Grandpa and Grandma B and Michael's Visit Part 1

We had such full days with Grandpa and Grandma and Michael that I have to split this into two blog posts.  Here is a day by day diary of our wonderful, memory-filled week.  (I forgot my camera most days so the pictures are all from my phone which is just not as clear).

Zoe was SO excited to see Grandpa and Grandma and Michael.  With them here she did not feel obligated to follow me from room to room or try to sit on my lap--she had even better laps to snuggle on!

Wednesday--Grandpa and Grandma and Michael arrived late in the evening.  Even though they had a long day and it was one hour later on their biological clocks we did stay up and talk...just a little.

Thursday--We hung out at home in the morning while I homeschooled the kids for a few hours.  Later we took a little walk in the neighborhood so Michael could get a little idea of where we lived and see the mountains/foothills since it was dark when he arrived the night before.  The boys had a track meet in Melba, ID so we took a 45 min drive south to watch them run.  

Friday--After relaxing and working the crossword puzzle in the morning, we headed to the Village to make sure Michael toured the Sur La Table store.  This is one of the stores he designed the heating and cooling system for all the way back in Minneapolis.  Grandpa treated us to street tacos and frozen yogurt and we just enjoyed the beautiful sunshine and the hourly musical fountain shows.  Of course, the big event that evening was Russ' ordination.  See previous post for details on that.  

Saturday--We drove about 2 hours to Baker City, OR to the Oregon Trail Interpretive Museum.  The Interpretive Museum sits on the top of a hill with a beautiful view of the Blue Mountains.  Unfortunately, it was quite windy, but we enjoyed the museum exhibits and videos and even made the 2 mile trek (one way!) down to see the original trail ruts.   At noon we found a spot in front of the museum, out of the wind, to eat the lunch we packed.  Later that night after we were home we enjoyed pizza from the Smokey Mountain Pizzeria.  

Saying good-bye to loved ones who died on the trail. 

The trail leader

Trying to fit everything in the wagon.  Not an easy task.

Nicolas greeting the buffalo

Trading with the Native Americans on the the trail

What camp looked like each night after the wagons circled together.

Cutest trail riders ever!

Working on packing a life size model of a wagon.

Playing an Oregon Trail game.

Watching a demonstration on guns

Starting on our hike to the trail ruts.

The Meeker Marker (see picture below)

It wasn't all sagebrush!

Love this couple!