After a long drive we came to a stop and rested for the night. On July 26th, when I woke up the first thing I saw was a STATUE OF A AWESOME HORSE AND RIDER!!!!!!!!! Cool! Daddy asked do you want a picture? Sure. Why not. I was so happy because we were going to go horseback riding soon, in Yellowstone!!! After that we hopped in the RV and started our long drive though the desert.
Statue at the rodeo arena in Burlington, OR
June 6, we got packed up to leave Lori and Sarah’s house. We loaded up our stuff in the RV and Greta, Ellie, Ana, and I were sorting the folded clothes. We suddenly ran into one of Lori and Sarah’s dish towels. Jean asked Ana to run up and give the dish rag to Lori. ( Sarah was at work. ) So Ana walked up the hill to the house and gave it to Lori and then the next thing we knew, Ana and Lori were riding down the extremely long driveway on the scooter motorcycle. Jean and Dad were like, “Oh, that Lori.” And I laughed. Because Lori did soooo much for us and now, at the last minute, she ‘s giving Ana a ride down the driveway on the scooter? Wow, “That Lori” is right!
So we kept sorting the clothes and guess what? I came across another dish towel! I told Jean and she told me not to take it up yet; to wait to see if there were any more. There weren’t. But Jean told me to take it up to Lori. So I did. And I got a ride back down on the scooter, too.
We said good bye one last time, then we were off!
Lori and Sarah, we really miss you guys. You, too, Olive and Roxanne!
we went to loiy and searas and olive and roxane by the way roxane and olive are dogs. we had senamen rolse, DQ *cake, pineapple upsidedown cake, pumpkin pie, strawberries dipped in chocolate (though that made them yucky ’cause I don’t like chocolate- I ate plain strawberries). This is the first time in my life (and I’m 7 years old), that I had a desert, a different desert, every day. I liked it a lot and a lot. Lori made them all, except for the DQ cake, to celebrate my mommy’s birthday which isn’t even until June 8 [editor’s note: it’s June 11]. She is a really good cooker. I wish my mom could learn to cook as good as Lori.
(*I had help from my mom with the typing from here)
Making chocolate strawberries with Lori
On Sunday, June 5th, after the bike ride, we (Stella, Ana, Lori, Sarah, and I) hopped in the van to head home and make lunch. We made grilled cheese sandwiches, steamed broccoli, and fruit salad. We all contributed to the meal, and it was delicious.
After lunch, we played Wii, relaxed, and hung out with the poodles. I helped Sarah out in her garden, and we planted sunflowers. We also took pictures and played with them on iPhoto. It was really nice.
Then Sarah, Dad, Ellie, Stella, and I played Rummikub; two games. Dad won the first one and Stella won the second. Then we played more Wii and then started to prepare for dinner. We made shrimp, pasta carbonera, salad, and homemade ice cream. It was just as delicious as lunch, if not better.
Then we hung out a bit more, and then got ready for bed. It was a great day!
Another favorite activity at Lori and Sarah's: hot tub!
On the morning of June 5th, we decided to go on a bike ride. We knew it was going to be a tough, uphill ride.
We left the house and biked very downhill then very uphill for about a mile until we (Dad, Jean, Sarah, Stella, Ellie, and I) got to the trailhead, the Senator Mark O. Hatfield trailhead. Quite a mouthful, huh? 😀 We followed Lori and Ana in the van. When we reached the trailhead, we filled up our water bottles, used the restroom, and then we were off!
The trail was mostly uphill but very pretty. We had a great view of the Columbia River from the path, and we used the helmet cam to take pictures and videos while we were biking. It was really nice.
Riding the bike trail, along the Columbia River
Soon we reached some tunnels and we met Ana, Lori, Olive, and Roxanne there. Ollie was seemingly exhausted ’cause she was panting like crazy, but Roxy was still full of energy. So Stella, Ana, Sarah, and I decided to bike to the van and go home at this point, while my parents and Ellie decided to bike home.
A lookout along the trail
We drove home in the van and Lori dropped us off. Then she took the van to the bottom of the valley and picked up the biking crowd so they wouldn’t have to bike up the last steep hills. Then, once we were all home, we ate lunch. Read my next post to find out about the rest of our day!!!
On Sunday June 5th, I got to do something I wanted to do for a long time. I got to walk the poodles, Olive and Roxanne. I got to walk with both poodles on a big path at the same time and it was really fun. Lori pushed my bike while I was walking the dogs.
Me and the poodles
When we got to the top of the hill, I started to ride my bike and Lori took the dogs. We went through a dark tunnel and when we came out we saw the rest of my family and Sarah. They had ridden their bikes up the hill from the other side. We all rode through the tunnel again and took a picture. Then all of us but Ellie, my mom and my dad, all road back down the hill to the parking lot and Lori drove us home. Ellie, my mom, and my dad biked home.
At the bike trail tunnel
On June 4th, we walked to see a bike race. The bike riders had to go around the streets of Hood River, OR. We saw people riding their bikes in a race. There was an accident. We saw that a guy had run over a curb and fell off his bike. Sarah told us that she thought he had busted his chin open.
The people watching the race were noisy. The bikes made a noise that sounded like a car when they went by.
At the Hood River bike races with Lori and Sarah
We watched the guys for a long time. They went around and around. We watched the leader to see if he stayed in the front or not. The leader would switch placed sometimes with another guy, and on another round we saw that there was another guy and the leader was third out of them. We watched the leader come back to the front and lead for the rest of the race. But Dad says he didn’t win. I don’t believe him. We saw the guy that Daddy thought won. We tried to go and see him but it was to crowed. We also saw a girls race. It was the same but at the end of there race we did not know who won. We went into the art center and looked around. When we came out anther race had started. We wached for a while and then we left. I had a great time at the races. I liked seeing the girls race.
