Oregon Trip 10/5/07 - 10/7/07

Well, this is my first blog and so far I'm feeling pretty good about this whole blogging thing.

Well, the Thomsen clan went on our first big family road trip and it was to Bend Oregon to visit the Bravenec family. We were originally planning on surprising Willy and Alison but plans changed and we ended up telling them several days before we left to see them. Scotty and Joylynn were nice enough to let us crash their trip and we are grateful to them for letting us be a part of their trip too.

We started off the trip on Thursday night 10/4/07 at 8:30pm and got in the Honda Odyssey for our first big family adventure. I have to say thanks to my sister Jessica for giving us the portable DVD player because that thing is a lifesaver on car trips. The kids watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and were so good. Reagan and Laney didn't cry or complain once on the entire drive and slept for a good portion of the trip. We made it to Bend in exactly 14 hours and I (Jared) only had to drink 2 Monsters to get me through the trip, well, that and praying a lot for God to keep me awake.

We arrived in Bend at 10:30am on Friday and Willy was in his Work truck on the street when we were coming down towards his house. He had come home for an early lunch break to meet us. It was an awesome moment getting to see the Bravenec family after not seeing them for 4 or 5 months. Boston and Josiah are getting so big and growing up so fast. Josiah has got to be the fastest crawler I've ever seen, I now call him lightning boy (hey, everyone's got to have a nickname and you might as well start giving them at an early age). Alison hooked us up with Breakfast at their house and so started our time at the Bravenec's house. We hung out for a while at their house then went downtown and walked around for a while.

The weekend we got there was pretty cold, definitely the coldest we've felt in a long time especially living in Lake Elsinore where we just had a summer with temperatures up to 118 degrees (I know, that's just ridiculous, about as ridiculous as our electricity bills because of the air conditioner being on non-stop), but it was beautiful up there. They were holding the Fall festival in Bend the weekend we were there and it was cool to walk around and see all the arts and crafts that people made. I got some rockin' kettle corn while we were there.

Later that day Buzzy, Beth and Captain Ennis came over (they had been staying in Portland during their tour of the country) and we all went out on the town again. Here are some pictures of us at a Pizza place getting our grub on.