The morning after the party we hit the road around 9:30am. Here is a picture of the town as we were leaving.
We decided to take a different way home and make a fun road trip out of it. We were driving along the Columbia river and needed to get to the other side when we saw a sign for a free ferry ride up ahead. So we decided to check it out and go for a ferry ride. This ferry was small and we were first in line with two cars behind us. We sat and watched the ferry bring a few cars to our side and then we got to load onto the ferry.
We let Lulu get out of her car seat and sit up front while Mark drove onto the boat. Lulu was so excited about going for a ride on a boat.
Even Levi got to get out and enjoy the 10min ride.
This is what our van looked liked after driving over the mountains and in the snow. 
Here we are getting ready for the boat to take off. The boats captain came down and said hello to us and asked us where we had been since our van was so dirty.....LOL.
After our fun ferry ride we drove over a small mountain pass and stopped to see the Grand Coulee Dam. A few facts about the dam: it's the largest concrete structure in the US, it's a hydroelectric dam giving power to most of the Northwest and it's the 3rd largest hydroelectric dam in the world. 
It was so cold and the wind was blowing. We really wanted to take pictures, so we bundled up the kids in their wool blankets and quickly took the pictures and jumped back into the van. This was Levi's first really cold moment.....look at that red little nose.
On our way home we were able to drive through some really cute towns. Here we stopped and I nursed Levi in the parking lot of this church. How beautiful is this? It just makes me want to attend a service here to see what the inside looks like. One thing we noticed on our trip is that in theses small towns the churches are so beautiful and well taken care of. We were talking about how it's too bad that people don't build like this anymore.
Before we had to go back over the pass we made one last stop for dinner. We wanted to do something quick and easy so we could keep driving while the kids slept. We decided on a burger. Mark said the first burger place we see we are going to.......and then this is the first place we saw, can you say meant to be? Lulu was still awake and asked if we were actually going to eat that burger on the roof. No, not going to eat the burger on the roof but the size of the burgers they served us were just about that size. They were so good and HUGE! That gave us the fuel we needed to make it the next few hours until we got home. 
This trip was truly a blessing. We just moved and needed a vacation from all the packing and unpacking. We had so much fun and will look back on this trip with great memories. Mark and I had so much time and were able to talk and share how we see God working in our life. Time like this with our family is so precious.Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18
The Christmas party was so much fun. They rented out a building at the local fair grounds that had an indoor carousel. This carousel was 110 years old and had recently been restored. All the kids (and adults) got to ride this all night as much as they wanted. It was a blast. Lulu had so much fun and was the last one off for the evening. Even Levi got to go for a few rides while sleeping on me. It was truly my favorite part of the evening. Mark enjoyed watching since he gets a little ill if he goes round and round too many times, but he did go a few time around and then he was designated the official picture taker. Lulu and I could have rode all evening. 
After we had a great dinner and rode the carousel Santa and Mrs. Clause arrived and handed out gifts to each child. I was so surprised when they called Levi's name. Every child's name was called and they all went up one at a time and sat on Santa's lap and received a gift. Well, I had Levi in the front carrier when his name was called so I got to sit on Santa's lap with Levi.
Lulu was a little unsure about sitting on Santa's lap. She watched Levi and I go up and then saw a few more kids go visit with Santa. Here is a picture of her with Mark checking things out while we waited for her name to be called.
When Lulu's name was called Mrs. Clause saw that she was a bit nervous so she reached out her arms and Lulu climbed up in her lap instead. It was really cute and worked out great......no tears!
Lulu was so polite and said "thank you" to Santa and Mrs. Clause and then she was off to open her gift. It was so fun to see all these kids receive gifts and open them. And everyone was so grateful. I didn't see or hear a single kid complain.....it was so neat to be around all these wonderful families.
Look at that face! Lulu was thrilled to get some My Little Pony toys. The really neat thing was that there were about 30-40 kids here and not one gift was the same. This company was very generous and made it truly fun for everyone. Levi received a Leap Frog alphabet toy that he will get to enjoy in a couple months.
Here is Levi sitting with daddy enjoying looking at all the people. 
This past weekend was Mark's company Christmas party. The party was 
Once over the pass we stopped for some coffee so we would be awake for our 4 more hours of driving. Lulu had a hot chocolate and thought she was so grown up drinking her "coffee."
The men and their hats sitting in Starbucks. 
When I called to check on our room I told the lady at the front desk that we would be arriving around 10pm. So she said they would leave the key out under the mat.....
This was Lulu's 
Daddy and daughter crossing the street. 
We had a great time walking the town. There was really no one else there since it was so cold out. Every shop we went into we were greeted by the friendliest people and it really made us enjoy the small town feel. We live in a very fast paced urban area so this was such a treat for us to slow down and enjoy this lifestyle. 
