Day 5- hometown and the casino

On day 5 we went to return our rental car. I had a bone to pick because the car was filthy when they gave it to us. I think it was returned and then turned around and rented to us with no thought to the way it looked. So, instead of taking days off our ticket they gave us a couple more days with it for free.

It worked out because then we didn't have to put miles on Erin's car or use her gas. So, we set off for some breakfast. Erin took us to the Brown Bag Cafe in Kirkland. Oh My Goodness.... Rusty and I both had their cinnamon roll french toast... I was speechless it was so good! They took one of their HUGE cinnamon rolls and cut it in half (frosted cinnamon roll!) then made french toast out of it! AMAZING!!!! If you are any where near Kirkland... even an hour away, it is SO worth the drive.
Next, we were off to show Rusty where I went to school and lived. We went to Kirkland (my high school is there and so is one of the places we lived) and we went to Redmond (where I use to go to the mall and also where I lived. The house is still there that I lived in).

This is Erin and I at Redmond Town Center. It is an out door mall in Rainy Washington!

Yeah.... Erin!!!!

Yeah... my husband!!!

Bryne and Erin... we are getting ready to go into the casino in Tulalip.(pronounced to-lay-lip not tula-lip like I had thought!) She is excited to play the slots!

Erin and I have been friends for 10-12 years! You could say we're close :)

So, we walk up on this totem pole in the lobby of the hotel and Bryne leans over to Erin and says, "Look Erin it's excited to see you". I bust up laughing and he says, "you heard that?" He thought he whispered it to Erin. Not so much. We all got a pretty good laugh out of it though!

So none of us did well at the casino but it was still fun to play for a little while. Their slot machines are different then ours because they are all video reels and most of the machines are penny and nickle. Good times though!

Day 6 tomorrow.....

Day 4- Oregon Coast to Seattle

Day 4 we loaded up and headed for the Oregon coast. Instead of going over Mt. Hood we went over Hoodoo. There was no snow or ice on Hoodoo, which was great for Rusty's blood pressure as we drove over!

As we were headed to Lincoln City, I saw the 101 sign and told him we should take that instead of going to Lincoln City. After about another 45 minutes in the car (with no view of the ocean) we decided to go into Pacific City. It was a small town but we were able to find beach access. After Pacific City we headed up the "old" 101 so we could continue to see the ocean (Rusty had never seen the Oregon coast). We ended up in Oceanside where we had a fantastic seafood lunch.

Using the Garmin, we headed on route to go back to Seattle. Originally it had us heading to Portland but all of a sudden it changed or route and we were going to stay on back roads. At first we didn't know what to think, but then we heard that there were a couple of bad accidents in Portland and really bad traffic. The Garmin rules!

We stayed on some pretty windy, hilly, back roads but were able to make it to Lynnwood in pretty good time.

Rusty loved the way the trees looked down this road... it is pretty neat.

Hit the road Jack....

First time to have his feet (and eyes) on the Oregon beach... Amazing

Don't you love when you can see up some one's nose?

My favorite thing about Oregon beaches is the rocks that stick up out of the water... Beautiful!

Decided it was a shoes off kind of a walk... the sand was a little cold but not compared to having feet in the water

I love the feeling of sand beneath my feet and between my toes

Magnificent... and the weather was not cold, which is a great day for the Oregon beaches

Hopefully we will be able to go back sometime soon. I forgot how much it feels like home to be in Oregon

Brrr.... a little chilly... but the sand felt warm after a dip in the ocean!

I didn't roll my pants high enough... they got soaked!

Husband and wife feet

Walking in the water

I decided to jump in... clothes and all

Just kidding... I did get wet though but only on my legs

Almost four year and a bumpy road... still in love

Back to our shoes... while walking on the beach we found a few shells and Rusty found a starfish. The starfish was dead so we decided to take it home with us. After we took the rental back, I put it in a plastic bag and put it in our room (at Erin's). Well, that wasn't a good idea because it started to SMELL! It was pretty gross so I put it out on Erin's balcony to dry out and air out. I'll get it the next time I go to Washington... hopefully a few months.

Such a wonderful husband... I am so lucky

It was windy... I think that is why we are both squinty

Our first look at the Seattle skyline... (Rusty's first time ever!)

After our drive we met Erin and Bryne for dinner at a sushi place. The sushi was REALLY good and it was nice to know it was fresh fish! There was a lot of laughing over the next few days! I think we may have drove our men mad by the end!

