End of Summer - We’ve Been “On The Go”

This has been an unusual summer.  By the time we were done, we had literally been across this country (some of it flying and some of it driving) from coast to coast.  (To get the re-cap of the East coast and Midwest trips, you’ll have to go back to our previous “We’re On The Go” posts.)

Anyway, one morning we packed up and headed north – stopping long enough to see Carolyn & Dustin’s garden and Lynnette & Jim’s garden.  We saw Jen’s garden on an earlier trip, but have included a picture here, since Roger is pretty proud of the gardens in the family.  Roger does most of our gardening with a little coerced labor from me.  (I have the heritage, but not the inclination for gardening.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We continued on up the road and spent the weekend in Idaho with my parents before going on to the Seattle area to see Chad & Rosa & Khalina & Ammon.

 

It’s been too long since we’ve been able to go up to see Chad and Rosa and the kids, and we really enjoyed our visit.  On our first full day, we went on a walk to get re-acquainted with the neighborhood and see the changes. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the way home we picked some blackberries, which grow wild all over that area, and Rosa made some really great-tasting blackberry smoothies for us out of them!  (Sorry – no pictures.)

We were also introduced to the world of “Wii bands”.  (Chad, Khalina, and Ammon did pretty good, but I don’t think Roger and I will quit our day jobs.)  We also did some “Wii” bowling (which is my favorite) and tennis.  We realized that we missed out on the karaoke this year – next trip, Rosa!

 

We were invited over to Ne & Val’s house for dinner with the missionaries and spent the evening playing “Rummi-cube”.  We consider Rosa the champion of “Rummi-cube” in our family, but Val came from behind and, if I remember right, won.  (Thanks for a fun evening, Val & Ne.)

The next day, we had a fun morning with Khalina and Ammon while Chad & Rosa took care of some errands.  We decided to explore the Children’s Museum in Everett since there wasn’t enough time to go into Seattle.  They had some great “hands-on” exhibits.  The younger grandkids would have really loved it!  Luckily, Khalina & Ammon weren’t too old to introduce Grandpa & Grandma to all of the fun things to do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the help of the GPS, we found two or three good parks. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then, after meeting Chad & Rosa for a great lunch at an Asian buffet, Chad took us to a better park – complete with petting zoo, playground, and a splash park.

 

 

 

Finally, we finished off the evening at the wharf with a picnic dinner and then we finally found out what Chad meant whenever he talked about “going crabbing”…………. first, you put some raw meat into a big round net……

Then you throw it out into the water (don’t forget to tie the rope onto the dock!!)……….

Then you eat… or visit… or read… or throw a football for a few minutes while you wait for all those crabs to crawl into the net to eat the meat. 

 

 

 

Then

Then you pull it up…….

and you have crabs!!

The crabs we caught looked pretty big to me, but they weren’t big enough to keep…………. so we had to throw them back out into the water. 

 

It’s kind of unnerving…….they look at you!

The next morning we all loaded up and headed down the coast to Waldport, Oregon to meet Jen & Jeff and the boys for a couple of days at a KOA on the Oregon Coast.   Chad & Rosa & Khalina slept in a one-room cabin and the rest of us slept in a two-room cabin which had a living area that included a fold-out bed, a bunk bed, a kitchen, a bathroom (with a shower), and a separate bedroom.   This gave us a place to hang out together while we fixed meals and ate.  In the evenings we played “Spin Uno” after we put Elias & Isaac to bed. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over the next couple of days, we explored the beaches, did some shopping in the tourist “"traps”, ate fish n’ chips, and found some lighthouses!  (Oh, and took lots and lots of pictures.)

I finally got to climb up in a lighthouse!

Despite the cool air and even colder water, Chad and the kids finally went swimming!  Roger braved it for a few minutes.  The rest of us hung out on the beach and played in the sand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the East coast we kept seeing “Hurricane Evacuation Route” signs.  In the Midwest, it was tornado warnings.  On the Oregon coast, it was these signs:

Anyway, we had a fun trip, and it was a great way to end the summer.  But I think we’re ready to stay home for awhile?