Couple of Road Trips

Two weeks ago, last monday, I made a last minute decision to take a trip south to California. We had a great drive south and the kids did very well. There were only a few complaints along the way. All the kids had their jobs: Bowen was the navigator; Jimmy was in charge of safety; Emma was in charge of silliness; and Andrew was in charge of sleeping (which he did VERY well).

These deer ran across the road in front of me...it was a beautiful site during the daytime. Later that night as I was driving in the dark along I-97 through Oregon, more deer ran across the road in front of my car. I was darned lucky that the deer decided to move out of the way, as I had decided not to swerve to avoid hitting it.

All the kids enjoyed seeing their grandparents, and we were very busy on several outings during the time we were there. We went to the park, went to the circus, went to another park, went to Costco, went to ride on the Sunol to Niles Canyon train, and probably some things I am not remembering at the moment! As it turned out, the kids were able to see all of their cousins in California, which made me really happy. It was really fun seeing the little kids find a common bond with the older cousins by putting money into the gumball machines at the pizza parlor! (okay, I had fun doing that too!) I have a few 'charms' hanging from my purse and my cell phone.

Along the drive to and from Washington, we stopped at several Dams: Rocky Reach, Rock Island, John Day, Shasta, Bonneville, The Dalles, and Wanapum Dams. I also was able to stop at the Crooked River Gorge in Oregon, just as the sun was setting. I tried to get a picture of the kids there, but they weren't very cooperative during that stop!

As it turned out, most of the dams had little parks where the kids could stretch their legs and use the restroom. This trip was much easier on Mom--maybe the kids are getting better at doing road trips!

The kids also enjoyed visiting some family near Portland, OR...here's Emma petting the doggy. The kids are really liking any time spent with dogs and cats. It helps to bring the kids out of their shells.

Thursday evening, when we were nearly home, I had to stop for gas in Quincy, WA. That's where I heard a little noise and sensed that I was being watched....I looked down on the ground a saw the little albino praying mantis there on the curb next to the gas pump. So, you know me...had to get a good picture of it! It's getting harder to find interesting creatures to feature in the 'sitings' section! Funny--I haven't seen a praying mantis since I was a little kid...Then last Tuesday evening, my sister-in-law and her husband showed me a picture of a praying mantis that they saw in Oregon. The, low and behold, I see one in Washington!

So, I said that we made a couple of road trips....well the second trip was to a wedding in Western WA...I'll have to leave that story to my next posting...Lots more pictures to sort through!