June 4th, Lori, Sarah, and my sisters and I decided to go to the pool. It’s a pool where Lori works. And it’s indoors! She and Sarah had said it was really cool and that we’d have a lot of fun. Yeah, they were right.
When we first got there, I was kind of nervous. There were so many people! Lots of them boys. Uggh. I mean, it’s not that I don’t like boys, because I do, but there were just so many! Well, I had fun anyway. First, we had to go through the changing rooms and bathrooms to get to the pool. I don’t really know why they make it like that, ( I mean, with the people having to go through the women or men’s section to get to the pool ) but I have a guess: the people that work at the pool want you to realize that you have to rinse off in the shower before you go into the pool. What would you guess? I’d love to hear what you think.
So anyway, we rinsed off in the showers. Then we grabbed our bags and headed into the main room. The one with the pool! The huge one with the three different pools! The one with the water- slide and the– actually, I didn’t notice that when we first walked in. So I’ll get on with it. OK, so I was pretty excited. We walked over to the ladder and Ellie stuck her foot in. First she said, “It’s freezing!” I said, “Is it really?” And then she said, “Nah, it’s OK.” I stepped closer and dipped my foot in. It wasn’t very cold at all! Almost warm! But not quite. I made the mistake of jumping in and got the both good and bad consequences. Good: If I hadn’t jumped in then, I probably never would’ve. And the bad? Well, that was that it was extremely cold. So, good and bad beginning.
Luciana, very happy in the pool
But it got better. Me, my sisters, and Sarah did warming-up exercises before we practiced shooting baskets. Can you believe there was even a basketball hoop and about ten balls too? Yep, there sure was. Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw something moving. Swinging. I looked that direction. There was a long line of kids waiting in line for… a swinging rope! It looked really fun so I told Ana, Ellie, and Greta. Ana was too scared. But Ellie, Greta, and I were off! Pretty soon we were in line. For the first time, I looked closely at how they did it. There was a lifeguard standing next to one of those things that you dive off of to get a farther start in racing. A kid would stand on it and the lifeguard would use this long pole thingy to grab the rope. Then she would hand it to the kid and the kid would jump on and get swung across the deep end. Then they would let go and go flying over the pool and land in the water. It looked fantastic.
There I am, sailing above the pool
Finally it was my turn. I held my breath and swung as hard as I could. Then, when I was out the farthest, I let go and went soaring into the air. I tried to look around but everything was a blur. Suddenly– SPLASH!! And I went under. I came up smiling and did it over and over again. Until the lifeguard said it was everyones’ last turn and then she put the rope away. Boo.
Greta, taking off into the air
But the fun wasn’t over. Before I knew it, there was a different lifeguard opening up the slide. Ellie, Greta, and I walked as quickly as we could, without running, over to the slide. We did it a few times but stopped before everyone else did. It was a little too fast and spinny for me. Plus, it was so fast that you didn’t have time to try to take a breath before– CUPLUNK!! You hit the water.
Ellie is about to let go of the rope
We just swam for a while before the pool closed. Then we headed to the showers and we all showered with our swimming-suits on. The shampoo smelled really good, like watermelon.
We had a fun time at Lori’s pool. Thanks, Lori and Sarah! I miss you!
After the Catherine Creek and Shreiner Zoo, we went to our friends’ boathouse in The Dalles, back in Oregon. We drove up and parked, and then walked down into the marina and found their boathouse. It was REALLY nice, and was incredibly surprised to find that they had built the entire thing themselves!
Hanging out at the boathouse
We stepped inside, and we were surprised to find how much it was like a regular house. It had a kitchen, a dining table, a shower, a murphy bed, a bathroom, another small bed, some living space, and a large deck, and even many places to store things. We settled in, and then Lori got out some manicure stuff and many colors of nail polish, and we did our fingernails and toenails. I painted mine black, metallic blue, and hot pink. They look awesome. 😉
Meanwhile, the adults made lunch, soba noodles mixed with veggies and chicken. We also had fruit salad. The meal was delicious. We ate out on the deck and enjoyed ourselves.
After lunch, we plopped down on the comfy couches in the living room and played Scrabble. Jean won, obviously. She’s a beast at Scrabble, and usually the only person that can beat her is her older sister Barb. Although Dad has beat her once, he says.
We ran a few errands on the way home, and then we hung out a bit at home and then we had halibut and a mixed green salad for dinner. For dessert Lori made pumpkin pie.
It was really nice to be able to see Lori and Sarah’s boathouse!
After looking at Multnomah Falls and taking some great pictures, we drove into Portland and went to Powell’s book store. It is HUGE. It’s two stories tall and it has TONS of rooms. The one I picked out my books in was the Rose Room. It was stocked to the brim with young adult and kid’s books. It took me like an hour just to walk through all the aisles of young adult books!
The view from Crown Point, on the road to Portland
Soon we had to pick out books and leave the bookstore. Then we walked to a nearby restaurant we all love, Noodles and Company. I ordered an asian pasta dish with some coconut curry soup, and it was delicious.
Visiting Portland, OR
After that, we went back to Hood River. When we got home, Sarah had a surprise for us. She had gotten an ice cream cake to celebrate Jean’s upcoming birthday! We ate it happily and then got ready for bed. It was a really fun day!!! 😀