Salt Lake City: Part One

Last week I tagged along with Gabe to Utah for his annual Spillman user's conference (which is the computer system the jail uses.)  It was amazing :-)  I read FOUR books, took TWO naps, and had lots of fun with him on his downtime.  He also did very well on his certification tests.  It was a great vacation! 

The weird part for me was traveling alone. Because we used air miles to book my flight, I had to fly down the day before him, and home 6 hours later. While waiting for him to arrive, I took in the Hogle Zoo there in Salt Lake City, and hit a movie (The Help) which finished right as he was landing. Perfect!

We spent that evening with his co-worker and a gal from the Wenatchee PD, and another fellow from the west side playing pool and eating some delicious food at a small sports bar.  I must say, I am not a pool fan.  I'll watch, but please don't make me play! 

Monday Gabe had a review and testing (and I read and read and read...).  After his test we drove south a bit to take in a Brazilian steakhouse called Braza.  I've heard about this type of restaurant, and have been wanting to take Gabe to one for a while, so this seemed the ideal opportunity!  What we didn't know, and had it explained to us later in the week, was that the elevation can affect more than just your breathing... Apparently, it also can change how much you can consume... which makes it not the ideal opportunity to catch an "all-you-can-eat-meat" deal!  However, most of the meat was fabulous, and the salad bar was pretty good, plus the price was right.  We wished we could have eaten more, but this was just setting the tone for the rest of the week!  I went on to not be hungry at all until I arrived back home- it was crazy!   Especially when I am trying to enjoy having my plate to myself and not sharing with three little piggies!  Oh well!  Live and learn!  I also really noticed going up the stairs in the conference center- I felt like I was so out of shape, but then got laughed at because of the altitude thing... and I didn't feel so bad :-)

The next day was the corporate "event," in which they took us all out to Miller Motorsports in Tooele.  Here Gabe rode along in a racing mustang, which he said didn't go fast enough!  This is him exiting the car... he looks like he had fun, doesn't he?  :-)

Can you read the price tag? $80K- polished aluminum... brand new it'd run ya $140K.

Miller Motorsports has the largest private collection of Shelby Cobras, plus Shelby Mustangs and Ford GT40s.  There were some really high prices in this museum... all the way up to 14 million.  I can't believe they let me stand so close...

We also experienced riding in Jeep Rubicons on a rock crawling course and drove *real* go-carts!  You know, the 40 mph kind!  Gabe only passed me 3 times... But I did some passing too :-)  He was just the fastest driver out there by far- so I didn't stand a chance!  The rock crawling ranked high on my "how do they do that" bucket list... though I never would have admitted it.  I only went because these are "experienced" drivers... but they had a tendency to make mistakes here and there too!  Those pics are on Gabe's phone, so I'll have to post those later...

The next day included more conferencing, during which I drove down to Lehi to pick up some essential oils directly from the Young Living office (kinda cool!), plus visited the local Costco where I bought another book (which put my checked bag at 1 pound over the limit!) on Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  The conference's closing banquet ended the day, but Keys on Main topped off the night!  Keys on Main is a bar which hosts dueling pianos two days a week- and it was the number one thing on Gabe's to-do-again list from last year!  I can't begin to describe how much fun it was- phenomenally talented pianists- funny drunk people- great songs.  What a blast!

Gabe had a few classes to do the next morning, and then we scooted out to do some sightseeing together.  First I wanted to check out the Temple Square- mainly to see the Beehive House and Lion House because I'd recently (in the last year) read about their history and Brigham's countless wives :-)  However, once we entered the square and started rounding the temple itself, we decided to leave due to "feeling weird."  We did drive by the houses the next morning, but after leaving we found the yummiest little bakery/sandwich shop ever!  Hagermann's Bakehouse:  if ever you find yourself in Salt Lake City, visit here.  They had scrumptious samples, tasty sandwiches, and we went up afterwards to pick out dessert (because we couldn't refuse!) and they gave it to us free! 

My apricot-jalapeno jelly was sliming me!  (By then we'd learned to split whatever we ordered!)

To be continued.... because it's late and blogger is not cooperating in the photo upload process... :-)

Woodland Park Zoo, Part Three

 This bear picture is kinda weird, but you can see the blond hair in front of the glass- the bear was right on the other side!  On our side it was absolute chaos with people pushing and shoving to see the bear up close.  Poor Isaac even got stepped on!  Insanity!

 This made the girls' day because we missed the carousel at Silverwood, thinking it would still be open when we were on our way out (like we had seen it do before,) but it wasn't :-(

Woodland Park Zoo, part Two

Woodland Park Zoo, Part One

Yay- What a great vacation!

