Our Trip- Part 1 (Off to Spokane)

We didn't know if we were going until Wednesday night. My van went in for brake work on Tuesday. What should have been $150 and few hour fix turned into a $1000 fix and they'd have to order parts and we'd have to order tires. As annoying as that was I am so grateful to have it in for repairs. Its problem could have caused serious damage or injury on our trip. I am thanking God that we decided that pesky little brake problem should be repaired before our departure!

Anyhow, that meant borrowing my dad's CRV and driving it along with our Subaru to Spokane. That also meant traveling with Eddy most of the trip (he took the bus home a few days after we returned).

11 hours. Really! That's how long it took to drive! (Well, and stop to nurse the baby, change the baby, take George potty, feed baby again, get a snack, change baby again... You get the idea!) George managed to finish potty training on the trip. Yippee!!! The kids were a breeze on the drive. I never heard a whine, complaint, fussing, anything... even Cael. He literally did not fuss once until we were pulling into Michelle's driveway that night.

Snacks on the way (in the Wal-mart parking lot a few hours into the trip)

We're very grateful that Michelle and Steve allowed us to stay with them. The six of us and our gear take up a lot of space! Jack is delightful. He's almost 6 months and will be scooting soon.

Jack and his mama...

Cael and Jack (first "play date")...

George "snowboarding" on a plastic swimsuit form from Costco. It's a wonder he didn't kill himself on that thing. Crazy!Jack and his contraption... (apparently babies don't get hurt no matter how hard they bounce- or this little boy should be in traction given how enthusiastically he jumps!)

Dinner with family

A bit out of order here, but worth its own post!

We had dinner with my Grandpa Ed, my Uncle Ed, and my Aunt Kati. Uncle Ed barbecued (over charcoal, of course) hot dogs. We had a great visit while the kiddos played out back. (This is what reminded us that, yes, the kids do need water for summer play! *See below for Jason's remedy*)

Our trip- Part 3 (back to Spokane)

We headed back to Spokane on Monday. We had a nice dinner with Michelle, Steve, and Jack. Tuesday, Michelle, Kjersten, and I took the babies shopping. We also embarked on a futile search for Crocs for Kjersten. Found some for George, but there are none to be found in Eastern Washington for Kjesten. Argh!

Here's what I bought...

These will come in handy helping the little ones learn to swim. And they were clearanced for $5. Nice!

I was able to keep an eye on Cael all the way home with this handy (huge) mirror for the car. All he did was sleep, but I sure could see him snoozing with this one!
Yeah... I bought the mobile! After much debate... and a second trip to Babies R Us. I was debating ordering the "deluxe" model that includes a remote (for $10 more and not available in stores that I have access to...) Well, I decided whilst in Moses Lake that the non-deluxe model was more than sufficient and that's why we went to Babies R Us again once back in Spokane. (These are out of stock here in my town.) Anyhow, when we went back, there was a deluxe model with the remote on the shelf (right above the regular model's price tag). It was the only one. The others were the "regular" model. There was no different price or even a place for the fancy one. I thought, "Hey!!! That's $10 off and I don't have to order it! I'll take it!" We took it up front and the darn thing rang up another $7 less than the non-deluxe model's regular price. $17 less than regular price!!!! (It was obviously a return but we checked and all the pieces were there and hadn't been opened/ assembled.) How fun for me... I mean Cael!!!

Our trip- Part 4 (driving home)

Well, the end of the trip included 11 hours of travel AGAIN!!! Mostly because Jason got a flat tire. We spent some time at the tire shop while they put on the tire we had to buy because the flat tire was unrepairable. Bummer!

Kids behaved remarkably well again! Once again, Cael didn't fuss once until we pulled into our driveway at 11:15pm. Amazing!