3 Weeks In Washington

Ya, I'm probably going to have to give up on all the back blog posts and just start fresh. I do feel guilty though, but in Scarlett's immortal words, I'll think about that tomorrow.

We got back 24 hours ago from my favorite place on earth. We had so. much. fun! I love my hometown, but I really don't think it matters where we are. If all the family gets together, it's just perfect. And by perfect I mean, filthy kids, unhealthy diets, living out of suitcases and a touch of sibling bickering (and not just with the juveniles). I love every second of it.

The best part? Trevor got to come this time. Try to contain your inevitable surprise. It's been 3 1/2 years since he's been to Washington and 4 years since he's been there for the summer reunion. It made such a difference having him there. 4 kids are 3 too many without reinforcements.

Here are some of my favorite highlights with one big exception, lunch with Granny Great. Why didn't I take a picture??!! We met her right outside the Columbia River temple and had lunch there with our chaos causin' crazy cousin crew. My only excuse is that was the day Trevor flew in and my mind was pre-occupied with the return of my main squeeze. I had stars in my eyes.

The day before we left, we went to P-town to have our parade/illegal firework show with the Strobels. There was only one fire, only minor injuries and only one run away firework hit Carson. I dub it a success. And I'm going to take this moment to say that the 4th of July is one of my most favorite holidays and I am SO proud to be an American! I love my country and I love, love our history. It's perfect, and by perfect I mean like my family's version of perfect. It's flawed but beautiful. Plus red, white and blue just look awesome together.



The Royal Summerfest Parade. My favorite part is the sprayer with the anti-organic sign. I LOVE small towns!



Allred's Pond. Trevor wasn't man enough to jump off the rope swing. He was whining about the cold weather or something. Whatever.



The Windmill farm. This could have been interesting, but Will wasn't in the mood. As the tour guide led us out to the solar field and the windmills themselves, he got...restless. I put him in the car since his chatter was louder than the guide's. Then, he started honking the horn. It wasn't embarrassing at all. And may I point out the top left picture? Sydney gazing adoringly into the face of the dummy. That wasn't staged. Ok maybe it was, but it's still hilarious.




Ginkgo Petrified Forest. We hit this on our way home from the windmill farm. A short little hike to see a handful of petrified wood. I remember this from 3rd grade, especially the gift shop with it's random collection of plaster dinosaurs. Grandpa let all the kids pick out a precious stone. Wasn't that precious of him?



Callahan's Pond. It's lovely to have friends who build their own ponds and facilities to go with them.



Chillaxin' at the Andersen's. Abby and Adalynn picked out their own ensembles on day...they have interesting taste. And can I say that Aftyn is my favorite little person? She totally rocks. I'm mad at Avery though. She got too big too fast and I'm not okay with that.



Will turns 2!!! Did I forget to mention that!? I can't believe my caboose it 2 (I've bet you've never read that on a blog). So cliche but I swear I was just blogging about bringing him home. Remember the whole "water breaking in the mountains" debacle? How is he 2 already? Now I'm mad at William.

We took him to the McDonald's playland for lunch (big spenders, I know. Don't be jealous).



Then we had a little party at Becky's. Mom and I were cracking up at the cake, "Happy Birthday William??" Is it a question? Ahh WalMart employees, bless their hearts.

If I may say, he's, like, the cutest 2 year old ever. I can't get enough of that blond, blond hair. He's so naughty but I love him so much. While we were staying at Matt and Courtney's he, in one half hour, took all the balloons in her office (she has a helium balloon side business) and threw them all over, brought a whole roll of toilet paper into the tub and shredded it, and opened the pantry, knocked down the brown sugar and tossed it like confetti around the kitchen and family room. He may require more intensive supervision, we're looking into it.

He's still a slow talker, but is beginning to put sentences together. He runs everywhere, likes trucks, tractors, the dogs and anything to do with throwing. We love his little mug!



Let's dig a hole. A really big hole. Mom and Dad broke ground on their addition which will include (cue choir of angels) a BASEMENT!!! A blessed basement to banish...I mean invite children to hang out in. It was so crazy/scary to watch. Crazy because they had this rad trackhoe to pluck out 30 year old trees like they were sprouts and power through Caliche like it was butter. Well, not really like butter. It took some patience and some serious power to crack through it. The scary part was watching dad do some digging and accidentally hit the foundation of the house...right next to the bathroom...while Trevor was in the shower. It sucks that the foundation is cracked but you just can't put a price on that memory. He thought the whole wall was going to come in on him. And forget having a playground, or swings or whatever else in a backyard. The kids would much rather roll around in a big dirt pile. Some where my mother-in-law is weeping.



On our way home, (almost 22 hours in the car...ugh) we stopped to stay with Trevor's aunt and uncle. He wanted to meet baby Alice. I don't blame him. She's so sweet.

The travel time was long...soooooooooo long but really pretty. So many mountains and valleys and farm land. Oh, the farm land! It's so beautiful this time of year! And it makes me so proud of where I come from and so grateful that I get to return there and share it with my family. I'll end it now so my sisters can stop their gagging.