Now that my oldest brother Ethan lives only nine hours away (as compared to 22 hours when he was in Texas), all of the other Scotts were invited to descend on their house in Richland, Washington, for a family reunion. They have a big, beautiful house, but not big enough to have 17 extra people sleep there, so we hauled our trailer and parked it on the one flat spot of land next to their house (and put the chocks in so it wouldn't roll down the hill) to house our family of six for four days.
On the way over, we split up the driving into two days and stopped in Baker City, Oregon, for the night on July 2. The girls did well in the somewhat-cramped truck; it helped that we had dozens of movies available on the laptop, a bag full of books and another full of activities. It was our first stay at an RV camp, and we found it to be a pleasant experience.
We got to Ethan's house right before noon on July 3 and waited for the other Scotts to arrive. Once they did, it was basically a non-stop party for three days. On Thursday we:
... swam in the pool,
Winnie throwing the ball into the pool to see it splash.
Andrea climbing onto the floating orca. It was harder than it looks.
Analee and the crocodile sneaking up on Rebekah.
... played on the giant slip and slide,
Rebekah and Seth headed down the slide.
Analee going down.
Seth getting even dirtier in the grass/mud at the end of the slide. He proved to be the king of the slip and slide; he went farther than anyone else and even headed up in the ditch a time or two.
... and roasted marshmallows for s'mores.
Mason, Andrea, Ellie, Shelby and Seth around the fire pit.
On Friday (the 4th of July), we:
... played with cousins,
Bennet, Rebekah, Miriam and Ellie playing with toys while Analee and Grandma Scott make funny faces in a workbook and Andrea checks her email.
Winnie the xylophonist.
Miriam and Ellie with cars.
... attended the parade in Kennewick,
Analee petting a tiny pony.
Andrea handing out gummy green army men to Uncle T.
Winnie eating said army men.
Rebekah, Seth and Aunt Teressa watching the parade.
... ate lunch on the patio,
Miriam with her peanut butter sandwich, Cheetos and grapes.
... swam in the pool some more,
Rebekah after retrieving the ring from the deepest part of the pool (about 5' or so).
Analee taking Matthew around the pool while Aunt Annie and Aunt Teressa watch.
Uncle Jon getting ready to throw Rebekah through the air. Uncle Jon got a complete upper-body workout throwing those kids around the pool.
... watched Despicable Me 2 on Seth's phone,
Mason, Spencer, Sam, Analee and Miriam crowded around Andrea holding Seth's phone and playing 2048 on her own phone. Miriam had a fever that day, so we had her stay out of the sun and the pool. After watching the movie on the phone, she fell asleep on the couch.
... played with sparklers,
Analee dancing with her sparkler.
... got nails painted,
Aunt McKall, Analee, Rebekah, Aunt Terssa, Libby, Aunt Annie and Shelby getting ready to give/receive manicures.
... jumped on the trampoline,
Sam, Ellie, Uncle Jon and Bennet playing "crack the egg" with Rebekah.
... watched Uncle T's quadcopter,
Rebekah and Ellie chasing the "drone."
... watched the first half of
The Lego Movie on the outside wall of the house,
We were waiting for the fireworks to start.
... and watched the fireworks from the yard/deck.
People in Richland, West Richland, Pasco and Kennewick fire off some huge fireworks, almost all of which can be seen from Ethan and Teressa's house.
On Saturday, we:
... hiked up Badger Mountain,
Bennet, Uncle T, Rebekah, Grandma Scott, Analee, Aunt McKall and Andrea taking a break on the hike. It was blasted hot and there was no shade, so most of the kids only went a mile up.
... watched the rest of
The Lego Movie inside,
Analee, Shelby, Sam, Uncle Ethan, Grandma Scott, Ellie, Rebekah, Libby, Uncle T and Aunt McKall sprawled out on the couches/floor.
... went to a trampoline park,
Miriam leaping into the foam cub pit.
Andrea playing dodgeball.
Seth smiling because he just got Andrea out.
Rebekah doing a flip into the cube pit.
Analee sliding down the tramp wall.
.
.. swam in the pool some more and played volleyball (not pictured).
On Sunday, our family got up early, ate breakfast and hooked the trailer back up to the truck. We got an early start (8 a.m.) and only took 10.5 hours (including gas stops, rest stops, meal stops, etc.) to make it home. Miriam still had her fever (it lasted for five days and turned out to be something viral) on the ride home, so she spent a lot of the time watching movies and laying her head on a pillow. Winnie napped better on the way home than on the way over, so that was a relief as well. Seth was a champ pulling the trailer up the hill between La Grande and Pendleton.
Now that we know we can survive a long road trip in the truck with the trailer, I foresee more such excursions in our future. And we're grateful for Ethan and Teressa's hospitality while we stayed with them. I know our girls made some fun memories with their cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents while we were there.
Too see more such pictures, start
here.
