We are home from our “spring” break trip to Washington. I say spring break with a little sarcasm though, instead of sunshine and dirt we found snow, and more snow. We went up to spend Easter with Danny’s sis Katy and her family. Emma and Tanner have been talking about visiting their cousins for a long time, and Aubrey was very excited to see Byron her cousin who is “just her size”.
Danny was away at Brain Share so I was responsible for packing everything up and driving to Boise to pick him up at the airport, and then drive the rest of the way with him. The drive to Boise was nice and the kids were in good spirits, they were anxious to see Danny since he’d been gone for a week. It took me 7 hours to get to Boise, we picked up Danny at the airport and drove another couple of hours to Pendleton Oregon. The views in Pendleton are amazing.
On Saturday morning we had a short drive into Yakima and we were there before lunch.
Sally and her family shortly joined us at Katy’s house and we colored Easter Eggs. That is always one of my favorite things to do. We have been gone from our house at Easter time for many years, so I haven’t had a chance to get creative with eggs in a long time, maybe next year. We did wrap some rubber bands around the eggs to create stripes, and the kids had a great time just being with their cousins.
Sally stopped by our campsite on her way down to Katy’s and called to ask if we knew that it was buried in snow. Needless to say we had no idea. We packed shorts and swimsuits. When I called to make the reservations at Ensign Ranch the lady told me about the lake, the horses, the slip and slide, the rock wall and all the wonderful things to do there. I had no clue that there was 4 feet of snow on the ground. Danny and I decided to stay with Katy through Easter and then head up to the camp ground after that.
The Easter Bunny came while we were at church and the little ones had too much fun finding the eggs and eating the candy in them. We had a lovely late lunch of ham, potatoes, asparagus, and strawberries and dip. It was all wonderful (thank you Katy).
On Monday morning we took off for Ensign Ranch. Thanks to Katy and her family we were well equipped for the snow. It actually worked out well. The kids were troopers and didn’t complain one bit. They had so much fun climbing the snow banks, throwing the snow, and just being kids. I loved watching them. Katy braved the snow with us on Tuesday and her kids joined us up there. I took some fun pictures of the kids playing together. The nights were warm thanks to a wood stove–Danny did suffer a burn from a middle of the night accident while adding wood to the fire. We cooked on the wood stove, it was a fun adventure, different then what we were planning, but surprisingly fun.
We had plans to go to Seattle on Wednesday, but it snowed and Katy decided not to press her luck in the snow. Danny and I went over Snoqualmie Pass and got lost in Seattle. Once we found our way we took the kids to the Science Center by the Space Needle, and then went down to Pike Street and out onto the pier to watch the ferries come in and out. We talked with a drunk homeless man, and got drenched by a car on an over pass that splashed down onto us. We had yummy pumpkin cookies at the Pike Place Market. We then headed back to camp. There was more snow Wednesday night, and I worried about being able to get the car out on Thursday to head home. I imagined being forced to live this way, it gave me a new respect for the way people used to live. I came home to my nice washing machine and dryer, and my heat that I just have to push a button to get. No going to the wood shed for me, I have a lot to be grateful for.
We left for home on Thursday and drove to Baker City, Oregon. We stayed there and enjoyed a nice hot bath. Then 10 hours on the road on Friday and all was right again. Everyone enjoyed themselves, but we were all happy to have the comfort of our beds. Thanks again to Katy and John, we had a good break. Sally it was great to see you and your cute family again. I hope that we don’t wait a year to see each other again.
After 8 hours in a car, Aubrey decided to show her creative side. Things were real quiet, so I guess we should have been suspicious. Then Tanner screamed from the back seat, and I discovered that our three year old was turning into a Smurf! There wasn’t a spot of skin showing on that hand, and she had just started on the other one when we caught her. What scares me is the smile on her face!