Thus Concludes our Coast-to-Coast Travels, 2010

With Max off-track for September and the realization that none of my grandparents had seen the boys since Benjamin was about 8 months old, we headed to the left coast for a visit this month. We started at my Grandma Mary Lou and Grandpa Al's place in Vancouver, WA. While there, we visited the Oregon Museum of Nature and Science, a wonderful museum where everything is hands-on. I remember loving it as a kid, and my kids loved it as well.

Using robots to play "Connect Four."
The boys spent a lot of time playing container crane operator.

OMSI is now located on the Willamette River (it was next to the Portland Zoo when I was a kid), and the USS Blueback is docked there, so we took a tour of that as well. I don't know who loved it more, Andrew or the boys. We were the only ones on our tour, so we got loads of personalized attention and lots of opportunities to check everything out.

Operating the dive and surface controls.
The LOUD dive siren. Checking out the periscope.
The "trapedo" room (as the boys call it).
Also in Portland, we checked out The Voodoo Doughnut Shop.
Max enjoying his Miami Vice Berry.
Benjamin enjoying The Loop.
Me enjoying The No Name, a delightful mix of chocolate, Rice Krispies and peanut butter. Then we headed down to Salem, where we were treated to my Aunt Kristey's delicious cooking and hospitality and the company of my Uncle Rob, my cousins Angela and Amanda, my cousin's boyfriend Dave, and my brother Jody and his wife Whitney. (I'm not sure why I didn't bust out the camera at their house...sorry about that!) It was an awesome evening and morning with lots of laughs!

That evening we headed back up to Vancouver for a dinner with all of the Vancouver Duvalls. It was fun to meet my cousin's daughter Kalea for the first time.
Then we headed to the east side of the state to Spokane, where we visited my Grandpa Jack and Grandma Clara. (Side-note, we also recreated the "Can I come up now?" conversations through the vent, but this time I was in the generation in the living room while my kids were in the basement - good times.)

Grandma will tell you she's "an old lady," but she can still cook like she's cooking for a harvest crew and her scrambled eggs remain the best in the world! Max will tell you all about them - yum, yum and extra yum!

So after all our visiting, we headed home to recover from our 10,000-calorie a day diet (Andrew and I registered for our first 5k, Fans on the Field) and resume the usual soccer, Scouts, church, playgroup, preschool (for Ben; Max goes back to school next Monday), etc. Thank you to everyone who fed us and housed us on our trip - it is much appreciated and we loved seeing you all!