Road Trip :: Moses Lake

We departed Vancouver Saturday August 10th.

Our destination? Moses Lake, Washington, where Josh was born.

We drove the gorge, which was beautiful.

I am total rock geek (in another life I would have been a geologist),

so I love seeing all the rock formations.

It was a misty morning, but I soaked in all the green.

Josh and I talked, as we drove along the Columbia River, about what the river must have been before all the dams were put in.  We wish we could see it.

As we continued driving on, we saw all the wind turbines that have been placed throughout the gorge to collect power.  They are really spectacular.

Eastern Washington greeted us with tree farms,

and regular farms.  Lots of cows and lots of crops.

The twins slept after lunch, but Wyatt did not.  Instead he played peek-a-boo with his favorite blanket.  Despite not napping, he was a very happy traveler.  All three of them were awesome for the five hour drive.

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Before we knew it, we were in Moses Lake, meeting up with Josh's cousin Nathan, his wife Dunnette, and their beautiful baby boy, Caleb.

Nathan (born Nathanial) is where Wyatt got his middle name.  He is Josh's favorite cousin, and we adore him.  He is so hardworking and a fantastic husband and father.  He is also hilarious!

He recently accepted a job in Waco, Texas and two days after our visit, he and his little family were departing for their big move.  We are so proud of he and Dunnette for taking a risk and changing their future with this big decision.

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While we were in Moses Lake, we made time to visit the cemetery.

We told the boys about how to be respectful,

and as we looked for the gravestones,
they carefully avoided stepping on anyone else's headstone.

Finally we found Josh's grandparents,

Jay & Donna Cunningham,

his dad's parents.

Neither of us could believe it has been ten years since his grandfather passed.

How time does fly.

We also found his baby sister's grave.

Margaret Helen was baby #6, born just after Josh,

and passed away from SIDS as an infant.

I think visiting her grave hits Josh a little harder now that he has children of his own.

We can't imagine his parents' heartbreak at the loss of their sweet baby girl.

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After visiting the cemetery, we met back up with Nathan and Dunnette (and Caleb!) for dinner at El Rodeo!

My boys were in love with Caleb!

He is such a sweet baby, and we are so happy we managed to meet him before they left for Texas and we left for Alaska.

After dinner, we headed for what turned into a Cunningham Family Reunion on-the-fly.

That's coming next!