Road Trip-Forest Grove Stop

The next day we drove six hours from Klamath Falls to Forest Grove, Oregon.  As soon as we got there Sheldon and Garrett went to work loading up our stuff that had been in Garrett's garage for the last year, into the truck.  We realized it all wasn't going to fit so early the next morning we rented the smallest truck we could find.  After loading up the rest of our stuff we embarked on the last part of our road trip from Forest Grove, Oregon to Shelton, Washington.  I drove our Nissan, Sheldon drove the Budget Truck we rented in Las Vegas, and my dad drove the U-Haul we rented in Forest Grove.  My mom stayed in the back of the Nissan and entertained Jace.  We all had our work cut out for us.  Sorry we couldn't stop and see anybody.  It was such a quick trip we were rushed as it was with getting the trucks loaded and getting on the road.

Our last night as vagrants we stayed at the Best Western again.  I had to get a picture documenting the end of our nomad life style and the start of living in the same place for more than three months.  Wahoooooooo!!!!

Jace loved the trucks and every time he saw one on the road he would get excited and say, "Daddy," because he thought each truck was the one his daddy was driving.

Jace was very interested in all his "baby" toys.  It was fun to see how big he has gotten compared to when he used them last.

...and we are off to Shelton!!!  Thanks Garrett for letting us take up space in your garage and for helping us load the truck.

Third Stop-DONE!!!

Road Trip-Klamath Falls Stop

After a fun day at the water park in Reno we drove about four and a half hours to Klamath Falls, Oregon.  We were pretty tired from such a long day so we were glad we didn't have a long drive.  We spent the entire next day at Crater Lake National Park.  Crater Lake is one of the deepest lakes in the world since it was formed from a huge volcanic eruption seven thousand years ago.  There are no rivers flowing in or out of the lake making it very famous for its blue color.  It was a beautiful sight and I felt like I was looking at a postcard most of the time.  I was glad we were able to stop on our way to Washington since that was something Sheldon and I had wanted to do in Oregon but never quite made it there.  

Jace loved walking Lucky around the hotel.  We stayed at another Best Western and put Lucky in day care again for the day.

Crater Lake

There was also still snow there and Jace loved playing in it.  He also tried to eat it too.

We went on a short hike and afterwards found some comfy chairs at the Lodge that were great for relaxing.  You can't beat the view.

We were amazed at the high snow pack.  After spending the whole day exploring the park we went to a yummy dinner buffet.  Jace loved the ice cream with sprinkes.  Luckily we stayed in Klamath Falls for another night since we were so tired from our long day.

Second Stop-DONE!  Only about 450 more miles to go!!!!

Road Trip-Reno Stop

For the first leg of our road trip we drove about eight hours from Las Vegas to Reno, Nevada.  We stayed at the Best Western because they would allow us to bring our dog into the room.  Try not to be jealous.  :)  Then the next morning we dropped Lucky off at doggy day care and went to the Wild Island Water Park in Reno.  We spent a good part of the day there before we had to get in the car and drive to our next destination.

I still can't believe my dad did this ride!

We had a lot of fun in the wave pool and the lazy river just hanging out on the tubes.

First Stop-DONE!

Final Vegas Days

We officially started living at my mom and dad's house on May 16th and we officially moved out on July 6th.  We were almost there for two months!!  It was so nice of my parents to let us stay with them in between moves.  After Sheldon was done with his last rotation in Lake Havasu we were in a stand still as far as where we would go next until we knew where Sheldon would be working.  My parents helped us save money since we didn't have to pay rent anywhere and we also saved some unnecessary moving.  We also got to have a blast hanging out with my parents (when they weren't on there own vacation in Hawaii) and also hanging out with Natalie and her family.  Jace especially loved spending time with his cousin Ashton and even after being gone from Las Vegas for three weeks he is still asking for him.    

One of the first things we did was go out to breakfast with my mom to celebrate her last day of school.  Then we headed over to the Mandalay Bay to check out the Shark Reef.  Jace LOVED it and can identify and name a shark now thanks to his grandma.  :)

Okay so here are the final pictures we took in Las Vegas.  The Shark Reef should have been in my first Las Vegas post but I didn't have the pictures at the time.

Jace had a lot of fun when I started packing up his toys and wanted to sit in the bin with all his balls.  It was fun to see them all in one place like that and it ended up being a great distraction for me to get other stuff done too.

Natalie came over a lot and the kids had fun in the little swimming pools that we set up for them.

Jace also loved playing with Grandma's LEGOS.  I think we will have to get a set soon.

My friend Heather Jones took family pictures for us one day.  Here's Jace all dressed up after the photo shoot.  (I'll post family pics as soon as I get them).

We met Natalie and her two kids for swimming at one of the public pools one day.

Sheldon bough some silly string, snaps, sparklers, and glow sticks for us to play with one night.  So FUN!!!

Jace wasn't too keen on the silly string though.

But the glow wand was a big hit!!

He loved the sparklers too!

On the actual 4th of July we had a family dinner and then went to the Moapa Indian Reservation to watch people shoot off illegal fireworks.

Happy 4th!!

Jace spent most of his 4th hiding in the car.  He was really scared of the fireworks.

That last day we were in Las Vegas we planned a Cars 2 party for the kids.  We went and saw the movie and afterwards had a yummy dinner and the kids played with the bubble guns that were bought for them by their grandparents in Hawaii.

That night we took the kids to the splash pad for some fun.

On July 6th we packed up our budget truck and got all ready for our week long journey to Washington.  I talked my parents into coming along on the 1,200 mile road trip.  Amazingly they agreed to come and helped out so much.  So I didn't have to say goodbye to them just yet but I did sadly say goodbye to my little sis, Natalie.  We had so much fun together that past two months in Vegas.  I will post about the road trip to Washington in my next post.

Grandpa kept Jace busy while we packed and cleaned.

Jace was very interested in the ramp going up to the truck and wanted to push the stroller up and down the ramp over and over again.

And here is the Olsen family saying farewell to Las Vegas and Washington here we come!!!!!!!!!