Finally we headed to the airport for a LATE NIGHT flight. I got to sit by Eli. He was kind of nervous and he asked to hold my hand, which I loved. He doesn't hold my hand much anymore. And I love his hands. They are so sweet and chubby.
We got to Seattle, rented a car, and drove to Kennewick. We arrived at 5:30 a.m. (8:30 our time.) Ugh.
Saturday we slept in a bit because we were so tired. It also helped us get on Pacific time. Matt and Amy took us our on their boat. I think it was our kids' first time one a speed boat. They had a great time and we all got to do some tubing. It was really fun! I hadn't done that in a long time.
Mack, Luke, and Sam.
We went to their house for pizza and then back to the Dursts'. We fell asleep early. Dan's parents went to Baker City ahead of us to prepare for the eclipse.
Sunday we went to 8:30 church (we didn't go to Dan's parents' ward since they weren't there anyway) and then packed for the eclipse. We were going to Baker City, Oregon for a night to watch it. Before we left we made tinfoil hats as a joke.
It was our kids' first time in Oregon. It was a pretty drive.
We got the kids settled in bed at the Super 8 and played settlers of Cataan with Heather, Lael, Marshall, Mica, Texana, and Dan's mom in the little kitchen area of the hotel. While we were down there playing, people kept coming into the lobby to see if there was any availability at the hotel because of the eclipse. The manager sold the last room in the hotel for $400/night! It was a Super 8 for crying out loud!
Monday the eclipse wasn't happening until 10 or something so I did a little workout outside. Then we all headed down to the parking lot, our viewing area. Kirk and Gretchen drove over from Boise and met us there. It was great to see them! We watched the eclipse. (Side note: I had been trying to find eclipse glasses before we left and they were sold out EVERYWHERE. Fortunately, Dan's dad had a stash and we all got some. Just something to remember if we ever see another one...)
It was pretty awesome. It was crazy how dark and cold it got. And the shadows were intense, too. Dan's family headed back to Washington and we spent the rest of the afternoon with Kirk and Gretchen. We went to the Oregon Trail Museum as well as a park for a few hours.
Love this set of pictures of Eli and Judy hugging and falling.
Our kids hit it off like usual. I love that. It took FOREVER to get back to Kennewick. I think five hours. The bridge back over to Washington was down to one lane so it was terrible.
Tuesday I made plans to meet up with Julie (Connell) Burnett and Betsy (Allen) Kemp - two of my freshman roommates. We got together at Betsy's house and had a great time catching up. It was so great to spend time with them and see some of their kids. I hadn't seen Julie in eight years!
Another highlight was Afton's horseback riding lesson. I had been trying to find her a lesson here in Virginia all summer, but everything was so expensive. Finally I had the idea to look in Washington and I found a woman who would do it for much less. I didn't know at the time that she was kind of a long drive away. Dan and his mom took Afton. It was just a lady living on some land that her friends owned. But she was really nice and talkative and did a great job helping Afton feel comfortable and Afton absolutely loved it. I'm so glad that worked out. She still talks about it almost 6 months later.
We spent a lot of time swimming. (Me not as much, though. I am a cold-water wimp.)
Wednesday we spent a lot of the day at the county fair watching our nephews show their sheep and taking our kids on rides and to look at the animals.
The kids loved seeing all the different animals - chickens, goats, sheep, pigs, cows, rabbits, horses, etc. We had a cake for Afton's birthday since we were going to be driving back to Seattle on the night of her birthday.
After the kids were asleep, Dan and I went back to the fair for a little while with Matt and Amy to hear the concert, but by the time we got there, the concert was over. So we walked around for a while and then went home.
Thursday was Afton's 7th birthday!! We went for a walk on a trail by a creek and Afton loved holding Punky and Brutus' leashes.
Friday we woke at 5:15 to catch our flight, got to DC and barely missed the shuttle back to our car and waited another 40 minutes. We got home around 8. It was a long day! Good to be home, but we had a great trip!
