Late Posting

Okay, so we've been home for a few days and I have gotten myself lost in the mess of every day life, but I did want to wind up our adventure to San Diego for you.

Before leaving Portland, we headed to a relaxing morning at Ikea, with 6 kids! Actually, we were very blessed that "Miss Ann", Seth and Emma's favorite babysitter from YEARS ago, met up with us at the hotel and went with us to Ikea and helped wrangle all the kids! Thanks to Ann, Jeff and I were able to actually look and talk about things. All I have to say is that it is a good thing Spokane does NOT have an Ikea. It could be very dangerous for me! We did find a storage shelving unit, which we purchased and a few odds and ends, and had lunch there. It was kids eat FREE day!! Whoo Hoo!!! We had an ice cream to go, said our good-byes to Miss Ann and headed on a 1 hr 40 min drive to The Dalles (that was a breeze compared to most of our daily drives!).

Our arrival at the Iverson's, in The Dalles, was timed absolutely perfectly, for dinner... hamburgers, bbq chicken, chips, macaroni salad, and ice cream for desert! We had the distinct pleasure of meeting, having dinner, and enjoying the company of the head pastor at the church the Iverson's attend! Doug, Becky, and Zach were true troopers by feeding and housing our whole clan! Feeding and housing 8 people is quite an experience. The kids had a blast sleeping in sleeping bags and blankets, on cots, mattresses, and couches. It was like camping for them! Our time with the Iverson's was priceless!

Sunday morning came and Jeff got to experience old times and played bass with the worship team, while Doug led worship at church! It was a blessing and brought back fond memories of our early years of marriage. The worship was uplifting and the word that was spoken from the pulpit was challenging! We were able to stay for lunch and enjoy some more delightful fellowship and had to say good-bye to our dear friends and to our vacation!

We finally arrived home Sunday evening around 8:30 pm. Tucker promptly went over to our neighbors and said, "I'm home.... Did you miss me?" We unpacked the car, Jeff set up my new Wii Fit Plus, and finally fell into bed about midnight.

It was a fantastic trip and are very thankful to Ba and Pop and Aunt Bone for all the fun!
We will make one final post in the next day or so and share with all of you, some of the things we learned while on our trip.

Mitz