We are home now from our 7 days away! We feel so blessed to have been able to get away and have a great time with our kiddos. We stayed at a 4-person cabin at the Little Diamond KOA/Thousand Trails campground north of Spokane, and took one day to do Silverwood. Hopefully I'll be able to get some pics up and tell some of the FUNNY stories we had.......

For now, here's a quote from Melia this morning:

Melia: "Mom, what does 'be continued' mean?"
Me: "It's like when you are watching a show, and suddenly the show is over, but you haven't heard the end of the story yet. You have to wait until next time to hear the ending!"
Melia: "Hmmm... I don't like 'to be continueds!' "
Me: "Me neither!!!"

Yay, It's so close!

Our annual SP Conference getaway weekend is almost here! I just wish it wasn't at the end of hunting season! I booked our hotel today, via priceline... The conference is at the Coeur'd'Alene resort, (and it would be soo nice!) but when I can get a nice enough hotel with free breakfast for two nights cheaper than one night at the resort with no breakfast... I guess I just can't turn off that frugal streak!

I'm so excited- for both the "getaway" and the conference!

Yea! Gabe's Home!

He's been gone since early Sunday morning to Utah for some work training, but now he's back! He even brought me Larry's at work tonight when he got back to town :-)

If you think of it, pray for him. His co-workers are not supportive of this new computer system they've got, and because Gabe's one of the admins, he kinda gets the brunt of the grouchiness. (I just want to tell them to grow up and use their nice words, but...)

Now off for a very busy weekend hosting a campout w/ some out of town friends! I'm hoping life will slow down after this weekend!

Fishing Fun - 2010

Sunday after church, after lunch, and after getting everything together... we finally made it out to Shaun and Andrea's to go fishing with them and Mom & Dad! Andrea's post is here, for more pictures and her thoughts :-) (Don't forget to feed her frog!)

And here's some of my favorite pictures! Kiera was acting all afraid that the fish would be mean... It took a little forcing, but soon she was asking "Can I touch it?" every time!

After fishing was pretty much over, Shaun brought some food over so we could watch the fish jump :-) I wish I had gotten a picture of me holding Isaac out over the water so he could feed the fish; I'd put him down and he'd run right over to get some more food!

Note Gabe's funny face at where he hooked this one!

The point of many of our pictures was that he was catching trout with giant bass lures!

Grandma Debbie's "Success!" face :-)

Isaac inspecting one of the first catches which was almost as big as him!

Because water from a bottle is so much better than sippy cups....

I think this was my only real catch... And quite the fun pic!

Hotel Stuff

Last weekend, Gabe and I were able to get away for a couple nights by ourselves (Thanks Mom and Rennea!) I pricelined it again, and this time ended up with two nights at the Bellevue Hilton for $74/night. I thought that was pretty good, and we were excited to go! We arrived and felt like we were at a mini-Vegas, with a coffee shop, gift shop, and restaurant inside.

On the way home we discussed the differences between paying more for "nicer" rooms (they really were lovely- soft beds, soft pillows, soft towels... lots of room) versus less for more average rooms (although most of the time now they have mini-fridges and/or microwaves, where the Hilton didn't) and free hot breakfast. It seems that the more average hotel chains have to compete more for our business, so they really end up being the better deal, depending on how much you value soft towels and pillows...

We decided next time we'll go for the 3 star line and expect more for less, especially since we always bring our own pillows anyway! The sad part was that we slept in so late both days we weren't able to go out for breakfast- Gabe felt cheated on our weekend away because he didn't get a hot breakfast, so we had French Toast for dinner last night :-)

Oh, and by the way- Inception was a GREAT movie! Different plot, good acting, unpredictable... we really enjoyed it!

Oregon Trip: Day 7 & 8

Since we weren't willing to fight traffic on Monday to get to the Aquarium, we went Tuesday after we'd packed up and left the campground. Surprisingly enough, there was zero traffic! The kids really enjoyed the seeing the seals and stuff, but I was actually disapppointed. We were in and out in under an hour compared to a cheaper price and 3+ hours of fun at the zoo in Portland. The only real distinquishing thing about the aquarium is that it had the shark tank(which was pretty awesome) and the hands-on area.

Inside the shark tank.

The girls were a little hesistant, but they touched pretty much everything I showed them.

There was this adorable harbor seal- it'd swim upside down straight into the glass, then bonk it's head against the glass similar to how a cat would lovingly bonk it's head on you, then press it's back all the way down.... So endearing!!!

We also were inside at just the right time, on accident, and caught them feeding the fish. Pretty neat!

By the time we left the zoo it was apparent that Melia and Isaac had both developed fevers and were feeling pretty bad. We headed north and stopped at Tillamook Cheese Factory. That was interesting, but I was hoping for something that the girls could watch and actually understand how cheese was made. They had little screens in the viewing area, I couldn't find anything that was age appropriate... But we did enjoy the ice cream! I was amazed at what a killing they must be making at selling their cheese in the gift shop- We will buy our Tillamook cheese at Costco!!!

