Almost 2,000 miles later, we are home from our whirlwind Oregon road-trip.

After pin-balling between Bend, the capitol, the coast, Portland, and everywhere in between, we pulled back into our Montana driveway some time after 1am last night. Studly Husband went right back to work this morning.

Apart from sheer exhaustion, the residual sentiment I’m feeling after a week in our home state is gratitude. There is nothing like the warm hospitality of Oregonians.

We lacked sufficient time to visit friends (except for the ones we ran into at the children’s hospital, and the ones that briefly met us for hugs at a Spokane gas station), but spent much-needed time with our big extended family between Little Man’s annual gauntlet of doctor appointments.

Incorporated into our marathon of visits were some favorite Oregon activities: The ocean and aquarium for the mermaids, trains for Little Man, Chuck E.Cheese ((shudder)) with grandparents, and food carts and Powell’s for us grown ups.

We brought home a few souvenirs, including an assortment of seashells, several bags of Trader Joe’s non-perishables, a new Oregon mug, and a kitten.

Yes, a kitten– it’s not just human Oregonians who relocate to Big Sky country. Thanks to our fellow homeschooling friends for the precious kitty… I’ve always wanted an orange cat to name after my childhood favorite, Garfield.

Thank you, Oregon and your inhabitants, for the wonderful time.