Darin & Jenny's

We left Joe & Denise's and drove northwest on I-84 passing by a big Ore Ida potato plant near the state line. (Now we know what that name means!) Entered Pacific Time Zone again. This was the first stretch of our trip that we backtracked...about 4 hours. We opted to take the Columbia Gorge route with lots of flowing water through Oregon instead of the High Desert and so viewed the Blue Mountains again on our return trip.

Blue Mountains, OR

We stopped back by Pendleton and parked in town at Jenny's. Her daughter Kyra had a Little League fastpitch game not too far away, so we walked a few blocks to the ballfield. Jenny treated our kiddos to snowcones, a first for little Cora. (Bummer, I forgot my camera!)

After the game we walked back to Jenny's for a steak dinner prepared by Darin. Baked potatoes, salad, french bread, soda, and ice cream too. Kaylan and Annie baked and decorated cupcakes while the other children sported on the wii.

cutting steaks off the choice meat

Jenny in her kitchen

What happens when cupcakes are iced while still warm? :)

We overnighted in a lot across the street from their house. Which just happened to be 30 feet from the train tracks and which happened to be a well used track and so we enjoyed the bright engine light, loud rattling noise, and vibration frequently during the night!

goodbye before work outside the RV
Jenny's house on the left, hospital on the right

Here we are with morning train rumbling by!

Riley layed several pennies on the track before bed and retrieved well-flattened pieces of copper in the morning. What an experience!

Last Days in Southern Idaho

Monday morning I rode with Denise to Boise Airport to drop off Barry & Donna for their return flight to Roanoke. Shannon kept all the children except baby Wade, so Denise & I had a nice quiet catch up on the way home. We had lunch plans at Andy & Suzanne's and so enjoyed a couple hours of enriching conversation there as well. 

window marker fun

sunny smiles

almost a grin

Raymond Martin came over for supper, then he and Joe worked on his truck radiator while our family stopped by Anthony & Priscilla's. We stayed for evening devotions and they sent a gallon of fresh raw milk back with us. The first real milk we've had in 2 1/2 months!

Tuesday morning we cleaned. Clothes, van, motor home, bodies. Right after lunch we said our goodbyes!

Wade (6 wks) & Meg (9 mos)

early morning

men's coffee visit

Joe, Denise, Ethan, Elisa, Wade

Hess home (the hose connects to our rv)

Bowman Hess bunch  *   3rd cousins

beaming 'new' mother

Sunday at the Park

Sunday morning we went to Caldwell German Baptist NC services in Gary Miller's shed. Tremendous volume on the singing! Mylan Wolf preached from Ephesians 2, the topic of Grace. In Jesus, grace and truth are married. We went back to Joe & Denise's for Sunday dinner. Their spring weather was perfect for eating under the newly shaded patio.

potato salad, baked beans, crock chicken, french bread, & leftover cake

Joe, Denise, & baby Wade, Donna & Barry

Soon it was time to meet friends at a park on Kimball St. It ended up being kind of a Boone reunion as everyone there was siblings and 1st or 2nd cousins. A Cinco De Mayo celebration was in full swing at one end of the park. The children and some dads enjoyed offering a Spanish christian family magazine to the Hispanics milling about. We visited, ate supper, played on the playground, sang a couple hymns in Spanish, and several in English, and generally enjoyed the evening! We even had a personal lasso rope show by a couple of the locals. It was a bit of a challenge to keep up with all the 24 children as they were scattered in groups handing out publications. 

one leftover pile of las Antorchas de Verdad

Bird Auction and Cook Out

Friday, May 3, we mostly stayed around the house at Joe and Denise's. Their love feast had been the weekend before we arrived, they had relatives from VA visiting for 2 weeks, and baby Wade was just 6 weeks old. We continued to prepare food, relax, and rejuvenate. At 3pm Shannon took the school age children to singing class at Gary Miller's. In the evening, the dads & boys went to the neighbor's to fix a well pump. The rest of us walked down to see them and for some fresh air and diversion. Unfortunately, it was quite windy and then the neighbor's chained bulldog bit Caroline's finger. 

lunch in their "house"

the rest of us eating inside

sweet sleeping Wade Mateo

making mini desserts & crafts

Annie was delighted to be given plenty of liberty in Denise's kitchen. She fixed Wheat Biscuits, Cappuccino Bon Bons, a double batch of Blueberry Muffins, Pumpkin Scones, and Fried Oat Cereal during our 5 day stay.

Denise icing the special hombre layer cake

just barely awake

the finishing touch, icing roses

Saturday morning, Shannon and Barry went with Joe to the 5am weekly Men's Meeting. At noon we Bowmans and Joe, Ethan, & Elisa drove to Caldwell Fairgrounds for a biannual bird auction. Over the years our family has frequented many a poultry sale for our avid exotic bird loving son, Riley. This time Joe was looking for some chickens to add to his pen. There was a wide selection of birds. Cora especially liked the big turkeys. Riley examined the row of colorful pheasants, and we all were impressed with the tall emu housed in a big crate pen. 

plenty of dirt, squawks, clucks, & rattles

Joe decided on 2 colorful fluffy headed Polish pullets- White Crested Black and W C Red. Riley helped package them for the ride home.

On our way home, we stopped by Troy & Emily's and Andy & Suzanne's. We chatted a bit with them as our children became acquainted. Troy's were out preparing for an upcoming bike ride, Andy was sawing logs into boards with his portable sawmill. Suzanne showed us the small snake they caught with a whole mouse inside. Ooh, gruesome science.

Annie delighting in being helpful

here he is, fully awake

the lovely finished product

Saturday night Cook Out. Elisa's Chatterbox speech teacher, Karen & her family came for supper. Denise wanted to make this cake awhile back, but precious Mr. Wade arrived early, so tonight became the time to enjoy!

hurray for beautiful days, delicious food, good friends, sharing life