After Tillamook we headed towards Portland. Stopped at a Fred Meyer along the way for dinner because we couldn't find a Chili's.. (Boo!) We intended to stop at Bob's Red Mill along the way, but forgot because of the kids' fevers..

Unfortunately, this last night of our trip really tried us as a family, especially Gabe and I. Heading through Portland, it's late evening, around 7ish. I had bought a pop, intending to drive as far as I could before stopping. After I had downed a decent amount of caffeine, Isaac started to really not be happy. Having had Gabe's phone die (along with it, the GPS), he called Annie for help trying to find someplace to stop, without a whole lot of luck. After several misadventures... getting lost in a town, taking an exit the computer said was to a rest stop, only to end up getting lost on a back road, having to turn around on a said road w/ a trailer... getting to a Walmart, only to find a big "No Overnight Trucks/Trailers" sign... We finally ended up at a rest stop. Which we will not do again. I am too light of a sleeper to endure the annoying truckers who honk as they drive by all night, the diesel engines coming and going.. in addition to having to wake up on schedule to administer tylenol to feverish baby... Not a good night, and my attitude reflected such in the morning...

Thankfully, God is gracious and I felt better after a little while. The rest of the trip home included a stop in Toppenish for some Orajel (desperate attempt to get Isaac to stop crying) and some cheap fireworks :-) We actually had to stop several times just to get Gabe and I out of the car... the screaming was really pushing us. We also made a stop at Minor's in Yakima for the yummiest burgers... I always forget how big they are! We made it home early afternoon, and actually figured out how to dump our tank into our home septic system- very helpful not to have to drive somewhere else when we're already so beat :-)

Looking back, our trip really was a great time. Riding the edge of insanity the last 20 hours of it tested our patience with each other, and I absolutely believe we are stronger now because we made it through as a team. I am so thankful that we had this opportunity, and I'm not so afraid of trying to do it again someday! (And so thankful to Mom and Dad Elliott for the awesome gift of their old trailer- THANK YOU!!!)

Oregon Trip: Day 6

On Sunday, we drove from the campout area up to Beverly Beach State Park, a bit north of Newport, arriving just in time to get some dinner and get in bed. This was the day that Kiera was fighting a fever; thankfully she slept most of the morning and through the driving.

Monday we decided to visit the Oregon Coast Aquarium, but as we hopped on the highway to head south back to Newport we could see at least a mile of backed up construction traffic. So we turned around and headed north to the Devil's Punchbowl. This is Kiera with a little squirrel near the punchbowl viewing area. It seemed totally unafraid- I wondered if it was blind... I'd read that there was a good tidepooling beach near there, so we asked at the local seafood shack and found the most darling little beach ever!

I used this picture for the girls' birthday "friend party" invite. I thought it was priceless!!!

Melia was so excited that she found this "dinosaur bone!" :0)

Tidepooling is so much fun- but Kiera was more about collecting thousands of mussel shells...

After playing around and really enjoying ourselves at the little beach, we though we'd head back to the beach at the campground before dinner. Don't let the beautiful sunshine deceive you; this beach was cold! The wind was freezing, but it provided the opportunity to fly our little kite. Melia loved helping Daddy- pretty soon she may be able to do it herself!

This beach also was perfect for wave chasing.

And hand disappearing acts...

The water and sand fascinated Isaac, but he wasn't so sure about the "walking on moving water" thing.

Isaac also really needed some walking time- and the beach was good for that. He'd been close for a while, but most of our trip he was in the trailer, stroller, carseat, or being carried, so he was excited to get out and move!

But the first thing he did after getting back to the towel was curl up and pop his sandy thumb in his mouth! He was cold and done!

That night I had my own little adventure- I spotted a laundromat just outside our campground, so I loaded up all our stinky stuff and headed off after the kids went to bed to do a couple loads. But when I got out there, I realized that it was actually a storage place for someone, with a laundromat sign still on the building... I thought- well, I'm already halfway there... so I drove back to Newport to find a real laundromat. I found one, but the soap dispenser just stole my money, and another person there watched my clothes while I ran to the nearest grocery store to pick up a few detergent travel boxes (oh how I wished I'd had my coupon book!). I got back and finished up, but was about 1/2 hour later than I told Gabe I would be. I had the radios, but was 7 miles away, so I couldn't let him know I was ok. (His cell phone had died a few days into the trip.) He was glad to see me get back, to say the least. The sad thing was... our clothes didn't smell a whole lot better... Isaac's stinky diapers and an accident Kiera had while feverish made them quite... pungent... And apparently I needed some lessons in laundromat machines. Who knows. It was an adventure anyway :-) Other than worrying my husband, I enjoyed it!