As we got to Reno, I called Papa to see if he wanted to meet us for dinner. We dropped off our stuff, and then went for some Olive Garden. The kids were fascinated by the fireplace we were sitting next to. The older couple sitting near us stood up to leave, and stopped to tell us what adorable children we had. I kind of laughed while Papa explained they were his grandchildren. Then she looked confused. I’m sure she was trying to figure out how I was his grand child. I just left it alone. After dinner, we went to check out the fish at Scheel’s near by. Ella loved that they were swimming all around her.

Jameson saw the Ferris wheel and exclaimed that he wanted to ride it. So, Papa indulged him. Jameson ran up and waited by the “x” on the floor like he was told. He had no fear. At least, I don’t think he had fear. He got right on and would yell, “Hi, Mom!” Every time they went by. Ella was not happy that she could only watch with me. She was trying to climb the gate to get in.

We were able to stay with Kevin’s sister. Ella loved her dogs. From the time we got there, the dogs never got old. Saturday morning, Ella woke everyone up, because of her chasing the dogs and yelling, “Dogs! Mom, Dogs!” I was trying to keep her quiet till I heard Steph and Josh laughing from their room. Later, for dinner, Ella was trying to sneak up and get some martinelli’s when no one was watching. She got caught, though.

It was the first time our entire family was together in Reno since the first Christmas after we moved. It was nice to actually have help with the kids while out of town. But, it was only for a night. Kevin left Sunday morning to return home. We dropped him off at the airport, and then met up with a few different friends for the rest of the day. Monday morning we got up and got packed. Then, headed out for our drive back over the mountain. We didn’t spend much time in Reno, so if we didn’t get to see you, I apologize. Hopefully, next time we will get to visit more.

We got up Sunday morning to head back home. Only problem, it was daylight savings. We didn’t know if that applied in Canada or not. Luckily, management left a note saying to turn the clocks. The ferry was leaving at 10:30 am, but we needed to be there about an hour early, but due to daylight savings we needed to leave by 8:30 am. Ouch. We got checked out and waited in line for the ferry. U.S. customs checked our paperwork, along with scanning it. As we were talking to him, I asked since he was U.S. customs, if he lived in Canada or the U.S. He looked at me like I was the dumbest girl. But really? Was he born in the states and then move for his job or how does that work? Anyway, we made it on the boat, and headed up top to get breakfast. Kevin was out not long after we sat down due to Dramamine, so the kids and I checked out the boat.

These were the “pirate ships” in the harbor before we left.

The Empress Hotel… This place was huge, and apparently it’s sinking. They filled in the harbor and then built on top of it in like 1908. Not sure why, maybe to get water front property?

We landed in Port Angeles, and got some lunch. Then, I took a quick picture on my movie outing with Bella and the gang. Actually, we didn’t see a movie, because nothing was appropriate, but it was fun anyway. There was supposed to be a Twilight store nearby, but I didn’t see it. So we took off and headed for our next ferry stop.

We took a ferry north of Seattle this time. We got there right before the ferry was leaving, so we had to wait for the next one. In the process, I could see some girls walking between all the cars. As they approached our car, I realized it was girl scouts selling cookies. Smart little girls. We had 20 minutes to kill, so of course we bought some. I think we ate almost the whole box before even getting on the boat. We made the quick trip across the water and then had the last leg of our journey to finish. We made it home all sane and still liking each other. It was nice to get out of the house, and we had lots of fun.