Summer, part 2: Lessons Learned

Washington trip: Junior rode with Grandpa and Grandma (all the way to Moses Lake!), so Grant and Tiffany rode with us. Grant did all the driving, which was a nice change for Hubby.

Stayed in Pendleton, OR. Interesting town. Of all things, there was a Weiner Dog race the night we arrived. I didn't see it, but I'm told it was amusing. In the morn' we visited the Hamley & Co. saddle shop and store (pretty cool, even if you're not into Western things), then got out of Dodge.

Family reunion, Blue Heron State Park, Moses Lake. Thank God for Blue Heron Lake! It was 100+, so the water was refreshing. It was exciting meeting more of my husband's family and learning of his family history. Somebody made an extensive family tree. When it was printed, they needed a wall to hang it on. Wow! I'd love to get a copy of it. Junior had a blast shooting water guns, playing in the lake, and playing baseball with his cousin, Dane.

Seattle: Our boy thought the hotel, The Bellevue Hilton was fantastic. The lobby was very large and had glass elevators. He liked riding those about as much as anything else we did on the trip! That and playing in the pool.

We hit the major tourist spots. Space Needle/Children's Museum (97 deg downtown!). Afterwards, Junior met his great-grandpa (hubby's side) for the first time. It was pretty neat. Then we went to Uncle Dan's, and later had dinner with friends, Yuchol and Jen, at their house. A busy day, but a great one.

**Woodland Park Zoo: At the African village, Junior wanted to make a beaded bracelet. We assumed he was making it for himself, but as he was beading it, he told the lady there that he was making it for his mommy! It was so sweet! Now I have a wonderful keepsake, and he loves to see me wear it.**

Waterfront/Seattle Aquarium/Seattle Center: Rode the monorail downtown and walked to the Waterfront. I'm not a fan of sea creatures, but I thought the Aquarium was incredible. Junior really liked it! How wonderful it was to see his face light up with excitement. "Wow" was the word of the day!

We watched ferryboats, went to the candy store, and watched sea gulls catch food in mid-air, and eat right out of people's hands! The walk back up the hill to the monorail seemed like it would never end! Though we were exhausted, we weren't done yet. We had just enough energy left for some rides at Seattle Center's amusement park, including our boy's first time on a bumper car.

Roslyn, WA: I loved Northern Exposure, so on the drive home, we stopped in Roslyn, where parts of the show were filmed. We had lunch at the famous Roslyn Cafe! Yay!! The museum next door had a section about the filming of the show, complete with photos, articles and props. I was stoked!

We had planned to explore Kennewick the night we stayed, but were too wiped out to do more than use the pool. Did I mention the heat? Over 100 again!

Back in ID, we stayed a couple days with the in-laws. It was a relaxing transition back to real life, not that we sat around doing nothing, mind you! We had a blast at the Discovery Center of Idaho. Everything is hands-on, fun, and educational. We went to Pojo's, similar to Chuck E. Cheese, but with bumper cars! Then the four males in the family had some water fights in at the neighborhood pool. Good times!

After ten days on the road, we headed for home.

Lessons from the trip:
-Why drive when we can fly? While it was fun seeing some new places on the way, we would much rather have had the extra time at our destination.
-No need spending money to ride the glass elevator up the Space Needle when you can ride one for free in Bellevue!

Discovery Center of Idaho: http://www.scidaho.org/index.htm

Summer, part 1

This page is mostly going to be family updates, etc. I probably won't share many deep thoughts, but you never know!

It was a busy summer. In June we had new sod installed. The old grass was pretty bad when my husband bought the house 13 years ago, and nothing we did improved it. It was time for something new. We also had a sprinkler system installed. It's wonderful, though I sometimes miss time spent outside setting up the water.

Junior and I went to lunch at the park weekly with friends during June. We also made trips to the zoo and library. He participated in a summer reading program. We wrote down all the books we read to him then turned in the list. He earned coupons for free meals at area restaurants, a bug jar, and a ticket to the reading carnival. The carnival had snacks, an inflatable jumper, and other activities.

We had friends over to play, spent time outside, and went disc golfing a few times. Junior made a new friend in our neighborhood. Caleb has popped in numerous times to play.

My parents visited in July. During that time, Hubby had a business trip in American Fork, UT, so we went, too! In Lehi we found a place called Thanksgiving Point. It had much to offer. We spent the better part of two days enjoying it. The Museum of Ancient Life was probably M'boy's and my favorite. It had fantastic, hands-on exhibits. We also explored the gardens and Children's Discovery Garden. It had caves to explore, mazes to run through, and a Noah's Ark water area. It was perfect in the 100+ degree weather.

On the way home, we stopped at the Clark Planetarium in Salt Lake. Wow!! It was incredible! We could easily have spent more time there. Fantastic exhibits. Junior loves anything space, so this was perfect for him. I highly recommend it!http://www.thanksgivingpoint.com/http://www.clarkplanetarium.org/