Weekend In Wenatchee

Well, since I last posted, this trip has gone from amazing to a little stressful. In an effort to not give away too much info and let everyone know how dysfunctional our family can sometimes be, I'll try to sum up the story. Long story short, Clay was sent home yesterday morning due to him not enjoying himself and making us miserable. Well, so we thought. After jumping out of a moving vehicle, we gave him money for a bus so that he could get to the airport to make it to his 4:25 flight. He didn't bring his phone on this trip, so almost two days since I've last seen Clay, no one has heard from him or knows where he is. He made several payphone calls to my mom. Those were not good calls, and I'll just say that we've been on suicide alert for the past 24 hours. I can honestly say that I'm scared. I don't know where my older brother is, if he went through with what he said he was going to do, or how he'll get home if he's okay. I've had a hard time enjoying this trip with all of the worrying I've been doing. I didn't get to sleep until about 4 because I couldn't stop thinking about him.

The good news; we were able to have some fun in Wenatchee. It being Memorial Day weekend, not many of my family members were there, so Ryan was only able to meet Grandma Griffin and my uncle Dan. But I can happily say that Ryan got Grandma's seal of approval. She adored him! She kept saying stuff like "Ryan, come help me with dinner. You're family now, I can tell you what to do." It was so cute seeing how giddy she got when they were talking.

Our big event yesterday was getting to visit the Rocky Reach Dam. When we were there last year, we were a few weeks too early, so there weren't any fish. This time we walked into the room where the fish ladders were, and there weren't any fish...AGAIN! But we waited patiently and did happen to see a dozen or so salmon come through. It was thrilling! (hehe, not!) My dad even fell asleep while leaning on a bar while we were watching for fish. That's how exciting it was. We did have a good time though. Then we went home for a much-needed nap and some dinner. That evening, grandma kicked our butts at Phase 10. I think I have a new favorite card game.

Look at all the fish!

Today Ryan got up and went to church with my dad and grandma. I wasn't feeling so well, so I stayed home and slept. Ryan is now above me on grandma's list of favorite grandchildren. Dang! After breakfast we drove up to an amazing Bavarian themed town called "Leavenworth." We walked through all the stores and candy shops. It was so relaxing. It actually felt like we were up in the Alps. The best part was when my dad and I went into a toy store and I found a puzzle game that I used to play as a kid. I started to show him how to do it when he decided that he wanted to try to finish it. Well, 35 minutes later, we still couldn't solve it. Ryan was SO bored!! So bored, in fact, that he went onto his iPhone and looked up the solution to the puzzle and then nonchalantly hinted to us on how to finish it. 5 minutes later we were done! We felt so stupid. I think when we finished the puzzle we actually high-fived and yelled "Team Idiots!". In another store that we were wandering through, my dad found a shelf full of Willow Tree figurines. I sat and told him how I collected them, which ones I had and what they meant to me, and what ones I planned to get. When we left the store, I noticed that my dad had purchased something. AGAIN, he surprised me with a gift. It was a Willow Tree figurine called "Anniversary." It's of a man and woman embracing. He told me it was our trip memento from him. He is so sweet!!

I was so into the puzzle, I didn't even notice Ryan take this picture :P

The doggies loved someone new to play with. I missed my girls!

We returned home for some of grandma's amazing cooking; steak, twice-baked potatoes, asparagus, and corn on the cob. The steak was seriously some of the best I've ever had. Like I've said before, grandma has magic fingers. Everything she touches tastes so good. We've since made the drive home to Seattle and are enjoying the movie "Dumb & Dumber." I brought it with me because it's my dad's favorite. He's been laughing so hard, he's crying.

I'm sad that Ryan and I have to go home tomorrow, but it sounds like dad has one more surprise in store for tomorrow's activities. I can't wait to see what it is. He's already showed us such a good time. But at the same time, I still have Clay in the back of my mind. I can't stop praying that he's okay. I hope that when we get home tomorrow, we can hear good news of Clay's return. Otherwise there will be one VERY traumatized woman that everyone will have to deal with.



(Day 40)