Trip to LaPine

Our trip to LaPine started out well. We had sunny, warm weather for a day or so...good thing we took advantage of it right away because it turned ugly fast! Pat, Dad and the kids enjoyed the motorcycles and the numerous trails/jumps that are all around the house. Griff and I drove the truck around and followed motorcycles most of the time. It was a bit windy, so Griff's cheeks were chaffed badly in a short amount of time. It worked best to just keep him in the truck, out of the wind. The air there is a lot drier than it is here, so we all have skin issues when we are over there. Anyhow- the first few days were fun.

Dad spun out in the driveway and buried his back tire a bit- we were laughing and joking with him about being too heavy for the bike, but he really isn't. This is a moto bike he brought down with him for the kids. It is called a Baja. It's a ton of fun and goes anywhere with the big tires that are on it. Even better, the grown ups can ride too!

Dad showed Pat how to put the chuck wagon all together...there are a lot of "accessories" that go on it and a lot of details to remember. It looked great with all the gear on! The wagon looks great out there, almost fits in too perfectly!! We are attempting to find a museum of some sorts to loan it out for display only. We will NOT be selling it!

Here is a short video of the kids hittin' the trails-

So, we had planned on staying over there all week and coming home this last Sunday. Dad was planning on heading out Thursday for the long journey back home. Mother Nature had other plans- on Tuesday we woke to snow and it was freezing outside!! I knew instantly that Dad would want to head home sooner than Thursday, in case there was a big storm coming in. I was right- he left early afternoon that same day. I was sad because I thought we had another few days with him. I was really upset with the weather...ha- a lot of good that does one's self! Mother Nature is in charge- we hugged and kissed him goodbye and had to just hang out inside the rest of the day. He made it home safe and sound by late Wednesday night.
We were hoping to wake up to nicer weather on Wednesday morning, but it was the same...snow and sleet all day. We decided enough was enough. I started the long and pain-staking task of cleaning/packing everything up. We headed out Thursday late afternoon. It was still sleeting/snowing when we left and it was COLD. We arrived home late Thursday night, feeling a bit defeated and tired, but glad to be home. I kept the kids out of school on Friday to just let them rest and catch-up from the trip.
It ended up being a good thing to get home a few days early. I had lots of time to un-pack, do laundry, catch up on the mail/e-mails and get ready for the BUSY week are having now! It also gave us time to finish some yard work we had started while Dad was here and gave Pat a few days to "re-coop" before returning to work on Monday. I guess there IS a reason for everything...as the saying goes :)