Vacation

Two weeks ago the kids and I left for Washington to visit my mom, stepfather, and grandmother. We had never been up there so even though we had seen pictures we weren't prepared for how beautiful it really was.



I just loved the trees and all the green everywhere. It is such a contrast to our area with it's sand and scrub. We spent a week and, except for missing Paul who had to stay home to work, I didn't want to come home. The weather was spectacular with temps in the 70s and 80s, Paul was stuck with triple digit temps while we were gone.



We took a train trip, visited a wildlife sanctuary, saw a grist mill that is powered by water, and drove up to Johnston Ridge to view Mount St Helens (which was awe inspiring). Of course we also spent lots of time visiting and just enjoying being with family.





When we were at the house visiting Lorna amused herself with painting and Malachi just had to run. He drove the tractor, ran around, welded a bit, and ran some more :)





The week flew by for us but Paul was very happy to have us back. This was the first time in the 14 years we've been married that the kids and I have left without him for more than a night or 2, it was hard and not something we are going to repeat.