On Friday in Richland, WA we started the day by taking our kids to the Park of Dreams in Kennewick. It’s right along the Columbia River. It was a really nice park, with lots of green space and a splash pad (which we didn’t let our kids play in).

After the playground we walked along the Columbia River and let Wes toss rocks in (his favorite thing) and the other kids dip their toes in. I was surprised by how clean and clear the Columbia River was. Beautiful, peaceful area.

We stopped and got lunch at a KFC in Pasco. For some reason we were all so hungry and the root beer float hit the spot. Next we went to the Ice Harbor Lock and Dam east of Pasco. We met up with John’s brother’s family as well as my old roommate Carrie and her little family. The actual lock and dam visitor’s center is run by the Army, which meant you couldn’t take in any recording devices or purses. So we have no photos to remember the time by, but we watched the salmon going upstream in their controlled environment. The kids liked that.

After dinner we visited Granny at her care center. The kids got root beer floats!

After the kids were in bed I got to go to the local grocery story by myself for milk, and I tried the local peanut butter chocolate ice cream. A nice treat. This was our only full-day in Richland. The next day we drove to Seattle to see John’s dad.

On Thursday morning we were in Twin Falls, ID (instead of Washington, because of our fun flat tire experience in The-Middle-of-Nowhere of Idaho). I had wanted to stop in Twin Falls anyway to show our kids the waterfalls, so we got that chance. We stopped for breakfast first at McD’s and then headed into the park with the falls. They were so, so beautiful.

During the day we passed by two LDS temples: Twin Falls and Boise.

We stopped in Boise at the Walmart (getting a little lost in the process) to get some food supplies. I sat in the car and read “Eat, Pray, Love” while Elizabeth slept and John took the older kids inside. At some point during the day someone found my camera and used it.

It was a long day of traveling. Near Baker City, OR we passed a wildfire along the side of the freeway. We drove past it, stopped in Baker City for gas and ice cream from DQ, and by the time we got back on the freeway the road behind us had been shut down. SO glad we got ahead of the fire! I’m not sure could have handled another major overnight delay.

It was a relief to get to John’s brother’s house in Richland, WA. The kids were overjoyed to run free in the backyard, which had a trampoline and basketball standard.

The kids also really liked playing in their 7-year-old cousin’s room. So many toys!

John’s brother made us dinner and we enjoyed catching up. Tomorrow our vacation could really begin.