My Epic Journey

It was good to sleep in this morning.  Though we had a lot we wanted to do with our last day we felt it would be good to get some rest.

We woke up and headed down to the Coffee Cartel for breakfast and internet connection.

After breakfast, we went to see a movie, Lakeview Terrace.  It was a pretty good movie.  I would give it a grade of B.

We then headed over to the Great Forest Park Balloon Race.  To see these balloon the night before was neat but to see them during the day in all their color was truly spectacular.

The Pepsi Skydiving Team performed before the race.

At 5:00 pm the race began.

What an amazing event to see and be a part of!!

That evening we went to the Pasta House for dinner.

The food was fantastic.

After shopping and picking up last minute souvenirs, we decided to head back to the hotel to get things ready to leave the next morning.

Overall, Anna and I had an amazing time and the people of St. Louis were incredibly friendly.  We are excited about heading back again for another getaway!

I am sorry it has been a while since I have sent out a post.  We were part of the devastating wind storm that blew through here on Sunday.  We lost power and haven’t had it on for 3 days.  I am currently sitting at my Mom and Dad’s on their computer.

We were heading here soon anyway since Anna and I have a four day (child-less) vacation in St. Louis this weekend.

Here are some pics of a tree that fell down in our yard and destroyed the kids’ playset.

According to Noah (our 6 year old), “This is the worst day of my life.  The hurricane smashed our playground.”

I have been stepping away from news lately but found an alarming news article that I had to share.  It makes my wife very thankful for the house God has blessed us with.

SUTHERLIN, Ore. (AP) — Police Chief Tom Boggs informed the Sutherlin City Council this week that a pest-removal company has trapped and removed 788 rats from an infested house. An exterminator will be brought in to poison any remaining rodents.

The council declared the property a nuisance in early March and subsequently received permission from Douglas County to proceed with the extermination efforts.

Jerry Wilson, owner of The Relocator pest-removal company, will inspect the house in a few months make sure the rats have not returned.

Neighbors at this week’s council meeting say the smell has improved since March, but flies are a problem.

One neighbor, Mary Pirkey, told the council the house needs to be burned down. But the chief told her the owner of the infested house has rights, too.

The homeowner has declined to comment.

That makes the opening scene of Ratatouille rather tame.