Super happy to have any coffee and percolator coffee in Cars movie cups was just fine.  We start to take the tent down and up rolls Ranger Rick.  Well, right away I renamed him, Ranger Dick, because he was just that.  Now keep in mind that we slept horribly in the “vestibule”, was up very late and then up very early the next day.  Prior to the Ranger Dick’s arrival, I did more freeze-dried food preparation.  This morning it was scrambled eggs with ham and sausage.  Um yeah…didn’t go over well with the kiddos either.

So Ranger boy rolls up and asks if our van and truck have been there all night.  Of course (naively) I told the truth.  Yep, we couldn’t bring our trailer so we had to bring two vehicles.  He then tells me we owe $9 more because we have an additional vehicle.  Um yeah, that didn’t sit well with me.  I was not so quiet as I told him we were tearing down to leave and had arrived late.  He says “it’s my job to make sure everyone is in compliance”.  Whatever buddy.  That’s not happening.  Then I said even louder “you mean to tell me that because I didn’t bring a trailer, but 2 cars, I have to pay MORE!?!”  “Yes,” he says.  HELL, no is what I’m thinking.  So basically we went back and forth for a good 5 minutes or so.  Finally, I told him that the ranger on duty said “no problem” when I told her we had two vehicles.  Then he stepped off and said that since that is what we were told, I didn’t have to pay it.  By then I screamed “we will never come back here!” and went back to tent folding.  It was horrible.  Just unbelievable.  I was a little worried because yes, this was only day two.  I think this is the point I started itching.  Must be stress I figured.

So we were out of there as soon as humanly possible.  Not awesome.  Definitely not awesome.

Off we went into Washington and arrived in Othello about 1p.  The party had already started at Snuffy’s Bar and we were more than eager to join the fun.  Especially since we were hot, tired and had had enough of being in the car with kiddos for hours.

When I had been in Othello the past February, we had these awesome little tacos.  Super awesome, true Mexican food.  So I had to do it again.  This place also has  THE best green salsa I’ve ever eaten.  Green, hot and yummy.  I quite possibly could have just drunk that and been happy.  Well, not quite, but you get my drift.  So we loaded up on a ton of tacos and Cindy and I went and got them.

It was so awesome to visit with Larry and Cindy and their furry family.  It was so cool to introduce them to the boys.  Cindy brought out the 4 wheeler and gave everyone rides.  Gillian and Chip also drove it.  They were bitten by the bug and now it’s a “must have”.  Cindy also made the boys a “redneck slip ‘n slide”.  I had not heard of such a thing, but man the boys had a blast on it.  Carter basically rolled down the hill and squealed with delight as he did it.  It was funny because he was anything but sliding.  The other boys plowed down the slide with awesome speed and absolutely no fear.  Even Chip took a ride or two down the slide.  They also ran through the sprinklers and ran wild all over the place.  So much room to roam.

We also took the kiddos to Country Mercantile.  They loved it!  So many things to taste, touch and see.  Debbie led the charge.  We had some lunch and let the boys just roam about the store.  If ever you have the opportunity to visit one, do it!  Amazingly yummy stuff.  The boys had ice cream too.  So fabulous to watch them take soooo much time to choose their flavors and have samples.  Gillian showed them how it was done.  Very cool.

More evening adult fun.

The next morning I was up bright and early and headed to the Walmart for doughnuts and stuff to make potato salad and ranch bacon pasta salad.  We are on vacation after all.  Everything turned out great, so we headed to Debbie and Mark’s.  We had a great time in the pool and the incredible spread of food and drink in the pool house and of course the good company.  What an awesome day.  Very hot, but awesome.

Mark and Debbie both filled us in as to the hay cutting works.  It was really cool to understand the process and the precision that goes into it.  Learning that it goes to the Middle East was surprising.  What was very clear is that farming is hard work and every bit of prosperity that comes from it is earned and then some.

The next day, still hot, sent us back over to Debbie and Mark’s.  After hanging in the pool for awhile we thought we’d head out and see some wineries.  Gillian said she’d watch the boys so off we went for some adult time.  After seeing more farms and talking our way to the first winery, my phone rang.  It was Gillian and apparently Ben had a stomachache.  So after about an hour, we headed back to the farm with a quick stop to the grocery store to grab our own wine.  I even found a Seahawks wine for mom.  I didn’t buy it but took a pic.  Of course, you get a discount on 6 bottles, so we loaded up on Washington wine.

July 7 was our 11th wedding anniversary.  As in the usual way, we were busy with the family and didn’t do anything spectacular to celebrate.  It is becoming a pattern.  One we’ll hopefully change, but both of us were busy enough that until Cindy said Happy Anniversary, it wasn’t even front of mind.

Back at the farm, we opened and imbibed with several bottles and ended up staying the night at Mark and Debbie’s.  I felt pretty lame that I didn’t call Larry and Cindy as I realized how late it had gotten.  Not an awesome way to treat our hosts.

As the night got later, I did go out to the farm and saw the measuring of moisture as hay was being processed.  Due to the fact that we had over-imbibed, Chip was looking for me, wanted to leave and drive (wasn’t and didn’t happen).  Ummm, yeah…no.  When I got back from the field I was done in.

Boys had long gone to sleep on the sofas, which would turn out to be a BIG mistake.  Chip and I were both up hella early, as we were headed to my sister’s in Bellingham for a few days.  Neither one of us were at our finest, but we managed to wake the boys and then head back over to Cindy’s to pack everything up.  So I wake Gillian and then both Chip and I wake the boys.  OH MY GOD!  They had wet through blankets onto the furniture.  Debbie and Mark’s main living room furniture.  Not only was I frustrated, but also embarrassed.  I’m still embarrassed to this day.  I sent Debbie a text but was beyond embarrassed.

Once back at Larry and Cindy’s, we said our goodbyes, which is always hard.  All the Hollenbecks and families were so generous and great to us.  So, so, so much fun.  But hot.  Very hot.

We stopped at Burger King on the way out of Othello.  The slowest drive through and the lowest enthusiasm that I had seen for a long time.  It took a good 10 minutes to get through the drive through.  Chip and I ate very little and passed the rest on to the kiddos.  And then did our best to get out of town.  What an adventure!  I hope on the next trip we haven’t worn out our welcome.

The next leg would also have its own adventures.  And oh, by the way, my legs were starting to itch…worse.