Day 1 - Here we go!

We got out the door last night about 9pm and drove to our farmhouse in Parkdale. It was good to be able to get out of the house and get that first hour of driving out of the way while the kids slept. I was totally exhausted from going non-stop for the past few days to complete my To-Do list, but also totally wired from having to keep myself going. I ended up driving while Jim and the boys slept.

This morning I had a few things to finish up, so I was up way early. Mt Hood was out and shining bright with snow and wispy clouds rolling in heavier as time progressed. I figured it was a good sign that the day was starting out beautiful.

We woke the kids and were on the road by 7:30. Breakfast was McDonald's eaten in the car - quick and easy - we wanted to be on our way. After breakfast I put in a book on tape - Fortunes Journey by Bruce Coville. It was just the right length for the day. It made the time go by fast and the boys were engaged in the story, but as Jim said, it was written for a teenage girl audience (sorry kids - I thought it was more adventure). It rained most of the drive.

We tried to stop for lunch at about 1:30 in Wallace, Idaho, but the kids surprised us by declaring themselves to be "not hungry", so we admired the cool little town and drove on. Our destination was Missoula, MT where we are staying with family from Abby's side - Kerry & Sarah Metlen and their adorable 2.5 year-old, Kit. We arrived at their house at 5:00 - about 15 minutes before they got home from work, so we hung out and Jim played cards with Zach in the car.

Sarah is battling migranes, so rather than drag her out to a restaurant for dinner or making Kerry cook in, we brought take out back and ate at the house. After dinner we played a game of Pinochle - a Metlen tradition.