Washington Day 6, 7 and 8

 This is sweet Taryn!

When we got into Wenatchee Saturday night she and Matt and Abby (Josh was not interested) went and cavorted around town together for a little bit.  She and Abby worked together at Conservice while Abby was a senior in high school.  Taryn was a good friend and recently moved from Logan, back home to Wenatchee.  When Abby found out we were driving through she contacted Taryn and she invited us to go to her ward with her and then made a lunch for us to eat at the church pavilion before our drive to Idaho.  She is the sweetest!

She definitely took care of us and Abby was so happy to see her friend again!

We had a little bit of a drive ahead of us but we enjoyed seeing all the apple orchards as we drove through eastern Washington.  When we were about half an hour outside of Coeur d'Alene, Andy's dad called and asked if we had heard the news.  There had been a shooting in the foothills.  A man had started a fire and then when the firefighters arrived he shot and killed two of them before killing himself.  Of course, we didn't know all of that at the time but Merill was alerting us to the unfolding story as we drove in and saw the smoke on the hillside.  We also found out that that same day there had been a shooting in Hyrum, the community just to the south of us at home.  Two killed in a SWAT standoff in our quiet little valley.

Our airB&B was comfortable but feeling a little tight after our spacious cabin :)

It had a golf theme since it was next to a golf course but we decided after one night it should have had a train theme.  There was a crossing right outside and trains were going late at night and early in the morning.  Can't believe no one mentioned that in their reviews of the place.  Anyway, other than that it was nice and comfortable.  

These three played a heated game of golf monopoly Sunday night.

Then Monday morning, Andy took them on the Hiawatha Trail.

(Ben and I stayed at the place and he did his usual iPad and t.v. (elmo was the order of the day) while I caught up on my blog to that point.)

These guys had a great time though and are glad they went!

We drove all the way home the next day after stopping at Trader Joe's for snacks :)

Leaving Coeur d'Alene, there were emergency vehicles, people and American flags lining all the overpasses and along the sides of many roads.  We realized there was a procession for the two firefighters that had been killed.  It was quite neat to see the support from the community.

We listened to the last installment of James' Lord of the Rings episodes on his podcast.  It was a six hour commitment so it was perfect for our long day.  We drove through some beautiful country and made it home safely which is always a relief.  Ben was a champ through it all!  What a good buddy he was!

So grateful we took the time to get away as a whole family and see some amazing sites.  We made fantastic memories and are grateful for the time we had together.