Road Trip! This is how I travel! Poor Mike had to do the driving. . .all 16 hours of it. It was a fun trip and the kids did amazingly well. I bought somethings from the dollar store to give them every couple hours to keep it fresh. I also took Jodi's idea of giving them a disposable camera. That was a big hit!
Beautiful Mt. Hood (or was is Mt Adams...now I can't remember) with the Colombia River in front of it with the John Day Dam. It was fun to drive thru Idaho and Eastern Oregon along the Colombia River because I am reading the American Girls series to our girls and we are on "Kaya" who is an Indian living in these parts of the woods in the 1750's . It was fun to identify some places they mentioned in the book. Also, Hwy 84 goes along the Lewis and Clark expedition trail and we've been learning/talking about them, too. The other pic is of Mount Renier with the Pudget Sound in front of it.
Aaron at a playground during a pit-stop in The Dalles, OR.
Once we got to Washington on Friday, Mike and I left the kids with my parents and headed for Seattle. We stayed the night up there and went to the exciting BYU/UW game on Saturday.
This is my lame attempt at a panoramic shot. You can tell where the pictures didn't piece together well. Anyway, the stadium is BEAUTIFUL! You have the lake on one side and the Seattle skyline on the other with the Space Needle and ribbons of freeways. The seats have huge coverings that go overhead (because it rains so much) and that just amplifies the sound. It was an exciting game. Some of Mike's long time buddies were at the game as well.
After the game we headed to my brother's boat, where he lives.
This is beautiful "A Dock". There are more "live aboards" than you would think. Some families with children, etc. We dingied out to a water-front restaurant and had a wonderful meal (Thanks Brent!) We left just as the sun was setting, the view on the water with the boats and the sun setting behind the Olympic Mtns was one to remember.
This is my brother in front of one of the boats you see on "The Deadliest Catch" on the Discovery Channel. They live up the hill from him. Word on the street is they work 3 months out of the year and party the rest.
Sunday we had a fun family party. My sweet cousin Laura gave my kids gifts to play with at Grandma's and some for the ride home. She and Newby also played with them tirelessly. Thanks guys. My darling Great-Aunt Caroline (whom was really more like my 3rd Grandma) is 93! She is so active, with such a positive attitude. A laugh is always quick on hand with her. I love her and am so grateful we were able to spend some time with her. It was also wonderful to see my other aunts and uncles that I unfortunately didn't get pictures of. Its always nice to catch up over some good food. We also took a minute to celebrate my Dad's birthday!
I assure you he needed more than one candle on his cake. ;) A nice cousin pic. Me and Brent and my cousins Laura and Nicole.
On my Dad's B-day we went to the Northwest Trek. You can go on this bus-like thing with no windows and see all the animals in the wild. We saw elk, moose, big horn sheep, among others. My favorites were the buffalo (or bison or whatever).
This is the bear through which my mom earned her name as "Bear Whisperer"! We were having way too much fun for our own good. This bear was sleeping and my mom told him get up (in English or "Bear" I can't remember) and he did. He stared at us for a long time. Moving his big lips occasionally. Funny, funny memories.
A trip to Washington would not be complete without going to Hartstine Island (spelled many different ways depending on where you are on the island). The girls are sitting on a bench that was placed in memory of my Grandma. She bought a cabin on the island before I was born. Several times a year we would go there. It was a wonderful place of discovery and fun as a child. The positioning of the bench is so perfect because we spent many, many hours with her on that beach making many memories. As we sat on the bench it was very tender, I could feel her near. I miss her.
The tide was very high, so all we could really do as we walked along the beach was collect and throw rocks. The girls collected, the boys threw! We saw an occasional jelly fish, but not the usual star fish or sand dollars we find when the tide is out. I love the beach. It is so calming.
Next up, the Zoo.
We spent a long time watching the Gorillas. One just had a baby and it was so intriguing to watch the mom with her baby. Her almost human actions and care for the baby. This sweet Chimp was absolutely darling. She would sit like this with her chin on her hands, then occasionally when she maybe wasn't getting enough attention, she would tap on the glass with her knuckles.
They had a beautiful "Blooms and Butterflies" exhibit where you walked in and the butterflies just flew around you or landed on you. They carefully brushed you off before you left to insure all the butterflies stayed inside. The elephant was far away so Mike forgot about the "Do Not Feed the Animals" sign and waved some of the greenery in front of her. She came closer, that's for sure. She did something I've never seen an elephant do. . .she rubbed her eye with her trunk, no joke.
That was our trip, along with late nights with my mom watching HGTV and seeing their own home being remodeled. As well as, seeing Jamie and her handsome boy Daniel. When I asked Aaron what he liked about the trip, one thing he said was, "playing trains with that boy." That boy would be Daniel. It was too short. I could have used more time with my family in WA.
There was this giant log along the trail that provided some good entertainment, as well as a nice place to rest for a minute. 
Aaron fell asleep on the way back. I'm still trying to figure out how he could fall asleep on a hike!
And last but not least, I love this picture of Abby's choice for socks with her shoes. They didn't match a thing, not her shirt, shorts, or shoes. Silly girl! :)
Funny story on the way down. Abby had to go to the bathroom now and the only bathrooms after the cave are at the very bottom. So Mike put her on his back and hurried to the bottom. The rest of us were much slower and farther behind. After a while I see a wet trail and a puddle. I jokingly said to Anna, "Looks like Abby didn't make it." Then just as we turned the corner we saw Mike and Abby sitting on the bench, and it was true, she didn't make it. We had some good laughs over that one!
I added this pic of the map, just so you could see that it really was long and steep. I'm sure there are those who have hiked it and thought it was a breeze, but I am out of shape. It was hard. I think I'm OK not doing that hike for another 5 years at least. :) 