Glenn, the Tree Hugger

Old Tree and Great Fun

We had fun taking a one mile hike to a 500 year old tree along the coast.

This tree started out growing on a downed "nurse" log and when that log rotted out, it created a sort of tunnel under the tree.

That's one big tree!

Another great adventure on our trip.  Many more to come...

Asotin Rodeo

After getting through the parade and royalty luncheon, we sat around waiting for the rodeo to start. Nicole's horse was very patient. Of course, it helped that he had a hay bag in his face. We all like eating to pass the time, right?

Ready for the rodeo in our cowboy/girl duds.

After the debacle that was the parade, we weren't sure what to expect from the rodeo.  Jasper was a champ.  Stood quietly when asked and ran quickly around the arena when Nicole was introduced.  He was a perfect gentleman.  Now if we can get better at parades, we've got it made.

Usually they buzz the arena and then they're done, but this rodeo had them stay in the arena during the National Anthem.  It was cool to see all the royalty lined up.  And our daughter was one of them!

Technical Difficulties

The prep for the Asotin Rodeo parade went very well.  The parade itself, not so much.  Sadly we had some technical difficulties and the flowers that sit behind the saddle fell off early in the parade.  Luckily Glenn and Ellea were following in the pickup and trailer so they were able to take them from her.

Parade helping crew....

Parade watching crew....

Morgan and I hopped into the pickup as they came by our spot to watch the start of the parade.  Jasper had a hard time with all the craziness and being expected to walk slowly and stop a lot so he got a little worked up.  But we made it!

And then it was time for the royalty luncheon which we decided was much less stressful than the parade!

And they feed you! :)  Unfortunately, they only allowed two guests with each royalty, so Morgan and Glenn were on their own.

So much royalty!  But I have my favorite!

Queening Season has Begun

So, the Rodeo queening season has officially begun....  We had a fun-filled, exhausting day in beautiful Asotin, Washington (which is just over the border from Lewiston, Idaho) on Saturday.  It was t-shirt weather and it was gorgeous!

Going a little crazy with the glitter!  Poor Jasper.  What will the other horses say?

Mr. Supervisor.  Also, head driver, financier, cheerleader, pooper-scooper and overall moral-support-provider.  Get that man a beer.

Nicole and her favorite helper!  And modeler of chaps!

That's one beautiful queen.

Really. Cold. Feet.

I loved walking on the sand with my family.

This might be my new favorite picture....

And I loved watching them play in the water.

While I was safely at the water's edge.  They were crazy.  They started out with their pants rolled up, but got so wet they quit worrying about.  Morgan was completely soaked.  Brrrr!

As you know, the water's edge is unpredictable at the ocean, so I ended up in the water up to my ankles.  I wanted to scurry out of the water, but I was talked into a picture first.

Okay.  One picture.... hurry up!

Seriously.  I'm in pain here.  And the water's getting deeper.

Are we done yet?

Okay, we'll try one foot out of the water.  But hurry.

And there always has to be one crazy one.  I'll put my feet down for that.  Then me and my cold feet are outta here.

Cold Feet

After some kite-flying, the hubby and kids wander out into the tide.

I slowly followed my family, but it was cold.  The water.  As in icy.

But my family is much tougher than me.  No surprise there.  They said you didn't feel it after awhile.

You know what that's called?  The beginning of hypothermia!  No thanks.

Kites and Shovels

I made a point of buying a couple kites from Amazon for our trip to the coast because I remember flying kites on the beach as a kid and there's nothing better.

It was fun.  We've tried to fly kites around here before and it requires a ridiculous amount of effort for very little success.

Not so on the coast.  You let the kite go and it's flying.  Woohoo!  So fun.

And of course, no beach visit is complete without some digging in the sand!

Lincoln City

After what seemed like FOREVER, we finally arrived at the coast.  We still had about an hour of driving to get to the house we rented, but we just had to stop in Lincoln City and get in a few minutes of walking on the beach first

It was just as amazing as I remembered.

And none of us were too excited about getting back in that car, but we did and it was worth it.

Crazy-Long Road Trip

I know some people drive crazy-long distances regularly, but for our little family, a trip to Boise (four hours) is about all we usually have to tolerate.

Considering how inexperienced we are with being stuck together in a small room on wheels for hour upon hour, we did pretty darn good.

They mostly got along really well.  Mostly - they are siblings after all.  And we were in the car for almost 12 hours, so they had a lot of opportunity to practice getting along.

And we took some naps.  I love me a good nap in the car, especially if the kids aren't TOO loud.  That's often unlikely, but sometimes I get lucky!

And we enjoyed the views.  Mount Hood is amazing to behold!

And the view the next morning at the house we rented made the LONG trip worth it.  We were just grateful we had a few days before we had to get back in that car for the long trip home!