just the highlights...more to come

it was spring break last week and we escaped to the mountains.  it was a retreat, an adventure, an opportunity to be together as a family, and a chance to stretch out and breathe deeply.  we did lots of new things--which was very exciting!  we took the less traveled road and saw amazing sights.

here's the quick highlights:  (we like to pack a lot into our days!)

--lunch at casa bonita's (one of the boys' favorites)

--a visit to the aquarium (where i fed stingrays by hand--awesome!)

--time at the hotel swimming pool

--morning drive through the mountains (going from thick fog to beautiful clear views)

--stopping quick at a lake we hadn't seen in the past to find mountain lion prints!

--lunch at mcdonald's (not a highlight, but the boys' loved their playground)

--driving to a close town to see the fossil beds and take a different back road to the hotel

--playing at an old penny arcade

--window shopping

--drinking out of natural springs (doesn't taste the greatest, but a unique experience!)

--climbing around balanced and steamboat rocks

--taking a very rugged twenty-five mile road back to the town our hotel was in (was a scary, exhilerating ride thanks to the snow covered parts!!!)

--a picnic supper in our hotel room (followed by more swimming in the pool)

--touring the olympic training center

--lunch at a favorite spot

--carter became a jr. park ranger

--did some shopping at the trading post

--took a drive and visited the dinosaur center

--chilled in the hotel and had a movie night (with hot chocolate and popcorn)

--slept in!

--took a trail we had never done before and went off-trail on the way back

--scrambled rocks for awhile

--climbed around in a favorite area

--went to another mountain park to visit a waterfall

--took roads without knowing where they would lead

--last time to swim

--final drives through favorite spots

--went to sunday morning service at a church we love

--lunch at a taco bell (taco bell can be an adventure, can't it?)

--LONG drive home

will share more stories of our experiences in the days to come...