travels

Last weekend we made the 360 mile drive south to visit my parents- and sister-in-law. We left on Friday after Benjamin got off of work and came back on Sunday evening.

As we were driving through Idaho on Friday night, we hit our first deer (which is good considering that we've lived in Montana for over five years). It was already dead and was in the very center of our lane. Thankfully Benjamin's response was perfect, and he didn't try to swerve. We skimmed right over the top of the deer taking with us some skin and gore but getting no damage to our car. Even as we complained about the unbearable stench, we rejoiced at God's protection and thanked Him for His protection. It is sobering to think of how much worse it could have been. We were very happy when we all arrived in one piece to be welcomed by our family.

Here are just a few photos of the highlights of the trip.

We enjoyed the beautiful sunny and warm weather. My mother-in-law's flowers were stunningly beautiful. She had fun letting Little Man pick bouquets, and I had fun borrowing some of my sister-in-law's nice lenses and experimenting with photography. We all enjoyed basking in the sunshine in their big yard.

We re-visited one of the best oriental food restaurant ever, in my opinion. It is a little mom-and-pop restaurant near the neighborhood in which I grew up. I used to teach the owners' children piano lessons, and we always receive the welcome of friends. Benjamin especially enjoyed the relatively new addition of sushi, and we also had some of their pot-stickers and classic lemon-grass chicken.
As I mentioned above, we enjoyed spending quite a bit of time outside. Here Benjamin's mom is smelling flowers with Little Man.
Benjamin's dad works at a train yard fixing the cars as they come through. Apparently he's been looking forward to showing his grandchildren the trains since before they were born. We finally made it to the train yard, and he took his lunch break to come outside the restricted area to show Little Man the big train. We arrived just in time to hear its loud whistle and see it take off for California. Little Man, though tired, was impressed.
Benjamin's parent's neighbor made this little train. He delights in giving the neighborhood children rides, and my sister-in-law was excited to take both boys on a ride on the little train. Little Man, of course, chose to sit in the blue car, and Auntie Rachel and Brother sat in the yellow one.
Brother enjoyed exploring Nonna and Grandpa's house and getting to know them better. While he did have some fussy, tired times, in general he was his usual charming self.

We enjoyed the beautiful scenery on the way there and back (at least before it got dark). This photo was taken on our way home.
We enjoyed our trip, but it is good to be home.