Road Trip!

We've had a crazy couple of weeks! In the span of 11 days, the kids and I drove a total of 1,360 miles! First we went to Lakeview to visit my parents while Ben was in Germany for business. Then, we drove to Baker City as a family to watch Ben's youngest brother Levi play at the State basketball tournament. When we returned from the second trip, we calculated our total mileage, then decided to see how far we could have gotten across the United States if we would have just driven straight: we could have made it to Independence, Missouri! We could have traveled the entire Oregon Trail! That's A LOT of driving! (Thank goodness we had Ben for the second trip!)

Today's post is just about Lakeview. The boys and I left Wednesday morning at about 8:30 for Lakeview: around 360 miles from home. We didn't arrive until 5:15 in the evening...it was such a LONG day. We had some real frustrating stops, in which the twins decided they needed to take some of the longest bathroom stops of their lives in some of the nastiest bathrooms in Oregon. It may not have been pretty, but we made it.

I don't have many pictures from when I was home. Truth be told, I just rested while my parents pampered and took care of me and the kids. They were so kind and helpful! They had all the meals planned out and cooked for me, and did most the cleaning up. It was so nice to have a break! And for the first time since becoming a parent, all my kids slept through the night at someone else's house--all three nights! It felt like a miracle: one that gives me hope for future travels. 

The weather was nice, so the kids spent quite a bit of time outside with their Papa. He has three apple trees, which are good for climbing and each boy claimed a tree as his own. They played baseball and tennis in the backyard. They played "Pooh sticks" at the creek. We walked down to the trains. Dad and I planned gardens and looked through the seed catalogs. Mom read tons to the boys, did art activities with them, walked them to the library, and gave them $10 to shop at a local store.  We visited Uncle Tom and Aunt Julie. The kids played with all my old toys: My Little Ponies, Calico Critters, the shopping cart, and dollhouse. It was good, relaxing and restful. 

Waving goodbye to Daddy as he leaves for Germany:

 Here we go! Off to Lakeview, playing with straws for entertainment:

A stop at McDonald's along the way for bathroom and coffee

 Homeschool on the go...journaling about volcanoes: 

 Joshy only wanted to snuggle with Papa after his nap

 Grandma playing "Pooh sticks" with the boys 

 Pooh sticks is where you drop a stick off one side of a bridge (in this case, a street) and run to the other side, seeing who's stick comes out first. The creek was high and there were obstacles under the street, so it took a long time for the sticks to make it under. It still was fun, though.

 Josh liked the throwing part

 We even talked Papa into playing...his stick won quickly because he evaluated where the current of the creek was (his surveys streams for his job).

 Hot tub!

 Train adventure

 These are such sweet pictures!

The trip home went pretty smooth (until the twins kept talking so Josh couldn't fall asleep, so Josh screamed for half an hour, so I screamed at the twins and we all ended up crying...but that's just one small blip in a decent trip). We were all excited to meet up with Daddy! Here's our stop at Summer Lake. The boys love climbing on the rocks.

 

We went a different route this time and stopped at a great park in Oakridge. It not only had play equipment, but this great river for the boys to throw rocks into. It was a great stop.

Ben often will get the boys a gift from Germany. This time he brought Joshy home a tractor and the big boys a cool building kit, where you use actual bricks and mortar. It's been a hit! 

Planning out the fort

 Seth

 Sam

 Happy to all be together again!