Finally!

Whew - eee! It's bedtime! But I had to share my new slideshow with you! All the old pictures have been deleted and I've added all new photos. Some were posted on the blog at one point and some were not! Enjoy!

On To More Excitement

We now leave South Bend (In case you didn't pick up on this, I'm talking about Road Trip '08!) and head towards Yellowstone. We stayed in Wisconsin the night we left IN and then drove to the Badlands of South Dakota the next day. What great views and beautiful geology! We drove through the park and took several short hikes, including a fossil hike where several fossils were displayed alongside the boardwalk. I remember being HOT on this day!

On the road again and a much needed break at Wall Drug - of course! What a crazy place. Every souvenir you could ever want! Couldn't resist the picture of the kids and Steve with one of the locals!

Our final destination for the day was a stop at Mount Rushmore. Very cool! I know, that statement is not very forceful but "Awesome" sounds so 80's ish! Anyway, I enjoyed Mount Rushmore. I was a bit disappointed that we couldn't get closer to the face of the mountain but the trails were very accessible and informational.

I think the most fun part of this trip was watching the kids and sharing their excitement in all the new and historical sites. I hope they continue with this curiosity. Everything we do is an adventure because of their excitement!

My Own Little Reality Show

So, I stopped for lunch today at a little luncheon cafe in town and spoke with the cashier. She is a graduate of Okanogan so I know her and her family. What a surprise when she said, "It sounds like you had a great time on your trip!" Now, I figured she had talked to Steve and he told her all about it. I couldn't figure out when Steve had seen her but I didn't dwell on that. Then, lo and behold, she told me she read my blog! Wow! I knew there were readers out there but so many of you are so quiet about it! I know my writing isn't author quality but I sure enjoy sharing my life with everyone. Somehow it makes my life seem better when I hit on all the highlights every few days. Don't get me wrong. I DO have a good life and I AM happy. But we all know life gets us down occasionally and it's so easy to look at other people and wish for their lives. Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is that this blog has turned into my way of helping me to remember my life's blessings. All this philosophical thinking just because I talked to a former student! Thanks, Ashley and thanks to those of you who have left comments or emailed or spoken to me in person about my blog!

I started today with a 6 mile bike ride in the hills nearby. A few friends from work were going out and they invited me along. Since I haven't ridden a bike in many, many years, I was a bit apprehensive but I had a blast! I worked hard and I felt like my heart and lungs were about to burst out of my chest but I didn't have any pain on my knees! That rarely happens when I exert myself physically! THEN - I joined one of those same ladies for water aerobics at the city pool this evening. More fun! I've been looking for a water aerobics class since I moved here! I discovered that it is possible to sweat in the water!

So back to Road Trip '08 - Chicago was exciting but it was time to move on to a different leg of our jouney. On June 27th we left the big city for a somewhat smaller city in Indiana. Amber was getting married in South Bend, home of Notre Dame. I'm embarassed to say that we spent the whole weekend in South Bend and didn't get to the Notre Dame campus!

Anyway, our family was invited to the rehearsal dinner so we checked into the hotel and, after the kids and Steve swam and I went to the rehearsal, we headed out to Tippecanoe Place. This was a beautiful old house that has been made into an elegant restaurant. The home is on the National Registry of Historic Places and it was originally owned by a member of the Studebaker family. This leg of the family was into acquiring electric companies and were cousins of the car Studebakers.

Dinner was yummy and it was fun to get our first glimpses of Amber's new life and new family and to also reunite with Amber, her folks and Ivy, Amber's friend from Spokane. It was also fun catching fireflies again!

Then, on Saturday, it was my turn to swim with the kids while Steve searched out a laundromat. What a good man! It was also wedding day! The kids and I handed out programs and bubbles and then I helped with the timing of the bridal party walk down the aisle. The most stressful part of the ceremony was when I got up to do a reading - there was no podium to hide behind! But the wedding wasn't about me, it was all about Amber and Jason and their happiness so I was pleased to oblige.

The ceremony was lovely and the reception was fun and I liked participating in the beginning of Amber's life with Jason. The kids were so proud of their jobs and were so intrigued by the rituals of a wedding. They couldn't wait to start dancing and would have stayed on the dance floor all night had Steve not taken them off to bed!

Tippecanoe Place - South Bend, IN

Jason and Amber Elledge amidst the bubbles!

Lyndsi and Dylan watching the first dance. They were sitting on the edge of the dance floor.

I think I've finally settled into a summer routine -

Sleeping in, knowing I should get something accomplished but preferring to sit outside and read a magazine, staying up late and eating too much. Yep, I've got it down...


