~Home Again~

WOW - what a beautiful day to be taking a ferry ride HOME!!!!  You can never get enough of the beauty of this area.   We spent the whole time looking out the window marveling at the mountains, sailboats, ocean etc...

Almost home.......Sidney, BC in the distance.

Thanks so much "B" family for the lovely welcome home banner!!  SO sweet!

And.......here we are......back in beautiful Brentwood Bay!   HOME SWEET HOME!!!

How does one describe this amazing adventure? This truly was a trip of a lifetime with so many incredible memories. We started our journey 8 months ago and the time flew by. How far has our little box on wheels gone? We traveled through 33 States and 5 Canadian provinces and drove and drove and drove!!! In fact we drove 31 794 kilometers, stopped 96 times for gas, slept in our trailer beds for 243 nights and experienced thousands and thousands of smiles, giggles and laughs!

This trip has taught us to be more thoughtful of others, to be respectful of each others space and to actually enjoy living in a 200sq ft box. We had a few minor "spats" in the beginning,  however the laughs and joys we shared outnumbered them SO much!

The Lord blessed our lives every day! We were protected from accidents, kept safe from Hurricane Sandy, blessed by wonderful new friends and the things we learned and saw could only have come from the Lord!!

We loved learning about Canada and the USA – we really do live in a beautiful part of the world!

Thank you all so much  for reading our blog and sharing our journey with us.  We appreciate your love, friendship and prayers.

So.....in a few short words..............here are some of our favourite memories............:)

Fun sibling memories, laughs, laughs and more laughs, bad haircuts, lifelong friends, cozy living space, “bedhead”, hard water, amazing fall colours, competitive ping pong matches, Hurricane Sandy, hot springs, 40 degree weather, slurpees, dog races, creepy bathrooms, forts, campground laundromats, ticks and chiggers, late night satellite Canuck games, state parks, wild horses, forts, bumpy roads, live fish filleting, bingo, parties for strangers, chats with “neighbours”, creation like you have never seen before, amazing animals and birds, famous people, markets, canyons, fairs, rodeos, thrift stores, book and DVD exchanges, RV'ing with our parents, National Parks and monuments, Major League Baseball, cowboy towns, bathroom bugs, “trailer church”, factory tours, frisbee golf, special movie nights, tailgating, lobsters and crawdads, family bands, propane oven issues, flea markets, Walmart camping (GVC- Great Value Camping!) swimming, fishing, shelling, GPS issues, weather – rain, sun, wind, frost, snow, tornado warnings, craft times, bowling, fishing, mini golf, free samples, potlucks, new languages, craft fairs, go-karting, Tim Hawkins, aquariums, Fabulous "Golden" times, u-pick farms, fossil hunting, concerts, parades, canoeing, corn fields, museums, quaint towns, horseback riding, NFL games, boat rides, biking, snorkeling, read a louds, slow internet, NO internet, beignets, Amish country, huge cities, “long drops”, endless fun times in the car, buffets, rivers, learning....living, loving, fish frys, schooling on the move, lakes, “I pledge”, pickleball games, movie making, getting lost, smelly shoes, crazy side roads, scavenger hunts, bruises....bumps and bloody noses, worshipful churches, roadkill, tennis, parliament buildings, soy bean fields, beautiful trees and flowers, inter-coastal waterways, potato fields, huge tides, spectacular hikes, jumping, historic settlements, mountains, spray parks, safaris, souvenir shopping, petroglyphs, arches, food...food and more food, sandy beaches, special occasions, basketball, maps, visitor centres with cool freebies, sledding, donuts, churros, science centres, huge bridges, tolls, tight campgrounds, jugging, cozy beds, awesome trailer food, “Dad, I need to go to the bathroom....please pull over!”, relatives, tight spaces, driving on beaches, cotton fields....ETC.....ETC.....ETC.......

I could go on and on...............as you can see our experience was incredible and we thank the Lord for his guidance, protection and wisdom throughout our trip.

Psalm 121

¹ I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
² My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber;
⁴ indeed, he who watches over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The Lord watches over you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
⁶ the sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

⁷ The Lord will keep you from all harm—
    he will watch over your life;
⁸ the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.

Let the name of the LORD be praised, both now and forevermore.

~Last Days~

On one of our last days in Oregon we visited Klootchy Creek County Park where we saw this HUGE 80 ft Sitka Spruce stump.  In years past it was said to be the oldest tree in Oregon being 200 ft tall and over 17 ft in diameter.  In 2007  hurricane winds knocked the beautiful tree over leaving just this big old stump!

Then off to see the Lewis and Clark Salt Works.   Just a small site, but interesting how they lived.

Then back to the "Taffy" shop where we all got a chance to spin the wheel to win a prize.  This was the second time we had tried this.  This time tho' - Scott spun and won a candy stick AND got to put his name on the "Wall of Fame" with all the other winners over the years!!

Then Grandma bought us all very yummy ice-cream cones!!!  Thanks!   There were 48 flavours to choose from!  We all had quite a time deciding!

Saying goodbye to Grandma and A.Cheryl after a fun week spent together.

Once again as we passed through Seattle it was rainy and dark.

But then........on to La Conner, WA where it was the tulip festival - look at those beautiful colours!!

We stayed at this lovely TT Park in La Conner which was right on the beach.

What a great spot to spend our last night!!

~Lewis and Clark National Historic Site~

While in Seaside we ventured out to Fort Clatsop for a few hours.  We began by watching the movie in the Visitor Centre and then we enjoyed the great museum.

I am not so sure that they should be "hanging" off the monument!!

Then off to the reconstructed fort. This is where Lewis and Clark spent the winter of December 1805-March 1806.  Twenty-eight men lived in this small fort.

They had many animal skins hanging on all the beds.

Then we all went outside and this man showed us how to make candles out of beef fat!   Needless to say they did NOT smell very good!!  All very interesting though!

We then went on a hike through the woods to see the old canoes.

Apparently something was funny while saying "The Pledge"!!  Another badge for the boys - yay!

~Travis' 11th Birthday!!~

WOW - I can't believe my precious boy is now 11 !!  Where did the time go?  On April 17th we were able to celebrate another birthday in the trailer!!   Woo hoo!

Presents, cards and money for the birthday boy.........

WOW - so much fun!

Then of course the crepe breakfast with bacon, strawberries and watermelon - yum....yum!

Then after brekkie Travis and Bradley went off on a scavenger hunt around the park.  A.Cheryl and the girls had made clues and taped them all to different things around the park.

The second to last clue landed them in the cabin with some delish lindt chokies to share!

And the final clue led Travis to the trunk of the car and a stuffy with candy for Travis!

Travis wanted to go go-karting for his birthday. We decided to let Shae and Brad do it too.  They were all SOOO pumped!

Half way through the "race" the very sweet owner decided to let Scott join them all !!!  SO NICE!!!

Scott was like a little kid racing around the track trying to beat his kids!!!!!  It was hilarious.

Then his lunch choice was the buffet at Pizza Hut!

After lunch we went off to Cannon Beach - so beautiful!

The boys bombarded poor Becky and took her down!!!

We enjoyed checking out all the amazing tidal pools.................

Look at all those mussels....Dad!!

And the vibrant starfish.

What a great way to spend a birthday afternoon!

I can't believe we still had space in our bellies - but.....this was dinner!!!!   I know....not very healthy, but.......YUM YUM YUM!!!   Huge Costco cake, Mountain Dew and Sherbet!!!

Travis......you are SUCH a blessing to us.....we love you!