Shannon & Chris Rehearsal Dinner

I know, I know. I am not blogging much. But we are having fun. The wedding weekend was fabulous. No pictures from the photographer yet but here are some candid shots from the rehearsal. We are now in the Seattle area doing some house projects and catching up with friends. Hope to see all our friends and family before we leave for the east coast trip.

Shannon's Wedding Shower

For great wedding pictures, check out my Facebook Page. I have been a bit schizophrenic about posting pictures. The shower and rehearsal dinner are on my blog and some of the wedding pictures are on Facebook.

Beautiful wedding shower at Fishermans Bar Park in Vancouver. Sunny warm day and lovely women. The bride to be was glowing.

Yellowstone with Ryan and Annie

July 6 - 16 - Great fun… and that is my excuse for not blogging much. The kids were great, the weather was great, and we were big game hunters extraordinaire! The kids weren’t off the airplane for two hours when we saw a moose chomping on some greens in the creek near the Grand Tetons National Park entrance. The next morning we headed into the south entrance of Yellowstone and there was a grizzly bear just off the side of the road. Over the 4 days we saw tons of bison and elk, plus an osprey nest with 3 chicks. Lots of geysers, thermal pools, the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, Yellowstone Lake,Yellowstone Falls, Yellowstone River (don’t they have any imagination in naming things there ;-). Then on to Twin Falls Idaho, Baker City Oregon, the John Day Fossil beds National Monument, before arriving at Lake Billy Chinook near Madras Oregon. Two days on the lake. Swimming, sunbathing, playing in the rocks and sand at the beach. We topped off the 10 days with a raft trip on the Deschuttes River. Then we send to the kids to their other grandparents tired but happy. So much fun!

After the kids left we spent time around Bend, biking the Deschutes River Trail and hiking Tumalo Falls. It was the best hike all year with huge amounts of water in at least 6 different water falls on two creeks. So great to be back in the Northwest. Next we are in Vancouver and Portland, catching up with friends and family and last minute preparations for the big wedding on August 7th.

Wyoming on the way to meet the grandkids

From the Back Hills we made a fairly fast trip across Wyoming on our way to the Grand Tetons (first stop with the grandkids from Pittsburgh). Just across the border is Sundance, WY where we made a short stop to see the Devil’s Tower National Monument. You can see that puppy from miles around. We enjoyed the 1.5 mile walk around the base even though it was 95 degrees that day. Stayed in a nice forest service campground in the trees. From there we stopped in Casper to stock up on groceries, do laundry, some car maintenance, and chores. While we were there we spent a couple hours in the National Trails Interpretive Center which is worth a stop. It told the story of the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails along with information on the Pony Express. Fun, interactive displays. Even more enjoyable because it was hot (over 90 degrees) and windy outside. Our campground is on the Platte River again and we drove up to the falls in the hills above town because they were roaring and beautiful to see.