The Davolts

In the eighth month of '15, our family was seen:  Exploring the Portland Children's Museum.   Celebrating the marriage of Maria & Jay in Seattle. These lovebirds are truly two of the most generous, inspiring, caring people we've ever met. I feel so lucky to have met Maria (and many mutual friends) shortly after joining the sorority in college.  Ashley matches Maria in her compassion for people! Playing in the "kitchen" at home:   Hunting for BIG maple leaves at Grandpa Murray's house: 

The end of June means the end of another school year. The last few days of the month are sprinkled with meetings and professional development, which often mean a little bump in our paychecks. The same is true for August, only in reverse. The meetings and development opportunities are at the start of the month, as we wind back into school mode. Wedged in the middle, July is a month where we can be certain of our time off, and make plans for travel. Time to hit the road! We started the month by driving the Grand Junction, Colorado, and visiting the King family, as we did two years ago. The family has grown with partners, spouses, children, etc.  Grand Junction had a nice parade in honor of the Fourth of July Just a little accident invited us to visit the local ER The drive across Southern Idaho/Utah is pretty bare.  After CO, we drove back to Boise to visit Jeff's parents. To celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary, we left the boys in Boise while we f...

This post will be the start of a series summarizing our summer adventures, as I continue to play catch up on our blog. This first adventure led us to the nearby Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge on a sunny day in June. The Refuge is home to several species of wild birds and animals. There is also a replica of a Chinook long house. Not far from this long house, Lewis & Clark stayed and traded with the Chinook people on their journey to the ocean. The remains of historic long houses are nearby and part of an archeological dig site (off limits to the casual visitor).  There is a short, mostly flat walking path that we "hiked" with the boys and Aunt Jenn. At the end, we found ourselves at the edge of one lake that is fed by the Columbia River.  Every since our visit, Nathan has spoken of returning and hiking with his Grandpa Murray. When warm weather returns, we'll have to plan another visit.