CA/WA trip-part II

Nothing like a good nose-pickin' shot. Anyway, gotta keep up with this trip although I'd rather not blog right now. Not feeling the best. Post-vacation blues, I'm guessing. Oh well. Good to look back on fun times. And fun we had! Going up to WA is always wonderful. WHenever I see pictures of someone ELSE'S trip up to visit my in-laws and sister in law (and her fam), I get jealous. It really is a non-stop party. And another great thing is my most favorite aunt lives up there. She's my mom's sister and her husband is my dad's brother. So it's nice to be around them. I feel very much at home. We stayed up in WA for about 9 days. Cole drove up a few days after with my dad and was also able to stay a few days longer at the tail end of the trip. I think that was special for him. He really loves his grandmas and Gma Le Anne is sure to make him feel important. The drive to and from CA was so nice for me and the girls! I always dread road trips but this one was so easy. I won't say it's because Cole wasn't there..but, it kinda was. Really, it's 2 instead of 3. Changes EVERYTHING. And it's beautiful. The drive is absolutely gorgeous (most of it, at least). I could live in a number of the towns we drove through: Redding, Lake Shasta (is that a town? Okay, I could live ON the lake), Ashland, Medford..just to name a few. So pretty. So perfect. We spent time with all three of Geof.'s sisters; Brooke, who was up visiting with her family from CA (we actually ended our vacation at the wonderful home in Monterey), Meagan (who lives in Battle Ground and Cole loves spending time with her sons. Finally, some boy time for Cole!), and Ellynn (keeps us laughing and entertained all the time. And her toddler Finn is probably the cutest boy you've ever seen). We also saw Mindi (Geof.'s brother's wife) and her kids. They had driven all the way from Colorado. I won't forget that Jason, Adam, and Brind and Julia (all siblings or spouses) were also there, but I didn't get enough time with them! We went to parks, ate a lot, played a lot, talked a lot. I love Geof.'s family. I'm very blessed in that regard. And I love seeing my aunt and uncle and their beautiful home (and yard!). Some cousins from Spokane came for a day and we were able to spend a Sat. afternoon with them. We never have enough time with this particular family so it was so awesome to see them!!