Bucket List

Right when I found out I was pregnant, I started composing a mental bucket list of things to do during the next two weeks or so before I started getting too sick to care about anything. The list included things like go to my eye doctor appointment, clean the bathrooms and vacuum the floor. I thought for sure I had two weeks from March 4th (the day I took the positive pregnancy test) before I was out of commission. Yet here I am glued to my recliner a scant one week later. I barely completed like 2.5 things on my list before my first morning hurl and consequent immobilization came today. 

This weekend, Jeff added an item to my bucket list: go on a family adventure!

So on Saturday (March 8th) we loaded up the van and drove to our beloved first home in Washington--College Place/Walla Walla--for a nostalgic visit to all our favorite parks there. It's only a 90 minute drive from Grandview, and when we got there and drove the achingly familiar streets, we were increasingly surprised that we have not gone back there in the 3.5 years since we left. I guess we've been busy exploring new territory in this enormous state. 

It felt good to go back to lovable College Place and wonderful Walla Walla--like we were going home. Jay was born in Walla Walla, and Jeff recieved his M.A.T. while we lived in College Place. Good memories. 

We went to Lions Park in College Place first. This was my favorite park while we lived there, because it was only about a mile from our apartment and I would take baby Jay on a run and then finish my run at Lions Park so Jay could swing and eat the grass a little before going home to our cramped (but cosy) apartment. Sometimes in good weather, we met friends there for a picnic. 

Jay, back in the day...

It was hard, but I crammed Jay and Rose into the funky baby swings just to compare with the old picture.

They look so big.

My favorite part about Lions park is the little creek running through it. Jay loved it too, along with the ducks hat swam in it.

There's a small man made pond at one end of the creek with a low sidewalk all around it. Jay kind of made me nervous by treating that sidewalk like a track and sprinting around it by the water at breakneck speed.

The kids kept chasing this flock of ducks that landed in the field. Right when they settle after the last chase, Jay would charge them again. You can barely see the ducks in this picture, level wih the tree line.

Good ole Lions park.

After running and swinging and frisbee-ing around Lions Park for an hour or so, we stopped at our favorite drive-in burger place in Walla Walla, Fast Eddy's, for some lunchtime hamburgers, milkshakes, and sweet potato fries. Pregnancy taste buds did taint this meal for me, but it was still worth the visit.

We took our Fast Eddy's food out to Rooks Park in Walla Walla to eat and explore. We only went to Rooks Park a few times during the 14 months we lived in the area, but it was still a favorite. There are footpaths and trees and benches and it's big and feels secluded and natural. We marveled again at how different Walla Walla is physically and, you know, meteorologically from Grandview, and it's barely 80 miles away! They have trees there. And rain. But there are still tasty fruit farms. 

Four years ago (I took a picture of this picture from our photo book so it's kind of grainy)

On that same bridge, 4 years later.

Looking through the crack on the bridge...Hee Hee Hee.

Frisbee:

Jay's technique was a little wild, but he got in a few decent throws and catches.

Poor boy took more than one frisbee to the face. It was such fun watching Jay and Rose play frisbee together. Then we all joined in and tossed it around to each other.

By the time we'd had our fill of Rooks Park, we were all getting pretty tired, so we elected to drive past our third park of choice instead of playing in it. Pioneer Park in Walla Walla has these giant thick trees scattered throughout, and in the fall it is a leafy-crunchy delight. When Jay saw the large superior-looking playground he really wanted to get out and play, but we still had that 90 minute drive ahead of us, so we got going. Good thing, too, because we all fell asleep on the way home--when Jeff got drowsy, we switched drivers. 

While our visit to Walla Walla wasn't nearly as adventursome or exciting as some of our past family outings, it was lovely to go back to where we started out in Washington and enjoy a stroll down the various memory lanes tucked away in our favorite parks.