scary skeleton

ok...not so scary...but dang cute! I can't help it if I'm Anna's biggest fan. Happy Halloween everyone!

Ok, Mom. Seriously. Enough pictures already!

(we call this face "the snarl".)

2700 miles...

...in eight days... with a five year old, eighteen month old, and a three month old. Call us crazy? That's ok. We had a great time!

Day 1: Salt Lake City, UT to La Grande, OR

Day one was...um...interesting. First of all, I need to make note that only Travis, Anna, and I were coming from Salt Lake that day. Jen, Duane, Carter and Dalan were coming from Green River, WY...on the first big snow storm of the season. They ended up in a absolute stand still on I-80 which was closed because of the weather...FOR FOUR HOURS! Dang. I think I would have turned around, but they waited it out and made it all the way to Burley, ID that night.

Day 2: La Grande, OR (or Burley, ID) to Seattle, WA

Anna loved the top of the Space Needle.

We all finally met up in Seattle the night of day two.

Day 3: Seattle, WA to Vancouver, B.C. (Canada)

We followed some pretty sketchy Google map directions to Vancouver in the dark after hanging out in Seattle for the day.

Anna became best friends with the weird blue dog hanging from her car seat.

Day 4: Vancouver, B.C. to Port Angeles, WA

We took our car on a ferry ride to Vancouver Island to spend the day in Victoria. Dilly Dally loved the ferry ride, and the views were spectacular. We also visited this cool castle in Victoria.

Day 5: Port Angeles, WA to Portland, OR

The drive down the scenic coastal highway 101 was beautiful. I absolutely love the driftwood on the beaches and the towering rocks peeking out of the ocean.

Carter loved collecting beach treasures.

Anna loved the scenic highway.

Day 6: Portland, OR to Crescent City, CA

One of my very favorite things about the Pacific Northwest in the fall is, of course, the beautiful leaves! On our way to Crescent City (still on Highway 101) we stopped at the Sea Lion Caves. The sea lions must have been on vacation, but the scenery was amazing!


Day 7: Crescent City, CA to however far we can make it towards home.

We spent the morning among the giant Redwoods. Amazing! As far as we could make it turned out to be Winnimucca, NV.

Anna loved the Redwood Forest.

Day 8: Winnimucca, NV to Salt Lake City, UT

It's always nice to finally be home! (and to have Anna back on a somewhat normal schedule :) Thanks to our travel buddies who endured road side feedings, freak snow storms, and endless hours in the car. We loved creating this memory with you!

say what?

You're taking me where? Seriously?

Stay tuned for Anna's first big adventure.

new tricks

Anna has some new tricks she wants to show off to everyone. She has been working hard every day to perfect these exciting, new skills. We have been so busy practicing that we haven't blogged for a whole week! Here is the first picture as she mentally prepares to astound us all...

The first trick is being able to lift up her head to a whopping 45 degrees...by herself! Get ready... It only lasts a second...

The second trick (which is an Anna specialty) is that her legs go just as high as her head. Whenever she tries to lift one end, the other magically follows. (Wow! Check out that extension! :)

Too tired to try again!

The third trick is that Anna is now smiling! I must say, every morning when I go in her room it helps me know I can make it through the day after I see her smile at me. What a reward!