Livin' for the Weekend!

We are really into playing with Daddy on the weekend. There are so many places to explore and Lee doesn't want to miss out (and he makes a GREAT driver). The kids and I got out and about during the week again. People say there is nothing to do here in Yakima but I am surprised with how much there is to do and it is all FREEEE...(my favorite word). We have been to a lot of great places that didn't cost a dime. It seems in SLC everything has a price these days.
I think the coolest thing we did during the week (sorry no pics of this) is we headed over to the Arboretum. It is a 40 acre botanical garden. You guessed right...it is FREE! It has lovely trees and ponds (I am sure in the spring it will be spectacular). It also hooks up to a very lovely stretch of the Yakima River trail. When we went a bit on the trail we came to a large group of trees that had FIVE Bald Eagles. You don't see that everyday! Keaton would also like to say it had lots of small ponds that he could, "crack the ice" on. That is his favorite activity these days.
On Saturday we headed over to the Outlet Stores between here and Seatle. I got all of Keatons back to school shopping done and lots of great deals on "cute" stuff for the girl. This first picture is of a rest stop near Selah, WA (just barely outside of Yakima). It is pretty cool because from this bench you can see Mt. Adams and Mt. Ranier. I think what you will REALLY appreciate is that I didn't get EITHER mountain in this picture. I am just cool like that....sigh.

Right by the outlet stores is a "walking" train museum. You guessed it...FREE. It is spread out over about a mile. There are tons of old trains and info boards on them. It is on a nice walking path and except for the time when Keaton was OFF the path and slipped in a patch of mud it was pretty cool. We will defiantly need to head back though when we have more time. It was getting dark before we saw it all.

Lee and Savannah on a train platform.

We also went back to Snoqualmie Falls. They are really lovely falls but the thing I like most is that they are using nature to power their city. In the picture below you can see the break towards the top of the falls. They have wheels inserted in there to generate power. They say they generate enough power to take care of the area. I love clean renewable power like this.

Here is a sample of one of the wheels. Keaton thought it was cool to climb through. Savannah thought it was cool to not look at the camera...argh.

My little family. I can't believe they are ALL looking. I think I am usually just not patient enough.

These were taken when we came up looking for a house. They were taken when Savannah was actually dressed well (just to prove I SOMETIMES try).

1/2 asleep I guess.

Annie and her Daddy. She really does usually prefer him :)