So, we arrived! Just a little bit behind schedule, but not too bad. The kids did amazingly on both flights even though Andrew's ears hurt quite a bit. We spent day one at Grandpa and Grandma Saemenes' house, and while grandpa had to work, we kept ourselves busy. Sleeping, playing in tick-free grass, having a picnic in the backyard, playing the piano, taking naps, and helping Grandma with some things around the house (so Grandpa could play when he got home.) It was fantastic! Day Two was spent at Multnoamah Falls and the Bonneville Dam. The kids were amazed at how "huge" the falls were, and loved hearing the history and stories there. We climbed about 1/2 the way up and the kids did fine, until we lost sight of the falls. :) Then we headed back down. The Bonneville Dam proved to be quite educational and the kids had lots of fun watching the fish ladder from underground! Day Three was spent riding the Max (lightrail) to the Oregon Zoo. It's almost an hour on the Max, and the kids had lots of fun seeing new things, and the different sorts of people who ride the Max. A TriMet officer was on one of the trains, and gave each of the boys a Junior Crimesolver sticker badge . . . you know that was one of the highlights of the day! :) We arrived at the zoo, just as the rain was starting to let up, and the timing couldn't have been more perfect. The weather was cool, and the animals were almost all out moving around, playing, being fed, or doing stunts! It was fantastic. The highlights of the zoo day for Karl and I was to watch our kids faces light up, and see the intrigue as they had their first real zoo experience. We ended the tour at the tigers, my personal favorite! And then we hit up the Zoo Store, and hopped back on the Max to head home. (Joe slept almost the entire first leg of the train ride!) That night, we hung out with Aunt Linnaea (my little sister) and went to bed early - relatively speaking, as tomorrow, everything would change!