A Week in Pictures: 29 March - 5 April

3/29 - With Hannah in Europe and a big vacation planned for May, we decided that Spring Break for the rest of us would be a close to home (cheap) week.  Because we've had such an early spring, the tulip fields in Mt. Vernon were in full bloom, so I took Jenelle for an overnight trip.  We got a cheap Best Western hotel for the night and she was extremely excited when I told her she could jump on the bed.

3/30 - Meanwhile, Donald and Ivan camped overnight at a place they hike a lot near the Yakima Canyon.  They purchased a machete before they left Yakima so they could cut down brush for their tent, then set up camp and made spears and a fire.  Quite the opposite of our tulip expedition!

3/31 - The tulip fields were AMAZING and I will bombard you with more photos of tulips than you've ever wanted to see in a few days.  I could have bought tulips there, but Jenelle and I were going to take our time getting home the next day and I didn't want tulips to die in my van! But when we got home I picked some up at Fred Meyer because I had to have some in the house!  They are my favorite flower!!

4/1 - A delicious beans and rice recipe that Donald found and a cute son who is willing to make cornbread are ingredients for a great night!

4/2 - Donald and I went on a tour with rotary to a place called B Reactor in Hanford...just about 45 minutes away from Yakima.  It was the first full scale nuclear reactor built in the world...part of the Manhattan Project!  If the sound of that interests you at all, I really encourage you to take a minute to go here and read about it.  I can tell you that prior to our visit I wouldn't have given it a second thought, but it was fascinating to learn about it!  No kidding!  The site is actually becoming a National Park.  The picture I took was of the front face of the reactor and had over 2000 ports for the uranium fuel elements to undergo a nuclear chain reaction and produce plutonium that would be used for weapons.

4/3 - An afternoon walk in Cowiche Canyon...our backyard hiking area.  Ivan told me very matter of factly that I am not to "blog" about the hike...because I've done it too many times before.  So...I'm just slipping in one picture of the wildflowers that were growing there!

4/4 - And if I didn't have enough pictures of flowers for this week...here's one more.  Jenelle and I took a walk today around the neighborhood and I couldn't resist these white blooms against the incredible blue sky!