Rook...Enough Said

I can't believe it's been over a month since I blogged! I know my vast following of fans and readers must be deprived like dangling a piece of white wedding cake in front of a fat kid. I heard your demands and am here again to feed your hungry appetites. I won't spill everything that has happened in the month. You will have to wait in anticipation for each blog. (Plus it looks way cooler to have many small blog posts then just one really long one.)
In the middle of April, Mom and Kyle flew to California as they often do when I'm not able to join. This time the whole family decided to road trip it up the west coast to see me. Fearlessly traveling in the silver bullet of a van was Grandma Coral, Grandpa Vernon, Mom, Kyle, and Uncle Jon (I think he said he wants his nick name to be "Uncie" ? not sure...or am I sure if that is how you spell it?) anyway...They stayed at the Oregon Gardens in Silverton, Oregon. I thought Grandma would especially like this place because she is into flowers, birds, trees, all of nature in general. It also was one of the closest places to where I lived. I got 2 days off of work and was able to hang out with them.
They arrived on a Monday and we went straight from my work to camp. I felt very proud to be able to show them around. They really liked camp in general. The bunkhouse wasn't the most luxurious smelling place but I told them that your nose just gets use to it.
The other 2 days were filled with hiking at Silver Falls, flower looking at-ting, and each night was capped off with game after game of Rook. I capitalize Rook because I didn't want to tell my family this, but I was SUPER looking forward to playing Rook. Grandpa Vernon taught me how to play and to say that this game was a family game is an understatement, it is a lifestyle, a legacy, Rook might as well be the Scheffel family crest. Don't get me wrong, I loved seeing my family and were so glad they took the time to come see me. But the fun we have playing Rook, eating bags of black licorice, and diet drinks at a not so good hour of the night is priceless to me.
When we weren't playing Rook, looking at waterfalls, and meeting a cousin of Grandma Corals we had never met before, we explored the little town of Silverton. There are many cool shops, and we found a restaurant that has an outdoor decks that looks over a river. The highlight of my lunch was throwing ice cubes from my Diet Coke over the railing and watch them plop into the water like bungee jumpers whose cords broke. The little splashes were so cool to watch!
Well the long and short of it is that the 2 days went by way too fast! I wish they could have stayed, or even better, I could have jumped in a suitcase and gone with them. Because let's be real...I live in Oregon where the sun can shine and it still be raining, and southern California is boringly always a sunny 70 degrees. Still sun never the less.
I miss my family and love them more then they know...even more then Rook (and that's saying something)