Just wanted to share a few more pics from our journey...

Uncle Lewis playing with Collin & Max

Mom going for a walk down the street with her PT and Isaac- you have no idea how exciting this is for us!

Max, my brother Lewis, Weston the horse, and my Dad- just hanging out...

Daddy left his sweatshirt when he left after Christmas- so Isaac decided to try it on!

The Siskiyous

Driving through the Siskiyous Mountains- Northern California into Oregon- took us over 4 hours- on a normal day it would take an hour. That line across the center of the picture is traffic. When I took this picture we were sitting still for so long we had time to put it in park, dig the bottle of water out of the back of the truck, pop the hood and add it to the windshield washer reservoir- without pulling off to the shoulder. The roads were completely clear by the way "bare & wet" as they say... people were chaining up anyway not knowing what we were heading into- so they had to drive slow. It stunk.

HOME

That's about all I can say. Seriously. As I was driving into Lynden on Monday I just felt this wave wash over me of peace. This is it. I am finally home! Can I just say: I LOVE WASHINGTON!!! I have seen lots of other cities now and some of them are truly beautiful and I am sure they are nice to visit. But this is home (well Western Washington is- Lynden is just where we are parked right now ;o)

To my MOPS mamas: Thank you all for your warm welcome back at MOPS. I truly felt loved and missed and I AM SO HAPPY to be HOME! I'll see you at SPA day- if I don't see you at scrapbooking first!

I have had no internet since I got home- something to iron out with Comcast on Monday... so I'll be back on the blogging hook then.

HOME!!! (Almost)

We are safely in Renton for the night at Matt's parent's house. We finally got here at 12:30 am. It took us over 4 hours just to drive 200 miles with all of the closures and chain on- chain off areas and roadwork etc... Oddly enough after all that- we never needed chains. The pass was quite clear, still slow moving however as some people chose to put chains on anyway and then could only drive 35 mph. Anyway, long story short we are back in our favorite state and reunited with out favorite puppy dog! Zoee is just beside herself to have her boys home! I'll continue on to Lynden tomorrow morning. Thanks for all of your prayers- they worked!

Road- OPENED!

We are heading north today after all- I-5 is open again, but still chains required and slow speed limit. Pray for a safe passage!

ROAD CLOSED

We arrived safely in Redding, CA just before 7 pm- it is incredible what a difference travelling with 2 adults can make! We were so efficient! We were out the door for breakfast at 7 and on the road at 8:12! Matt drove 600 miles today- by himself - I took care of kids and napped and read a magazine. It was great!

Good thing we already had a hotel reservation for Redding- because just before we arrived we passed a sign that said "I-5 closed 10 miles north of Redding". So the good news is we have a warm dry place to sleep- the bad news is that we may be sleeping here for 2 nights instead of 1! The pass on I-5 is snowed in- and they are expecting a lot more snow between 8 and midnight. Apparently the DOT doesn't like to close I-5 so they will get to work clearing it ASAP. Which is good- but that still puts us behind schedule- which is REALLY bad. Matt will miss work and I will miss MOPS- again.

In case you were wondering- we will be as safe as we can be. We all have sufficient winter gear and emergency supplies and my truck is a 4 wheel-drive with brand new tires on it, the rear end is extremely full of stuff and we have chains.

This hotel is packed and noisy so sleeping might be tricky for me- however I should try- we might actually be doing some travelling tomorrow- we shall see!

Oh man that was fun!!!!

We have never been on a family vacation and it just seemed silly to miss this opportunity- after all we were already here and we already had accomodations- so just had to pay park admission. We had a BLAST! Everything was perfect for both Isaac and Max- there were only a few rides that Max couldn't go on- but there were lots of things for him to play with nearby while big brother had his fun. There were several family rides and activities and so many things made out of LEGOS it was unreal!!!

Cutie pie!

Isaac's dream come true!

Deep in conversation with his new friend!

Hi Mom!Cheesy!!! (Yep- I made him do it!)

Our sweet little family-kickin' it with BobWho lives in a pineapple under the sea? (Isaac trying to smile like spongebob)

Yes this full size SUV is really made entirely of LEGOS! (Except the tires and base it sits on)

All Lego'd out!

Left Flagstaff...in Temecula

Hi there! I didn't forget...ok so I did. We have been busy! Back at the Wouters house in Temecula, CA. Did I mention Matt joined us? I picked him up in San Diego last night and he will travel the rest of the way home with us (YAY!!!!!)

Today we are gonna go have some So. Cal. fun! I'll post pictures tonight! Then we'll be back on the road tomorrow...