Trip to Minnesota

Monday
We left the Portland Train Station at 4:45 pm.

When we got into the Gorge there was a brush fire on the tracks.
We had a 3 hr wait. They would not allow any of us off the train to walk around
because they said there were rattlesnakes.
We did not get much sleep on train. The seat are awful.Grace

Going through Montana was so gorgeous. We stopped in
West Glacier and I fell in love with the tiny town.

We passed over the Continental Divide at Myriah Pass, elevation 5216.
The west side is the Columbia Watershed and the east is the Mississippi Watershed.

We passed Fort Union, ND.

Wednesday
We pulled into Grand Forks at 2:40 am and Mark was there to pick us up.
We got to go back to his house and spend a few hours sleeping on a real bed.
While we girls were sleeping Mark and Dave went Golfing.

We left Grand Forks at 2pm and drove to Fargo. We stopped in to Walt's to visit.
Both of the boys were there. I was surprised at how tall Tanner is now.
Dave, Tanner, and Walt played Football in the back yard.

We left around 5pm and headed to Rochester. At 11pm we pulled into Rochester MN.
Mandy and Doug met us at our hotel. Got to visit for an hour and half.
Thursday
We had a long day. Doug and Dave took off to go mini golfing.
We girls went to Wacky Bear and made our stuffed animals. Grace choose a pig, Gabby
a kitty, and Mandy a panda. Very cute.

At noon we went to the church and set up for the wedding. The men took the girls
swimming in the hotel pool. They had a great time. Enjoying there new BIL.

Met back up and we all went to House of Bounce, a huge warehouse full of
blow up toys. The girls had a blast.

AT 6pm we each went to the separate bachelor/ bachelorette parties.
Mandy, me, and the girls went to the Ramada to visit with Mark, boys, Sue, and Paul.
The girls had the little boys all wound up and bouncing off the walls and beds.

Friday

Dave and Mark went to play pool.
The girls and I ran all over town getting last minute items for the rehearsal dinner.
Then to decorate the club house.
Lunch we went to the Ramada and spent time with family.

The kids had a blast on all the slides and playing with cousins.
Rehearsal went well. Dinner was potluck style.
Doug and Mandy provided all the meat and Dave got to grill it all in the rain.
I held the umbrella and ran food inside.
We came back to the hotel and the girls wanted to swim more, so
Dave took them to our pool.
All the while I got to iron all the clothes and hem up Gabby's dress.
It was 10 inches to long.

A new nephew
Clayton Lee

Papa and the boys

Todd, Justin, and Clayton

The girls at attending VBS this week.
The theme is The Amazon.
It is three glorious hours of quiet.

Before (April 2009)

50
Pounds that is.
I have hit my first big goal.
It has been 13 weeks.

THIS IS WHAT JEFF FOXWORTHY HAS TO SAY ABOUT 'LIVING IN OREGON' . .

If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don't work there, you live in Oregon.

If you've worn shorts, sandals and a parka at the same time, you live in Oregon.

If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed the wrong number, you live in Oregon.

If you measure distance in hours, you live in Oregon.

If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, you live in Oregon.

If you have switched from 'heat' to 'A/C' and back again in the same day, you live in Oregon.

If you install security lights on your house and garage but leave both doors unlocked, you live in Oregon.

If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you live in Central, Southern or Eastern Oregon.

If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a 2 layers of clothes or under a raincoat, you live in Oregon.

If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow and ice, you live in Oregon.

If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter, and road construction, you live in Oregon.

If you feel guilty throwing aluminum cans or paper in the trash, you live in Oregon.

If you know more than 10 ways to order coffee, you live in Oregon.

If you know more people who own boats than air conditioners, you live in Oregon.

If you stand on a deserted corner in the rain waiting for the "Walk" signal, you live in Oregon.

If you consider that if it has no snow or has not recently erupted, it is not a real mountain, you live in Oregon.

If you can taste the difference between Starbucks, Seattle's Best, and Dutch Bros, you live in Oregon.

If you know the difference between Chinook, Coho and Sockeye salmon, you live in Oregon.

If you know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup, Clatskanie, Issaquah, Oregon, Umpqua, Yakima and Willamette, you live in Oregon.

If you consider swimming an indoor sport, you live in Oregon.

If you know that Boring is a city and not just a feeling, you live in Oregon.

If you can tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese and Thai food, you live in Oregon.

If you never go camping without waterproof matches and a poncho, you live in Oregon.

If you have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain, you live in Oregon.

If you think people who use umbrellas are either wimps or tourists, you live in Oregon.

If you buy new sunglasses every year, because you cannot find the old ones after such a long time, you live in Oregon.

If you actually understand these jokes and forward them to all your OREGON friends, you live or have lived in Oregon.

Sandy Mountain Days
Parade

After the parade we went to hear the band play.
Aspen Meadows Band

Matt, Joe, and Jake

Marcie, Todd, Sue, and Broc

Jake even sang a couple John Denver songs.

Grace, Luanne, and Ernie

Cape Perpetua
July 4th, 2009

eating

around the campfire

the archers

Cousins

Happy Birthday Lins

Gerald & Beth

Dave

Luanne

The two McKenzie's

Kellie & Jayson