Proud Auntie and Uncle

Mike and I went to Spokane for a week long vacation. It was so wonderful to see everyone, relax, and catch-up on family news. Hopefully we'll be able to do it again before too long. Here are some pictures from our trip.

Well, I'm sure you're all aware of how funny Mike can be. He thought it would be hilarious to invite his brother to lunch while we were driving to Washington. Mike's brother and dad live nowhere near the route we were on, but lo and behold we got a call from my father-in-law wanting to meet us! I guess Mike's joke backfired a little. :) It was nice to see Mike's dad for a few minutes - plus he got to enjoy a nice ride on his new motorcycle.

Mike took these pictures from the car. They turned out surprisingly well since we were traveling on the interstate.

I think these are called the Crazy Mountains - which they kind of were. Just a little cluster of mountains aways off from the Rocky Mountains. They are beautiful to look at.

During one stretch of our trip , I woke Mike up because I wasn't sure I was seeing things correctly. Mike confirmed that the train by us was definitely carrying the cabin sections of three planes. I didn't know they were assembled in multiple locations.

This one looks like the wings are peel-and-stick with the rectangle of white where the wing would go. :)

The first day of our vacation Dad and Mom hosted a family barbecue. "Noni" made a mess and my niece, Kariya, helped clean it up. Molly was watching for a chance to 'help'.

My sister, Rachel, and my shy niece. She warmed up to us rather quickly. She reminds me of a movie star with the big hat and glasses in this picture.

One of Kariya's birthday presents from Mike and me was a doll stroller. It was too awkward to mail, so we gave it to her late. She liked it right away, and took her 'baby' all over the house.

Kariya's puppy, Webster. He is so little, so cute, and so everywhere. He took to our dogs right away. I fortunately got this picture taken when I did, because Molly snapped at the unsuspecting trespasser right after.

Kariya and her Noni.

Mike took this picture without my knowing. I try to avoid the camera. :) Here I am playing and learning with Kariya. We were identifying colors, numbers, and animals. She is very smart for her age.

Kariya took to our dog, "Mowee", right away. Molly wasn't very sure how to be around a little person, but she soon figured out kisses were OK. This is also a 4-generation picture of Kariya, Rachel, Noni, and Mo-mo.

My Grandpa and Grandma.

Kariya and her Popi (my dad).


Kariya running down the hall with her stroller.

Noni, Popi, and Kariya.

My Grandpa and Grandma again, the day they left.

Our dogs were very good but did some funny things while we were there. These two photos show how my dogs really think about themselves. My big lab tried to fit into a tiny dog bed. It's hard to see since she is too dark to be photogenic.

Molly, on the other hand, only slept on the biggest bed there. I guess we know who's top dog in our home. :)

Mike playing with Webster.

Kariya loves her puppy. Here she is petting him while Rachel holds the dog.

This one looks like Kariya is trying to eat out of the bowl too. :) I think she wanted to pick Webster up.

This is the Buggy Barn. They have quilting material available. The building was originally a buggy barn at the turn of the 20th century. Two sisters restored it and now sell quilts, fabrics, patterns, and more. It was fun to indulge a little in one of my hobbies.

That's all I will post for now. We have some more pictures of our trip and other things. I also got a couple of videos of my very cute niece to share.