Day 10

Fun day with Allen's familly at Cedar Point, the premier amusement park in the country. I understand now why this park is so highly regarded. Wow. 17 coasters in one park. And what coasters. The Raptor is now Allen's favorite. Ever.

Lizzie got to go on her first ride and, after taking a little bit to figure out what was happening... loved it! The laughs and smiles were priceless. Course, when the ride was over, she was none too thrilled that we had to take her out of the car. Yeah, crying, the whole bit. Later in the day, she got to go on quite a few more and really, really liked the experience. Me thinks she'll be a coaster addict some day.

All in all it was great to spend time with Allen's family and to go on rides with Abby and Claudia (Allen's nieces) and to eat gigantic elephant ears. :-)


Lizzie on her first ride with her cousin Claudia.


Allen and his sister, Maria


The whole gang

Day 9

Much better day today. Went to Saranac, Michigan. Steph's great grandfather's old stompin' grounds. Had a yummy lunch at the Saranac Sugar Shack (I kid you not). Mmmm... burgers.

Went to Steph's dad's grandpa's old farm and house just to snap a couple of pictures... and lo and behold the current owners are family! The gal we talked to remembered some of Steph's aunts and uncles from when they grew up and would visit grandpa's farm! We took pictures and went in the house and talked for about an hour or so. We exchanged contact information and got a bunch of info about Steph's dad's genealogy (which is a big deal... since we had been hitting road blocks in that area). It was great to see the excitement in Steph's face and to enjoy those moments with her. We then went to a local cemetery and were able to find the graves of Steph's great grandma and great grandpa.

After Saranac, we went to Sandusky, OH to meet up with Allen's sister (Maria) and her family. It was great to see them. Steph had never met Tim before and our girls had never met Maria's girls or Tim before either. We went out to dinner at Outback (had a good experience this time... Outback green beans are the best on the planet) and caught up a bit. I had forgotten how much I liked hanging out with them. Though we'll still be a bit away from them in MA, it's nice to be in the same time zone as them.

Now for the pics...

Michigan really is beautiful. This pic is simply trees along the highway, but is typical of how green and beautiful most of Michigan is. Had no idea.

Steph's great grandpa's old farm house (spruced up quite a bit by the current owners).

Aerial picture of the farm, hanging inside the farmhouse.

Day 8

Since Day 7 was a day of fun at the Mall, Day 8 was back on the road. Minnesota to Wisconsin to Michigan. Hard day all around. Rough go in the morning getting the kiddos ready. Drive was okay, but since we got to the destination a couple hours before Allen's folks, we stopped at a laundromat to clean up the big bag o' dirty clothes. While necessary, this resulted in a meltdown all across the board. It was hot and humid outside, even hotter inside with the machines going, in a town we weren't familar with, around people we weren't familar with. The kids, us, yeah, tired and hot and hungry and cranky and... we were glad to see this day be over.

But here are a couple of pics entering Wisconsin and Michigan. By the way, Wisconsin cheese is good (but not better than Tillamook), and Michigan is beautiful.

Day 7

Today we met up with Greg (a good friend from MBC) who was in Minnesota attending an annual conference. We all spent the day walking through some of The Mall of America. It is massive! Allen and Greg built toy race cars in the Lego area and then raced. Greg's was much softer on the eyes, but Allen's held up on the race track. We were all able to tour a massive Underwater Adventures which was spectacular since you travel through a tube and are able to watch sharks, rays and various types of fish swim all around you. It was great to spend some time with Greg, we have missed him and his lovely wife since their recent move last year to John Brown University in Arkansas. Lizzie really took to him, and now can't stop doing "knuckles" a fun little thing Greg taught her.The pictures are from the end of the day when we were all saying goodbye.

Day 6

Today we left South Dakota. It was another long day of driving, especially since this morning we all woke up with a cold or some sort of nasal allergy thing. Driving all day in a car packed tight with stuff and two tired and sick little girls is sooooooo much fun :-) ! Actually it has been great to spend so much time as a family. The girls love driving breaks because they get to play with one another and smile at each other. Allen and Steph love to watch their little girls bond so well. Here are a couple of pictures of the roads on our way into Minnesota.

