We all headed to Vancouver, WA and Portland, OR the day after election day. Darcy, as you can see, loved being on the airplane. We loved that our flight was not very full, so they were able to give us a row of three seats. Darcy sat still and quiet the whole way. Hardly moved a muscle.
Portland was a good place for Darcy. We had a great view of airplanes coming into the airport from our hotel across the river. She had a great time playing at the Children's Museum. A week after we were there, she woke up in a very talkative mood. I listened to her babble for a while through the monitor. She was talking about things she liked, mostly. And then she said, "Darcy play with trains on bus with kid Bennett. I love Bennett." And it's true. She played with a boy named Bennet on the "bus" at the Children's Museum. She had carried a bunch of trains in there with her. Her memory is scary.
We also went to this waterfall, a little outside the city. It was raining and a little cool, but it was a beautiful drive and the falls were gorgeous.
Here are Darcy and Michael on the bridge that can be seen in the first picture between the upper and lower falls. I stepped out onto the bridge briefly. It was high up. I didn't need to be there.
The next day, we hit the zoo before Michael took Darcy and I to the airport. This sealion "kissed" people standing at this corner of the viewing area. Darcy loved watching it, but didn't really want to get too close. Michael got kissed.
Darcy watched.
We also had a wonderful visit with my cousin, Tina. Darcy was, perhaps, most particularly impressed by Tina's housemates' pets. Mimi, a white cat, jumped into our car when we first parked in front of the house. The dog, Roxanne, was very excited to meet new people, but Darcy preferred the cat inside -- Sapphire. We're still hearing about her. Darcy followed her upstairs. Looked for her in Tina's closet (she was right, even though we all told her she wasn't in there). Followed her back downstairs. Then we went out to eat at a vegan-friendly restaurant where we all had very tasty sandwiches. Mine was full of roasted asparagus and carmelized onions. After dinner, we went to a supermarket to get diapers and all ended up chatting with our checker about how excited we are about Obama's election.
All in all, we had a good time. Our flight to Burbank on the trip home was very full, so I had Darcy on my lap. That was quite interesting. Even though I'm not thrilled about having to buy three seats from now on, I am very glad that Darcy will have her very own car seat to sit and sleep in when we head to New York for Christmas.
Cima House in the snow. It takes a picture like this for me to fully appreciate how big our surrounding Joshua trees really are. The one behind the house, in particular, is just massive. They are all looking a little more substantial with their snowcaps.
Our snow seems to have ended for the day, although snow showers may continue for the next couple days. We're hoping that our road miraculously gets plowed. I'm not sure I'm holding my breath, but I don't think the Corolla would make it out in this. This picture is the scene across the road from the house. We probably have another inch on top of this.
The yuccas want to be birds of paradise, I think. Or, at least this one does. All the desert plants look very cute and out of their element all covered in snow.
Darcy likes to hug Joshua trees like this one outside our door. Today, though, she insists that she is climbing the tree, not hugging it.
Darcy didn't spend a lot of time on her feet in this afternoon's deeper snow. She found it easier to crawl and then found the remnants of the flowers she enjoyed picking this summer and fall. I don't think the mittens were welcome at this point. Fine for letting her hands stay warm while on hands and knees, but very much in the way for picking/holding flowers.