Actually, I did go through a few days of laziness but I've finally unpacked and put away everything from our trip, weeded the garden (The weeds were more abundant than the food producing plants!), taken the kids to the lake and went to see Wall E. Cute movie by the way - good lesson about taking care of ourselves and the earth! I do tend to sleep later than I'd like but we sure have a comfy bed!


Steve was in Pullman all weekend with the soccer team so I took the kids to Shawn and Kendal's cabin on Lake Chelan yesterday. They have a cute place right on the lake. It's about 15 miles from the town of Chelan so away from the bulk of the crowds. I enjoyed sitting on the dock while the kids swam and fished. Shawn took us for a ride in the boat and then fixed us some yummy chicken on the barby! Needless to say, we were all exhausted last night!


So, back to Chicago - if I remember right, I left you all with me yearning over Johnny Depp. Well, we spent the next morning at the Museum of Science and Industry. My dad told us that he has fond memories of visitng this museum as a kid so we had to go see what he was talking about. The coal mine exhibit was the reason he became a mining engineer. This was a great museum! Huge! We saw everything from career inspiring coal mines to real submarines to corn fields and cars. There was even a miniature doll house exhibit. I recommend this museum to everyone!


So, after the museum we decided to leave our car in its free parking spot and take the bus to Navy Pier (remember this snippet...). On the bus we met a nice couple who were originally from Chicago and were back there on vacation. They told us to get off the bus at Marshall Fields department store. They said to walk in and just look up. Here is what we saw....



Holy canoli! The building was 12 or 13 stories high and this flag went the total height. Very impressive! Our detour had us walking further than we had planned and Lyndsi really struggled but we made it to Navy Pier! Thank heavens for public fountains that you can run through! Dylan and Lyndsi loved this one! They didn't even mind being wet through dinner.

There were several statues at the entrance to the Pier. This one caught our eyes. What a sweet sentiment - kids playing that game where they run around in a chain and try to whip the kids off the end. My own children didn't quite see the sweetness of the sentiment but they sure enjoyed climbing over the poor kids!

And then we ran into this ugly little sweet thing right on the pier. His friendly owners let us take his picture! Nope he will never get any hair! I think he was a Hairless Chihuahua.

Lyndsi rode this carrousel while Dylan played a squirting boat game. Then both kids and I rode the ferris wheel. Steve wasn't too keen on this so he stayed on the ground!

Check out the view from the ferris wheel! The wheel went around slowly so I could take in the sights.

And then there's even a picture of Steve and I together! Wow! Navy Pier was a fun break from the walking around town and we had fun just goofing off.

So, remember when I told you to remember the snippet about leaving our car in its free spot? Well, as it turns out, we were too late to catch our bus back to the museum. Apparently, that bus only runs during daylight hours and we were trying to catch it at about 9:00. So our free spot turned into a $25.00 cab ride!

Our Chicago adventure didn't end there! Once we got to our dark and abandoned car, we then had to figure out how to get out of town so we could get to our hotel. There was a bit of a miscommunication between Steve and I and we went straight on a road that we should have gotten off of! We ended up in South Chicago, which is not where you want to be at nearly 11:00. Especially if you are a white family riding in a minivan with WA plates. You get the picture. If I hadn't been so uptight, I think I would have liked to have gawked a little more than I did! I was amazed at the number of small children who were out and about. Actually, there were more people out and about than there had been earlier in the day, the first time we got lost! We even tried following a policeman until he got a call and took off on us! All I could think of was taking a wrong turn and ending up as a tragedy on the national news! At one point, I heard what sounded like gunshots. When I said as much to Steve, he, rather tersley, pointed out the shooter! Yikes!

Fortunately, our adventure has a happy ending and we made it back to our hotel safe and sound. And while I do not like to be put into those unsafe situations without warning, I was intriqued by the tenemants and the lifestyle surrounding them. Somewhere along the trip we passed an elementary school and I couldn't help but wonder about the lives of the students who attended.

Awww - Sunny Okanogan!

Yep, we're home! We've been home for a couple of days now and the coming home chores have been overwhelming! I neglect them every chance I get! I did start the laundry today and got a few more things put away but..... that's it!

The kids are taking swimming lessons and Dylan had his second riding lesson. They both have had playdates and Max spent the night on Tuesday. They've caught up on their chores!

These are the pictures from Dylan's first lesson on June 18th. The kids all start with a sidewalker and a leader (who holds the lead rope) and progress to riding on their own. Dylan did this week's lesson with just a sidewalker.