Lots of money raised

Over the past three days the 6th grade center has been raising money for SIDS research. Today was the last day for donations and when Lori, a teacher friend of mine, counted up all the donations the total came to $721!!!

Lori made up the schedule (put together the whole event) and the incentives for the kids (hat day, pj day and gum day) and also incentives for the teachers (an extra planning hour). It is amazing how generous everyone was. I am so thankful that I have been able to be a part of the school so much this year. Being there helps me through some pretty tough days. Also by being there I have been able to form some great friendships. God is good!

Thank you Lori for becoming such a great friend and for spending your time putting everything together. It means so much to Rusty and I. Also, thank you to all of the faculty and students at the 6th grade center for caring about a cause that I hold so dear to my heart. You all are very special to me.

Day 3- Smith Rock Hike

On day 3, Rusty, Christyn (my cousin), Mason (my cousin) and I all went hiking at Smith Rock. It had to has to be the hardest hike I have EVER taken. For one thing, I am REALLY afraid of heights and this hike was straight up a rocky mountain. And to make things worse, the trail was gravel so my feet would slide on the rocks. Every time it happened my heart skipped a beat.

But, I did it and I am proud. It was the first and last time I will hike Smith Rock. I'm glad I did something that adventurous but happy to have my feet securely planted on the ground (with no gravel declines or inclines!)

To hike the rock you first have to go down to the trail and start hiking up it.

Resting after our first climb

That is where we parked

From the parking lot we walked down to the river, over the bridge and then started back up Smith Rock

The rocks in Oregon are so beautiful

The top of Smith Rock. Rusty took this picture from a large over hang that I didn't want to go up. My palms are sweating now just thinking of it!

I don't know. Rusty took the picture.

That is Mason, Christyn and Domino. We are sitting on the large rock I didn't want to go on. That was the highest I would go (and it wasn't very far!) It was pretty amazing though.. from this rock you could see Mt. Hood.

The trail we hiked... it is a LONG way down!

After patiently waiting for someone to be able to take our picture... Mason took charge and asked and older gentleman to do it. He seemed a bit tuckered out from the climb up but was happy to oblige.

I think the mountains behind me are Three Sisters. Isn't it beautiful? I should have taken a picture of all the mountains you could see from this spot. There were 5-6!!

Trying to get us and the mountains... but you only get us.

Happy to finally be hanging out with my cousins. It had been 10 years since I had seen Mason and Zach.

After the big hike we had a pizza dinner with everyone at Christyn and Ben's house

The whole gang finally together again. Hopefully it won't be so long next time.

I didn't take many photos of the decline because I was too busy sliding down it on my bum. I was so scared that I was going to slip and fall off the side that I thought it better to take the wimpy way down. It was de ja vu for the cousins because that is how they have seen me get down ski hills!

Day 4 tomorrow....

Day 1 - Seattle, WA to Redmond, OR drive

We flew into Seattle at 11:30 am and were greeted by my psudo-mom Joyce. It had been YEARS since I had seen Joyce so it was great to be met by her smile. She drove us to our car rental place in Kirkland and from there we started our journey to Redmond, OR.

Thankfully, Joyce let us borrow her Garmin GPS (which is the greatest invention ever) and we made it to Redmond with no problems. Except for the little bit of ice we hit on Mt. Hood, in a dodge caliber! It was crazy but Rusty handled it really well.

Some where in Eastern Oregon... over Mt. Hood. It is a ravine that looked like the grand canyon. You just can't tell from my pictures.
I wish I would have been able to get a better shot, it was really cool.

On the road again... almost to Redmond. Just an hour or so left in the drive!

The Oregon desert is SO beautiful.

Hi!

Isn't this sunset marvelous?! I loved the way it looked going down behind the hills.

We finally made it to Redmond. We met up with my cousin, Christyn, and her fiance, Ben.

We hadn't seen each other in 5-6 years and I had never met her fiance. It was great to see her.

Day two we went shopping in Bend, OR and met my aunt Val for lunch. It was so nice to see her. It had been almost 4 years since I had seen my aunt.

Also that day, we hit up the Trader Joe's... it was so great being back in that store! I was so excited I could have cried. Here in Oklahoma we lack most every shopping store I love. Costco, Nordstrom, Nordstrom Rack and Trader Joe's. But, I was able to hit Trader Joe's in Oregon and Washington!!

To be continued........

A blanket of LOVE....

