vacation - day 13

wake up at mt shasta koa

why stop in stockton? to visit wild horses

ports - minor league baseball

sleep at rest stop near three rocks, ca

vacation - day 12

we drove from kah-nee-tah to bend - where grandma grew up and her friend sheila lives. she brought us home-made cookies and accompanied us to the lava lands visitor center.

next we went to the lava caves and climbed down into a lava tube with a lantern for light. it was near closing time and we were the last ones in there - SCARY!

before crossing the border into california, we stopped to use our last sparklers. we used them at the wedding to see off the bride & groom, but most of our kids had already retired to the hotel. since we can't do sparklers at home, we thought we'd take the opportunity to let the kids do them.

vacation - day 11

after breakfast (the best french toast my husband's ever had!), we took off from longview, washington and drove to

kah-nee-ta, warm springs indian reservation in central oregon.

it was a nice drive and there was so much beautiful scenery.

vacation - day 10

this morning we headed out to silver lake to go fishing! all the kids have never been on a boat until yesterday, nor have they been fishing, so this was a real treat. we went out on the lake adn found a nice spot, got out all the fishing poles and waited. it was beautiful weather and we really enjoyed the time. grandpa saw a 12-14" fish swim by jojo's line, but that was all the action for the day. the kids didn't mind. we all had fun. i held a pole for a little while - my first time fishing too!

afterwards, we headed a few miles down to the mt st helens visitor center and learned all about the 80's volcanic explosion. we watched a little film and saw many exhibits. lots of photography- including a second-by-second timeline which was incredible. at home we had another yummy meal. aunt marilyn & uncle gaius are wonderful hosts and fed us well for the entire time we were in their care! dinner was late (we'd had a late lunch too) but nobody realized it because it didn't get dark until almost 10pm! another little bit of learning - being further north means more daylight into the night during summer.

- a great day! also the day my camera broke (it will go back to the shop when we get home), but the pics from here on out will have to come from other sources.)