so much for uneventful!

After three days at my dad's house in Dayton (three beautiful days, by the way, on a small property outside a tiny city with a baby pool and lots of fresh air to breathe) we hit the road Friday morning to Portland for the family reunion. About one hour into the trip Luxie began complaining about a tummy ache, and moments later, you guessed it, our worst nightmare! A child throwing up is a sad thing to begin with, but when they are strapped into a car seat it is so much worse. Thankfully I had a towel with me and I was able to contain the mess as much as possible while Nate tried to pull over. After many tears and many wipes a favorite dress and a very gross towel were left on the side of the highway and we were back on the road.

We arrived about an hour later than anticipated to the family reunion, but were welcomed by aunts and uncles i hadnt seen for years. As many of you know I grew up in the Northwest, so just being in the fresh clean humid-free air has been worth the trip. But it was so much more worth it to see the familiar faces of my youth! My cousins are now all over 6 ft tall (im the only girl with 4 boy cousins all more than 5 years younger than me) and hear the stories that led up to this big event. The girls adjusted reasonably well, and Nate, well, I havent seen much of him! He's either watching the child Im not able to entertain, or off visiting with my family. It's so great to see him fit in so well.

It appears now that Luxie's upset stomach was a simple case of carsickness, although I called my dad this morning and he is in bed with a horrible flu (please, Lord, surely we escaped it!)Other than that she's only fallen off the picnic table bench and flung herself across a patch of pinecones while running in her flip flops, so I say we are doing pretty well! She's spent the majority of most days outside, which thrills me, because that is how childhood should be in my book. And everybody knows to call her "Austin." Zaine has made 15 new fans, all adoring her and applauding every move she makes. They've certainly stolen the spotlight!

Tomorrow we hit the road back to Eastern Washington for some time at my mom's, and it should be very relaxing (at least, once we get there....) Not looking forward to the 5 hour drive, but once we arrive we are there until we fly home. I cant wait to see that backyard, the one I wrote about last August when Luxie and I made the trip and zaine was growing in my belly. It should be fun!