My dear friend Katie gave me the idea of having Abigayl's clothes made into a quilt. Once I was given the idea I knew exactly who to ask, my best friend's mom, Joyce. Joyce has always been like a second mother to me. I love her dearly and I knew that making this quilt would not be an easy task. She took it on and created a masterpiece.

While in Washington, Joyce surprised me with the completed quilt. Not wanting to be pushy, I didn't ask about it while I was there. Then, on our last night we had dinner at Ken's (Erin's dad) house and Joyce gave us the quilt.

I know that Joyce had a hard time with this project. It was very emotional for her but the love that went into this quilt is felt every time I look at it. Thank you Joyce for your love, it has been a wonderful gift to me throughout my life. I love you.

Our first look at the beautiful quilt

Remembering all the outfits

I just love her so much

Many of the beautiful, cute outfits that Abigayl wore... all made into such wonderful designs.

Hugs, hugs and more hugs

This is what it looked like (her roll up was much neater) when I opened the ribbon

This is a part of our announcement printed on fabric... so neat what she can do.

Joyce had two friends (a mother/daughter team, Barbara and Camellia) that each wanted to create a square and Camellia did the quilting. All of the stitching is hearts. Every single stitch in the blanket is a heart!! Amazing. (Camellia is a model. She has been in magazines! She took the time to help make a quilt for a stranger... how amazing is she?!)

The whole blanket

The penguin is wearing fabric from the overalls that Abigayl wore home from the hospital

A bunny and the daddy's princess tag from her pj's

A butterfly from her onsies she wore on our first outing (to the park and Lowe's)... also to the right is fabric from one of my favorite shirts she wore

The turtles body is the hat that matches the dress she was laid to rest in and the legs and head are her cute corduroy pants that I loved seeing her in. Those always made her look so big. The flowers came from a really cute dress that Rusty and I both adored.

The flower is from the shirt Abigayl wore while eating her first solids.. the night before she passed. The pink plaid is a mickey mouse dress that Rusty picked out for her and the "kiss me I'm Irish" onsie was so cute on her, especially since she had the red hair!

This is a special square because it was the only "holiday" that she was able to be with us for. Abigayl made her first trip to Grand Lake over fourth of July weekend.

The flower was made from one of the cutest, girliest outfits. Camellia made this square. She even included the tag from the outfit because she said it was too cute to waste! The picture just doesn't do it justice.. the flower is puffy and you can't see the dynamics in the picture.

This is from one of her bibs. It was always SO hard for me to find things that said "mommy loves me" or "I love mommy", so I really cherished the few things I was able to find. The birds are made from the overalls she wore home and the flower is from her shirt she wore for her rice cereal meal.

I absolutely love this butterfly! First, it's a butterfly and whenever we see butterflies we think of her. Also, The wings are made from Rusty's favorite hat. He loved seeing Abigayl in this hat. The body is made from trim from her overalls.

This is the shirt that Abigayl had her first photos in. The trim is from a dress that she wore to a family reunion and the butterfly is from a yellow dress that had tons of butterflies around the bottom.

This sheep is such a cute idea... it is made from her corduroy pants and a long sleeve shirt that was so adorable together. I LOVED this outfit on Abigayl. She wore it to the home show last year with her sparkly silver shoes! The mommy's girl patch came from her pj's I had just bought her. She was such a big girl they were 9 month pj's.

This was her OU cheerleader outfit. I love how she made it into a buggy. Rusty would put Abigayl in her cheer outfit and watch the OU games on Saturdays. It was my break to sit in the bedroom and watch tv with no responsibilities. Rusty would bring her in at commercial breaks and I would snuggle her, then it would be off to some more football!

Barbara made this square. The flower is made from Abigayl's sailor outfit and her yellow dress with the butterflies. The sailor outfit was so beautiful on her because it made her eyes even more blue than they already were. Barbara actually took the trim off and re-sewed it on to make it even! She also took the buttons off so they could be on the flower. These women are SO creative. I am thankful that they all did this for us and in Abigayl's name.

I am so thankful that Joyce did this for us. We are going to hang it in our living room so that everyone can see their beautiful work. It will be nice to walk by all of Abigayl's outfits and remember her on such happy days.

Thank you Joyce for your love and creativeness. Thank you also to Barbara and Camellia. I can never express my gratitude to you both. You all took my baby girl's darling clothes and turned them into a masterpieces of your own. I hope that one day I will be able to meet Barbara and Camellia so I can give them a hug and thank them in person.