Washington vacation--post #1

Hello all! I'm back today with the first post about my trip to Washington. :) I'm going to warn you; it will be a long post. I tried to keep it as short as possible, but it still turned out pretty long. 

Monday:

Monday was the day I left, but it ended up being a lot different than any of us expected. Mom wasn't feeling well, so I had to stay away from her to not risk getting sick. I ended up running a couple errands with my siblings in the morning, and we got back about an hour before I had to leave for the airport. Since dad was working and mom wasn't feeling well, my Grandparent's who were visiting from CA  as well as my other grandma who lives here took me to the airport and dropped me off.
I have to admit I was a little worried and sad. I had never flown alone before, and neither of my parents were able to tell me goodbye. But . . . God is good, and my grandparents are awesome. Dad called just as I got through security, so I was able to talk to him before I left and he prayed with me; that helped!
The flight to Denver went well, and it was quite easy to find my connecting flight once I landed in Denver. I was so, so thankful!
Once I was on the flight to Spokane, I got a book about to read. However, the motion of the plane along with the fact that all the lights had been dimmed suddenly made me realize just how tired I was. So I laid back and fell asleep.
And then we landed in . . . SPOKANE! I was now very, very nervous. The fact that I was going to meet and spend 10 days with someone I had never met (with non of my family around) was hitting me full force, and there was a time when I got off the plane where I literally wanted to hide and question my sanity. But I knew that wasn't an option. So I started the long walk through the airport. And then . . . I came to the end where everyone was waiting.
There were quite a few people, so I didn't see Emily and her dad right away. But, she was waving, so I found them pretty quickly.
And then just like that, I was giving her a hug. A real honest-to-goodness hug in person. I still couldn't believe it.

A huge thanks to Mr. McConnell for remembering to grab an airport picture! :) 

And then they took me home and we chatted in the car. It really surprised me, because I felt right at home with them; almost as if I had known them forever. They are an awesome family!

Tuesday:

Tuesday we got up, had breakfast, and I was able to meet some more of her family that I hadn't seen the night before. After that one of her sisters took us up to the stables where Emily's horse was boarding. 

I was really surprised by the fact that they had corrals and pasture for the horses on hills! Coming form someone who has lived in Kansas for most of her life, it was just unheard of! 

We were at the stables for a bit of time while Bodie got his cast taken off, and then we headed to the vet's office to grab a few things Emily needed. After that we stopped by a couple different places before heading to Subway for lunch. (And had a jalapeno sandwich, which was amazing. B-) Well, I did. Emily, on the other hand, doesn't like jalapenos. Can you believe it???)

And then I was able to meet a friend of hers who I sorta knew from online and spend the afternoon with her, which was a lot of fun! After that we headed home, had supper, went and fed Bodie, listened to amazing music, and then talked till it was time to head to bed. 

Wednesday:

Ahh, yes. On Wednesday I got to go with Emily to her work. And that was the day I learned there were more varieties of apples outside my knowledge of about 5 varieties. xD  Guys, THEY HAVE 58 VARIETIES AT THEIR ORCHARD! I couldn't believe it. So right away Emily and her boss set out to make sure I would learn and recognize some of the different varieties. The day was a bit rainy, so we pretty much just sorted apples and talked. And she teased me about VeggieTales songs that I don't like. ;) We also made labels and got ready for the Cider pressing that was happening on Thursday. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't seem to get the ink to not smear on the cider label!  So I told her I'd never to labels again, but she still teases me about them. ;P

And we also took pictures (of course!) ;) 

Thursday: 

On Thursday we headed out to work again. I was able to be a part of the Cider pressing! Which was just AMAZING. Cider pressing is awesome, people. And they make the BEST CIDER EVER! It reminded me a lot of the little house books, where everyone would get together for the pressing. The farmers from and orchards around them all came and helped, and it was just one of the best experiences ever.(By the time I finish this post you'll be tired of the words "best" and "amazing." :P)

One of the ladies who was there was from Brazil, and we talked for quite a while about the different foods and cultures there. Which was fun! Since my dad grew up in Brazil I know quite a bit about the country, and it was to nice to be able to talk about it with someone else who knew what I was talking about! We realized we love many of the same foods, and she actually lived pretty close to where my dad grew up. 

Someday I hope I'll be able to be a part of another cider pressing. I loved the experience so much; it was one of the highlights of my trip. 

Apple trees! Lots, and lots of trees!

That night we headed over to her brother Aaron's house and had brownies and watched Disney's Aladdin. Which I had never seen before! It was a really fun movie, and I really enjoyed it. We had Friday off, so we could stay up a bit later. In addition to adding the movie to my "seen" list, I relaized it had an amazing soundtrack. So that was awesome. ;) 

Friday:

We had Friday off, so we slept till around 8am. We walked up to the stables to feed and groom Bodie. We also trimmed his mane and tail for some key chains we were going to make. It was rainy and overcast again. I told Emily I felt like I was having a west Washington experience in eastern Washington. xD

The hill down from the stables. 

When we got back home Emily needed to run a few errands, so Aaron took us to do that. I also was able to try white coffee for the first time. Which I didn't even know existed! It was surprisingly good, but very strong. 

We got home, wrote blog posts on each other's blogs (which was super fun!) And then we went to pick up a friend of Emily's who was going to spend the evening with us. Once we got home we talked (I think this is a reoccurring theme . . . ;)) had supper, and then played MadLibs. Which I had never heard of before! That was a LOT of fun, and we were all laughing pretty hard. (Beautiful kidneys? Physical Therapists who are out to kill everyone? The Dr. telling you to take an anti-coffee shot? It was hilarious!) 

We headed to bed earlier Friday night, since we had to be up early the next morning. 

And . . . that's the first five days of my amazing trip! I can't believe I was in WA just last week.  O_O  It seems surreal. 

Anyway, I'll try to get the 2nd post up soon. :) I hope your Tuesday is going well!!