Follow up to Weekend with the Grandkids

I see by looking at my blog that I owe you an update on the results of our weekend with the grandkids. Cindy and Mike had headed out to spend two nights away...for the first time since Jenna was born 5 years ago. This was a get away that was far overdue.

Their destination was first Hood River and then further East up the Columbia River gorge to a nice hotel owned by Cindy's employer. There they had a nice Christmas party and adult "sleepover" as the grandkids would call it.

Well this weekend was the same one that we got hit with a BIG ice storm all up and down the Columbia River gorge and in the Vancouver/Portland area. I really sweated that one out until I knew that Cindy and Mike had managed to travel West on I-84 before the worst of the storm had hit. It took them hours to get the last few miles home but they were able to return and join us in supervising the kids who were having a ball getting thoroughly wet and cold playing in the snow and ice. When kids see white outside...they seem to lose all sense of reason.

Anyway, we had a nice weekend. Cindy said all she expected was survival and we made that. I even survived a single handed trip (Gary chickened out) to the Dollar Store with all three kids to help them buy for parents and siblings. Matthew was the most entertaining in his Christmas purchases. He bought a sack of trail mix for his father and said "If he does not like it, I can eat it !" When we got home he wrapped it (using masking tape on all his packages of course) but I soon found him hiding in a corner with it like the temptation was about to overcome him. I never did hear if that trail mix made it to Christmas Day or not...oh, well it is the thought that counts !

Due to the ice, we ended up staying in Portland an extra day. Once the motor home ran out of propane, we knew we had to move it or have it freeze up. We were thankful the next morning to have it thaw enough that we were only faced with slush and lots of road debris (from sanding) on the way home.