Washington Trip

We drove up to Washington this weekend to surprise Elmo for Father's Day. It's a 10 hour drive...if you don't have kids! We cut the first leg of the trip into three sections. Our first pit stop was eating lunch at a taco van in Burley Idaho. It was muy sabroso!
Zoey is our little food lover. I had to get a picture of her trying to eat this peach. It reminded me of Jackson at that same age. I was eating it, actually, I only has a bite when she asked for 'some' and I never got it back!

We had a lot of this going on....what is it about long car rides that makes you so sleepy? The kids did pretty well on the drive, much better than I expected. However, we did have some "moments" which I don't have pictures of!

Our second stop was in Jerome, Idaho to visit my grandpa. It was the kids' first chance to meet their great-grandpa and I HAD to get pictures of that. It was a very nice visit and the kids had a couple of hours to stretch their legs. My grandpa keeps a very well-kept yard and garden and Brian likes to pick his brain for information. Jackson and Zoey liked the dogs. They tried to feed them grass, like they do horses, but the dogs were just interested in licking their hands and the kids thought it was because they liked the grass. ha ha!

We made our third stop for the day in Caldwell, Idaho to spend the evening with my Sister and her family. The kids had fun playing with the cousins. Here is a bath picture Jackson may come to hate when he gets older.....but his face is so darn cute in this one!

We left early Saturday morning to finish the drive to Kennewick. We arrived just after lunch and made a doorbell surprise (although we suspect he knew something was up)! We trained Jackson to say 'boo' at the door and both he and Zoey practiced saying it in the car. Over and over and over.....

We were fed really well! Yummy home-made food is so nice when your traveling. Jackson helped grandpa make pancakes on Sunday Morning. Here are the boys in a Father's Day shot. We spent a lot of time just catching up and talking. We had the chance to visit the pool, playground, and go on a drive to see some local sights. In these moments were the tender things I wish I could have caught on film...like Jackson reaching up to grab Elmo's hand as they walked side by side to the pool, or the million times Jackson asked grandpa to come 'get me', or Zoey saying "good morning" and "I love you" to grandma and grandpa. It was so wonderful to see the kids warm up to them since they've been away the last 9 months.

The visit was so worthwhile. We had a lot of quality time and we all enjoyed seeing Elmo and Judy. It was hard to believe the weekend was over by the time Monday morning rolled around. We made a straight shot home that day with only one stop for lunch in famous Baker City, Oregon. It was a cute town, and I made Brian buy me some fudge from a local shop that was Delicious! Nearly 12 hours after we left that morning, we rolled into our garage, and it felt good to be home and off the road! To all our astonishment, Zoey didn't want to leave her car seat and actually CRIED when we took her out, begging to get back in!

Sold!

Well, we sold the Jetta! The first caller and first person to come take a look at it, bought it. We were leaving town Friday morning at 9am and the buyer wanted to take a look that day. When I told her we were leaving town and she said she would meet us by 7am. My only worry was not having a car for our trip! But it turned out we were able to take it with us and she will pick it up tomorrow. Mixed emotions, but glad to have that part taken care of-- the only thing now is to find a replacement car! Ha ha. We got $1200 more than I thought we would out of it, so I can't complain. But it was in really good condition for its age and relatively few miles.

I'll post more about our trip later!

Car For Sale!!

We've reached the point where we have to split ways. With the new baby coming, we now need to up-size to make room for the whole family! My first car is up for sale (snif snif). It's been a good one! If you or anyone you know is looking for a great, well-maintained vehicle then check out the listing on KSL:
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=733005&nid=443&tab=myads/view&ad=2633045

Campfire Dinner

We took the kids up the canyon Friday night to make tin foil dinners around the campfire. They turned out awesome! We also made roasted corn on the cob, enjoyed a fruit salad and of course....s'mores! Yummy! The campsite was next to a fun little stream which Jackson enjoyed. He threw a million pine cones into the water.

Jackson got tired of me telling him to say "cheese"...he literally looks like he might pull his hair out! ha ha :)

Zoey was never full and always wanted more. She would go to anyone who had food, begging for scraps, although she had a full meal of her own...
Mouth full of marshmallow, asking for more.....

Brian's huge roasted 'mallo! We had such a fun time, and maybe over did it for the kids because they both had fevers and a runny nose the next day.

Yard Work

Since Brian has been home and we have been blessed with warm weather (finally), He has been spending most of his free time in the yard or planting the garden (Inspired by his trip to Mount Vernon?)....the kids of course want to be right by his side. I'm sure he enjoys every minute.
Of course, they only stay interested for so long, and then it's time for the sprinkler and Popsicles.....

Brian and Jackson ate 14 Popsicles combined that day!

Zoey helping mow the lawn.....

Brian's Birthday

Not to get left out, Brian did turn 31 somewhere in the middle of May (the 15th). It was a crazy month, so we kept it low key. Luckily, he was home that day to spend with the family. He requested hugs and kisses from the kids, a spaghetti dinner with Banana cream pie for desert. Looks like he got his wish!



He also went golfing with some friends, Jackson included. I surprised him by mowing the lawn for him while he went golfing so he could enjoy his day a little more. We ended the day with a date to the movies. It was fun!

Mount Vernon

Brian is a History major (and might I add he's due to graduate this summer--yeah!). His last credits require him to do some research, and he has chosen to study George Washington. Since one of his last business trips took him out to the DC area, he took some time to visit Mount Vernon. Although I know it helped him create a bit of respect for the old man Washington, I think he secretly desired to see the grounds and gardens because that is his other passion.

This is an old pear tree trained along a wooden fence.

A vegetable garden with grass pathways....

semetrically planned out.

It was hard to choose among the many photos he took of the walking grounds and different gardens, they were all lovely, ornaelty designed and planned. No detail left unoticed by Washington, he was a man of many talents and has inspired Brian in many ways.

I'm glad he got a chance to do something fun while he was traveling....it was a rough month for him!