Venture forth on the Oregon Trail

We managed a quick getaway at the end of summer that I never got a chance to write about. It was nice to be able to coincide a getaway to Oregon with a visit with Nana and Grumpa. We headed off to Rockaway Beach to camp out at the trailer park with them. It was our first road trip with Rhys since he's become more mobile so we weren't sure how he would take it. Lucky for us, the kids were amazing! We had a wonderful time seeing family and making new friends. The highlight of the trip was Brea's birthday present from Nana and Grumpa, a train ride on a real steam engine! Brea was feeling a little under the weather (we think she was a bit tired and in need of a nap) but Rhys LOVED it beyond belief. My favourite part of the ride was when a familiar figure in red stood on the side of the highway to wave at us... our Grumpa had the whole train waving back at him. We had a chance to camp in a tent, play at the beach, visit cheese factories, and shop. Unfortunately, we had a minor set-back on the way to visit our family in Penticton where we stopped in Wenatchee, WA at the Super 8 Motel and encountered bedbugs - yikes! But after a stop back at home via a crazy night of driving and 6 hours of cleaning, laundry and steaming, we managed to reach our family for a visit and cheered on our friends who were competing in the Iron Man competition there. All in all, it was certainly an adventure before heading back to work.

Our little man ready for a train ride.

All aboard!

I managed to coax a smile!

Munching on snacks before we got underway.

It was a tad drizzly to start.

What is that, Mommy?

The sun comes out!

Strutting his stuff in Garibaldi, OR.

Loved the way this shot turned out!

All I wanted was a picture of the locomotive - see the red speck on the right-hand side? Brea had to run the length of the train to scream "no picture, don't take a picture of me!".

Some steam action!

We met some friends of Nana and Grumpa's who shared a birthday with Brea!

Riding in the Cheese-Mobile!