A Clarkston Vacation

This year, since we will be missing the Kuykendall reunion in June, we decided to take a trip to Clarkston to visit BJ's grandparents.  We left Tuesday morning and took our time getting there.  Although a few of the boys had seen Multnomah Falls before, they were still impressed.

We also visited the stonehenge look alike (a world war I memorial).  This one is made out of concrete. :)  Jared, Jesse, and I studied the stonehenge monument earlier in the year, so it was great to visit this site.  It is fascinating to think about how such large stones would have been placed in this formation so many years ago.

BJ was in love with the valley below.  I was scared the boys would fall off.

Grandma Kuykendall is a wonderful hostess, even at 90 years old (Grandpa is 92).  We are so thankful that they have been blessed with great health and strength.  Our goal with this visit was to make a few memories for our boys with their great grandparents and help Grandpa with his large vegetable garden. 

The boys worked hard on Grandma's flower beds.

Judson didn't know what to think of this bear skin rug.  He finally got up the nerve to touch it and then talked about it all week. Somewhere out there is a picture of baby BJ sitting on this in the buff.  :)

Grandpa Kuykendall is a true man's man.  He has killed 75 elk and over 400 deer.

Jared spent a lot of the time going through old photo albums.

Johnny played with the Noah's ark that BJ remembers playing with as a boy.

Grandpa took us out to a few spots to burn some energy.  This stop was educational, a sidewalk timeline of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Justin and Sacajawea.

BJ and I took the younger five to the park to get even more wiggles out.  This boy is our wiggliest one!

Challenges are starting up again.  BJ used to challenge Jared and Jesse to do difficult things all the time, usually for a quarter or less.  Many times it made mommy nervous, but they are boys, and it is a good thing. :)

Classic Johnny running from the restroom before zipping up his pants.  He didn't want to miss out on the fun, even for a second!

On Thursday of the trip just our family left to do some sight-seeing.  We wanted to be sensitive to not putting too many demands on BJ's grandparents.  Unfortunately, this morning started off a little rough.  It would have been easier if John would have had this bag before he got car sick. We were in the middle of nowhere and poor Johnny didn't feel well, but didn't give us any warning.  BJ and I have been through this before and the damage wasn't too bad.  We did have to shuffle around car seats and strip him out of his pants and sweatshirt.  We were able to find a second hand store in Orofino and buy John a pair of jeans to wear...which he loves and now calls his mot-e-cycle pants.  (Don't ask me why?!) 

This is the Dworshak dam.  It is an amazing sight.  And at the height of over 700 feet, I was so relieved to see that the road across the top is no longer open.  I was very nervous at the thought of walking across it with all the boys.

Did you know that to build this they delivered concrete by the giant bucketfuls on an overhead trolley system?  It took four years!  Amazing!  Too bad there will never be another dam of this scale built again because of today's environmental regulations.

Our next stop was the Nez Perce Indian Reservation visitor's center and the little town of Spalding, Idaho.

Grandpa and Grandma are always up for games.

Looks like the Kuykendall name will carry on to the next generation. :)

On the drive home we stopped in Arlington, Oregon to get icecream and stretch a bit.

It was great to make it home, but we sure enjoyed our time with Grandpa and Grandma....and the Eastern Washington sunshine!