A Week in Eastern Washington

We spent an enjoyable and memorable week in Eastern Washington State with D's family. It turns out that the re-entry is a little rough when traveling from the West Coast to the East Coast. I have a feeling that sleep patterns will be non-existent for the next week or so. We sure are sleepy. Photos may not appear for awhile--I left my camera battery here in its charger--but I'll see what I can come up with from Grandpa Player's photos. For now here's a quick list of ten things we did.

1. Celebrated my thirtieth birthday with angel food cake and strawberries (and sleep--we were so jetlagged). Yay! I'm so happy to be thirty! I've honestly been looking forward to this birthday for a long time.
   
2. Tended to a feverish J--he was sick and surly for a couple days. Eventually the fever went away, but the surly part stayed.
3. Visited D's Grandma Smith. I'm glad I have at least one grandma in my life still.
4. Spent lots of time with Grandma and Grandpa Player.
   
5. Paddled down the Little Spokane River--just D and J did this while the babies, D's parents, and I swatted mosquitoes at the take-out down river
6. Walked a few miles each morning--the prairie near D's house is amazing.
7. Watched J develop confidence on the trampoline, observed A's rolling skills improve, marvelled at E's cheerful temperament--in D's words "the person who can't get E to smile has serious issues."
8. Enjoyed visiting with D's sisters and their kids. I love his sisters. I kind of look like them, too, so when I go to church in Deer Park. everyone's always super nice and I can tell that they're thinking "I know you're a Player, but I'm not sure which one you are."
9. Watched hours of the Tour de France and learned from D's analysis of each stage. Overall he was disappointed that Evans did poorly, he was happy that Vandevelde did well, and I just love an honest underdog so I was pleased with Sastre's win. (Let's hope he's not a crazy Spanish doper like his fellow countrymen.) Maybe Garmin Chipotle will be as strong next year--here's to another strong Slipstream showing!
10. Pondered our next cross-country trip.

All three kids were amazing travellers. I was so impressed with their stamina, particularly when it was really late at night and we were making our way through airports. We won't do this trip again for a long time, but I'm so grateful for the memories and the experience. It's good to know that we're capable of withstanding the rigors or cross-country travel.