Day 5

Day of fun and rest. Site seeing spectacular. In the morning we went to Reptile Gardens. Saw lots of cool lizards and snakes and such. Even a 126 year old tortoise. Here's a pic of Lizzie touching an albino python. And of zookeeper Lizzie. :-)




After lunch we headed on up to "The Faces" where Lizzie got to run around and get out some been-in-a-car-way-way-too-long-wiggles, and Ellie got to watch tons of people walk by the big rock people and say silly things like, "do you think they re-do it each year". It is incredible to see and even more incredible once you are made aware of just how much work went into it.

Day 4

It was nice to have a short day. Left Wellington, CO about 9:00am this morning and arrived at Hart Ranch (just outside Rapid City, SD) about 3:30pm. Met up with my folks without a problem (though the lack of cell phone coverage made things interesting for a bit there).

As for the trip itself, we got to experience more of the flat, uneventful, beautiful land that is Wyoming. And then South Dakota. What a glorious state. Beautiful prairies that stretch as far as the eye can see. Slight hills that rise while the trees on them rise just the same. Wonderful people that don't require you to prepay inside to pump your gas. Really good waiters. Glorious.

Steph and I had some good conversations in the car today, so that was helpful in the grand scheme of things and, as a bonus, made the time go by rather quickly. Lizzie is beginning to settle into the traveling routine, though still is quick to throw a fit should something not be quite right. And, since she is two is just a couple weeks, she is testing every boundary that comes her way.

We could really use prayer for Ellie though. 85% of the day she is the cute, smiley content baby that we adore. The other 15% she is the not-quite-as-cute, screaming her head off (in pain?) baby we adore. We think she is teething again. Today while feeding her rice cereal, I (Allen) touched the top of her mouth with the spoon and she instantly flipped out. We've been giving her infant Motrin, which helps for a little bit, but is not quite the results we've been hoping for. The teething tablets that worked so well in the past are packed away somewhere. We may have to dig those out. The biggest issue is falling asleep. Both last night and tonight was a big challenge. She gets so tired she can't think straight, but because she's uncomfortable, she won't give in to her body's need to rest. Took lots of holding and comforting and praying to get her down tonight. So yes, your prayers for her ability to sleep at night would be most appreciated.

Sorry, no pics today. We took a couple, but it's late and quite honestly, I'm not sure where the camera is. Fun day planned tomorrow though with lots of site seeing. Should be able to post a few pics then. Good night!

Day 3

Today we spent the day with the Goodrichs (Benji was Allen's best man in our wedding). We met up for some educational animal fun at the Denver Zoo (if you get a chance click this link and try the poop quiz called "Whose poo?"..Steph got an 86, Allen got a 50). For the NW crowd, the Denver Zoo dwarfs the Portland Zoo. Very impressive and a blast. Saw lots of animals I had never seen before (did you know ant eaters have really long fur?) and animals I never knew existed (there is an animal called a bongo. Go figure).



All in all, it was a ton of fun to see Benji and Missy again, to finally meet their little guy, Isaiah, and for them to meet our wee munchkins. Thanks for a great day Goodrichs!



The kiddos finally got comfortable with one another after a little bit. Benji and I have often discussed the possibility of their arranged marriage. Cute couple, no?


There's a lot of humor here. Insert your own caption. (Thanks Brewsters for the wonderful gift of the mai thai (the kid carrier strapped on Allen). It held Ellie comfortably all day. And it was super easy to get on and was way less painful than using the sling (which we started to use until it began to hurt Steph's shoulder).

Day 2

Got some great rest and started the day a little later than planned, but no worries.

Northern Utah and Wyoming are both incredibly beautiful and incredibly boring.


Lizzie is back to her normal self, which is both good and challenging (...she is 2 after all).

Never go to the Cheyenne Outback on a Friday evening during the weekend of both a convention and many graduations.

Day 1

Took off at 5:20am. Drove I-84 for a loooooong time. Got into Brigham City, Utah about 8:00pm. It's been wonderful to have time alone with just the family and enjoy seeing a ton of God's amazing creation. Believe it or not, eastern Oregon is a lot prettier than most would have you believe. Kids did well. Lizzie wasn't quite herself on Day 1, but sleeping a lot was a good thing for her.

Departing shot of Mt. Hood. We'll miss you.

Sleeping in the backseat. O, to be a two year old.