We got back yesterday from our 9 day trip to Priest River, Idaho and it was WONDERFUL! We got to spend a huge amount of quality time with all of his family members, moreso than I have before, and it was a huge blessing :) his family is so wonderful and I get along with them VERY well, but haven't truly had the opportunity to spend one-on-one time with individuals of his family... until now! I spent an especially large amount of time with Richard's mom, Kathi, and lover her even more now :) she is a very special, kind and understanding woman and I'm so glad we got to cultivate a closer relationship this week. Probably the best part of this trip, besides quality time with Rich's mom, was seeing how happy Richard was. I know he misses his family desperately and cherishes time with them; to see him and how peaceful/content he was is by far the best part of the trip :)
Anyway, on to the events! We decided to take a new trail over to the Eastside because, well, after four years of Snoqualmie Pass I wanted a new path... we've driven around Enumclaw and seen signs for Chinook Pass before so we said, "what the hey?!" and went for it. The views were INCREDible through the pass, probably one of my favorite drives in a long time... uuuuuupppp until the other side of the pass when it turned into desert Yakima yuck. But up until that, pure awesomeness!
Here's one of the many views of Rainier that kicked tuckus.
Once we met up again with I-90, it was the same-old same-old. Thankfully, we're pretty good at busying ourselves by chatting, singing obnoxiously loudly, and making some scenic stops:
Why hello, Vantage, you bustling metropolis you!
When we arrived to Priest River, we met up with Richard's cousin and Best Man Andrew who was able to get leave from the Army for the annual family camping trip. We then headed over to the traditional Priest Lake campground where Richard's parents, brother, and sister Michelle and her husband and son had already set up camp. Over the next few days, we swam at Priest Lake, ate heartily, and enjoyed a lot of good family time. Didn't get pictures because we had a "no phone" rule and my camera's batteries died, but I guarantee you that it was good times :)
When we got back into town, we (first) showered and relaxed and rehydrated. Then we took Richard's little brother Scott to Silverwood and enjoyed being pummeled by waves at Boulder Beach and obsessively riding the white water rafting ride until closing. It was tons of fun :) after that, we spend the day with Richard's biological half-sister Katie and her husband and three little boys and had some wonderful conversations... and then the day after THAT we went over to Richard's sister Britta's house for a barbeque she was holding in our honor!
Holy nephew invasion! It was so fun to spend time with them, but oh my little boys everywhere! As of now, the nephew count is up to 5... phew.
Like I said before, Kathi and I had some girl time throughout the week and I loved it :) the majority of our time was spent looking for decorations for the wedding at yard sales (some scary, some awesome) and an antique show one town over. We found three lanterns for table decorations and it was less than $10 total! Booyah :) also, when we were back at the house, she showed me some baby things of Richard's and this little gem:
D'awws. They took this picture soon after Katie (on the right) and Richard (cutie patootie in front) were adopted. He was about 8 months old and his half-sister was just over 2 years old. Too cute :) he has such a mature little face, it kind of makes me giggle!
It was hard for Richard to leave, but the big kid world beckoned... as did our fur baby! My dad was phenomenal in helping us by checking in on her, so thank you Daddy :) when we got home, she was pretty ticked off and distant, but warmed up really quickly. While trying to unpack, here was my little package :)
Anyway, lots to do to get caught up! I've been working on unpacking everything and getting life ready for, well, life. Two weeks left until I'm back to school and three more until kids are back. Man it went by fast!
Love you guys,
Chels
As they say "Dogs come when they're called; cats take a message and get back to you later."
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