Look at this happy face!

Steve is spending the weekend with the soccer team. They will be competing in a tournament/camp in Pullman. The kids and I will be hanging out at home - I might even get my suitcase unpacked! I was supposed to spend Saturday scrapbooking with some friends but instead I will be taking the kids to Chelan to Kendal and Shawn's lake cabin. Which reminds me - I'd better call them to confirm!

So - back to our road trip. From Menomonie we headed towards Chicago with a quick stop in Green Bay and Lambeau Field. Yes, home of the Packers and congretating place of the Cheeseheads! We have several diehard fans in the family and among our friends so we couldn't resist a stop at the Atrium.

Dylan is a fan! I told him I'd buy him some great flannel sleep shorts covered in Packers helmets but he wanted this instead. Hmm....

Our destination from Green Bay was Chicago but we spent one more night on the road before getting there. We arrived in Chicago on Wednesday afternoon and went straight to Lincoln Park. We read that the zoo in Lincoln Park was free so we wanted to take advantage of that! Wow! I was so impressed! When I heard that there was a free zoo, I figured we'd spend an hour or so checking out the 10 or 15 animals in their dinky cages and then move on. I was so wrong about the Lincoln Park Zoo! We spent about 3 hours wandering through the zoo admiring the animals and the beautiful setting. And yes, the zoo is indeed free!

We happened upon this pretty little pond in the park. I think it was called the Lilypad Pond. It was so peaceful. You couldn't even hear the traffic from the city.

When we first arrived at the park, I noticed a group of trailers and trucks in the parking lot across from us. Using my fabulous powers of deduction I've aquired through being just plain nosy, I assumed that a movie was being filmed in the park. My assumption was confirmed when I saw the Universal Studios logo on the trucks. (Holy canoly I used some smart sounding words!) Anyway, on our way back to the car, I noticed a group of girls hanging out on the sidewalk and, being nosy but darned shy about it, I sent Steve over to find out what they were waiting for. Johnny Depp! They were waiting for Edward Scissorhands, for the 21 Jump Street toughy! I was across the street from one of my favorite actors and didn't even know it! I couldn't convince Steve to hang out with the girls so I settled for just knowing that I saw someone who saw Johnny that day. Sigh - it's just not same.....

It's Late!

Ooops! i just noticed the time! Actually, we head home today! After I go to bed that is!

More Vacation Photos

We head for home tomorrow and I think we are all anxious. We reunited with Ruthie today. The kids were so excited. Both of them wanted to be the first to actually see her. Lyndsi has been asking how many days until we see Ruthie again since about day 2! She would often ask me, "Do you think Ruth is scared without us there?" "Can you wait to see Ruthie, Mom?" and so on....

The reunion occured in my parents' front yard. Linda and Rod brought Ruth with them when they came for the bar-b-que my mom and dad were hosting. Amber's parents and our family friends, Bill and Nancy and Lee and Kathy came as well. Erin was even able to get off of work a bit early and join us for most of the evening also so we all enjoyed ourselves tremendously.

This morning we hopped in the car once more to take a quick drive to Loon Lake where 2 of Steve's cousins and their families were visiting. Steve's aunt and uncle live on the lake so we spent several hours enjoying the families and playing in the water. Both kids experienced the joy of riding a wave runner (jet ski?) with dad and Steve claims to fear both of their daredevil giggles as he tore around the lake with them. I even took a very short ride! Dylan played with Ryan and Lyndsi jumped off the dock with Katie. Chase wasn't too keen on the water but he wanted to be where the action was so he put his little toes in, too!

The Streeter/Poole/Evans cousins

So back to our trip....As I'm sure I mentioned many times, our first big stop was Menomonie, WI to visit my grandma and my aunt, uncle and cousins. I know I wrote about this already so I won't rewrite all my words but I do want to post a few pictures.

Dylan showing Grandma his bison bracelet.

The Streeter/Cunningham/Spradley cousins minus Samantha who was in bed!

Before arriving in WI we stayed in Jamestown, ND. Jamestown is famous for its white buffalo which my grandpa told us about many years ago. Apparently there is a small herd of bison and one of the herd is an albino. Her name is White Cloud (I think!). She gave birth to a bison who is not white and he, in turn, sired a bison who IS white. I don't remember her name but she is the little gal we saw with all the brown bison in the field that day. This was a pretty big event for Dylan who bought himself a bison bracelet to commemorate the visit.

The bison herd in Jamestown, ND

More soon.....