Whew!

What a week we have had!

Last Wed I got a call from the realtor saying that the buyer had everything ready to close on the house. Our closing date had been slated as "no later than Aug 10th" and we had agreed to do it sooner if possible. Sam had planned to leave Thurs to finish up Jeff's car for the race in Monroe that weekend. I was going to head over on Sat with his dad and the kids to watch the race and be at the UW for his mom's surgery on Tue. Since we were going to be gone and didn't need to carry around any more stress, we decided to close the next day at 11am. It was crazy busy and exhausting, but with help from Sam's brother Cal we got it done. At 10pm on Thur night, I handed over the keys to the buyer who had things stacked on the back patio waiting to move in. Sam took the motor home and left for Puyallup while the kids, animals and I moved in to my old room at my parents' house. I spent Friday tying up loose ends like transferring utilities and getting mail forwarded.

Sat the kids and I picked up Ray and headed to Monroe for the race. This baby was to be 300 laps! Sam gave Jeff a wicked fast car and Jeff qualified 3rd with it. They had also rented out another car which qualified 5th (whooo-hoo Don, great motors)! Jeff took the lead pretty quickly and lead the majority of the race until lap 179 when the car ran out of fuel. In a prior pit stop, not all the fuel got in. Sam couldn't calculate the mileage, so he estimated it based on the mileage of the car the had rented out. Unfortunately, the mileage was not equal and another "we should have won that one" was logged into the stat book. With only 20 cars in the race and only 2 on the lead lap at the end, Jeff still posted a 7th place finish.

Sun we headed down to Seattle and got the motor home set-up in the parking lot at Husky Stadium, just across the street from the UW Medical Center. We got to walk out on the field and the kids were amazed at the size of the stands. We also went down to the waterfront and watched hundreds of boats go through the channel from Lake Union to Lake Washington. The kids took off there shoes and played in the water. Of course, it wasn't long before Emily, who was fully clothed, ended up chest deep in the water. The weather was a beautiful sunny 80+ degrees! After changing into dry clothes we watched the Blue Angels perform. What fun we had without even leaving the parking lot! Later we drove around and ended up at the piers downtown. We walked up the steps and browsed through Pikes Market and later some shops along 1st Ave. The kids we great and we all enjoyed our time. After that we headed down to Southcenter where we met Sam's brother Calvin and his wife for dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. Other than the place almost going into lockdown mode because Emily was missing (I found her in the restroom) it was a great dinner. A trip through IKEA finished our day and we headed back to the motor home for the night.

Mon we spent at Sam's niece, Kindra's home near Tukwilla with the rest of the family. Ray's sister had flown in from CA to help him out until the 13th I believe. Kindra's daughter was there as well as Sam's sister Tracy and her other daughter Taylor. Later Sam's brother Chip and Tracy's boyfriend Kieth came. Emily collected some apples from a tree in the yard and after picking up ingredients at the store, with Auntie M's instructions, Blake baked an amazing apple pie for us. Madge couldn't eat, but Blake remembers the recipe and promises to make her one when she gets home. She had a pretty tough day and will have to be up by 4am to check in at the hospital at 5:30. It was a very busy day of running here-and-there for things that were needed and I was exhausted when we got back to the motor home for the night.

Tue was surgery day. Sam went over with his family, but we didn't think it would be good for the kids. So, it was another day of adventures for us. We went to Seattle Center and took the monorail to 5th & Pine. We walked down to the market to get some flowers for grandma and Emily, and then back up for the monorail ride back to Seattle Center. We had lunch at the Center House and then played at the Children's Museum. After that, we got back in the car and drove to Alki. We had a great time playing in the surf, digging in the sand and collecting shells. When we got back to the motor home, Poppie and Auntie M watched the kids so I could go see Madge. She was very worn out, but in great spirits. The nurse got her to sit up at the edge of the bed and took the oxygen off her while we were there. Sam, the kids and I went and had dinner at Johnny Rocket's while Auntie M and Poppie went to say goodnight to grandma. We all visited in the motor home for a bit before calling it a night.

Wed morning we took the kids over the the hospital. After breakfast in the cafeteria, we went and visited Madge. She was soooo happy to see them! She had to have the oxygen put back on and had an allergic reaction during the night, but while we were there the nurse came to get her up for a walk. She did great and even stayed up in a chair for a while after. She was worried about how she looked, so I helped her clean her face and brushed her hair, both of which she thoroughly enjoyed! We decided to say our goodbyes and head back to Yakima that afternoon.

Thursday and Friday were spent tying up more loose ends and getting prepared for the big trip. We hope to leave here by the 15th. Just like when you're leaving for vacation, I feel like there are a million things I'm forgetting, but have no idea what they are. I decided to take the kids shopping for bribes. We got some toys and activities that I'll give them along the way IF they have been behaving. I can only hope it will help at least a little. We also purchased a laptop, so hopefully we can get it online to stay connected and update y'all (I'm practicing) along the way.

Tonight I thing will big a big night out at Yakima Speedway. Tomorrow we are going to my uncle Tom's for a barbecue to celebrate my grandparents' 61st anniversary. It will be great to see the family before we go. Either after that or early Mon we'll head back over to Seattle to pick up Ray, Madge, Auntie M and the motor home. I think we'll drive their van over and Sam can tow it back behind the motor home. Since neither Ray or Madge can drive right now and Auntie M is not familiar with the area, I will drive their car back.

I better sign off for now, but I'll update again when I can.