and windy in Seaside! But, at least she can say she's been there now:)

  

We introduced her to Saturday's Market in Portland. It's the best place to people watch and it's a big part of what makes Portland very weird. I love it!

Sophia decided to get a henna tattoo while we were there. It was supposed to last three weeks, but only lasted about a week. She was NOT impressed and called it a waste of her 5 bucks.

There are other pics I wanted to post of our adventures in Portland, but somehow they are lost somewhere in computerland. Which is a place I have little knowledge of. It irritates me that they are missing, but that's another post.

This guy was drumming on buckets and trying to make  few dollars doing it. 

The kids got a kick out of him and gave him what change they had. 

And of course we had to take Ines to Multnomah Falls. The weather was awesome and we hiked all the way to the top.

We love you, Ines.