our spring trip, post 6: Sequim

Z and I took Highway 101 from Portland to Sequim, to spend our final week there with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. Zoralee slept nearly the whole time, which was road trip bliss for me. It was sunny, and we glided through forests of thick pine trees. Ahhh, the northwest; nothing like her. We slowed for each tiny town, both to obey the speed laws and to delight in the make-shift structures so indicative of places without zoning codes.

It was stormier in Sequim than usual. One night, the wind was so fierce it blew the sleep right out of us. I love being part of the weather - being affected by it, I mean. It's important.

You just can't know people outside of their homes the way you can from inside, huh? I already know these people well; we'd lived with or near each other in various configurations through the years. But it's been awhile. During this visit, this one week visit, I got a nice long peek into my cousins' lives. I witnessed prom preparations, including the developing plan for asking a particular girl (and the ensuing news that, after the poem had been read and flower received, she'd said yes), college letters of acceptance arriving in the mail, excitement over a motorcycle safety course passed, a summer job offer from Alaska, a fender bender in the old Suburban, working on a video project for Spanish class, and getting ready for an all-state business competition the night before it started. I met or visited with a current or former girlfriend of each cousin. :) True story.

Here's Dalton on his mom's bike. He's bad to the bone (Z following suite), but what's really awesome is his usual ride in the background.

wrestling with Cousin Connor

glow in the dark paint, designed to match Dalton's date's dress

This is Z with P, a little guy my aunt babysits. Playmates are awesome. I cannot WAIT for Zoralee to have a sibling. She needs one like crazy. I need for her to have one like crazy.

The following scenario was not set up. We were out for a day of errand-running, and I peeked back to see how P and Z were doing. They were tired, a bit out of it. But through the brain haze, P reached over and placed his hand near Zoralee. She lifted her hand to his, and they sat this way for several minutes of the drive, not unlike a happy old couple who'd seen a lifetime of loss and gain and still found comfort in togetherness.

Zoralee enjoyed the dogs too, Sophie and Cinch. Here she's trying to rope them. I especially like the shot where she's coincidentally in her leopard pajama top. A real animal trainer.