We made our annual trek to Idaho! This year we only get one week with Idaho family, but we made the most of it. We got up early Monday morning and made the long drive to Firth, Idaho. We were happy to be out of the car and enjoyed time in Grandma and Poppy's backyard. Derek and Amy's family were there when we arrived so they could be reunited with Juliette. We enjoyed the slightly cooler evening compared to the 100 degree day and loved watching the sunset.
Tuesday morning was a day to sleep in, and the girls were immediately out in the barn playing with the cats and wandering around the yard. Sharolyn and her kids drove up for the day, which was super nice, and our first adventure of the day was to go to the Butterfly Haven. Paige absolutely loved it and was constantly with Emily trying to get butterflies to land on them. McCall did not like it one bit. She hated the butterflies flying around her and wanted to be held and would get super nervous if any butterfly even flew close to her. Besides McCall, the rest of us enjoyed walking around and seeing all the butterflies, caterpillars, and chyrsalis. There are also these cute little quail and some of them had the tiniest, cutest little babies. The quails were Baylor and McCall's favorite.
Then we went to Gem Lake to cool off for the afternoon. I spent most of the time near or in the water with McCall. She can be a little too brave around water but sure had fun. All the cousins had fun floating in tubes, paddleboarding out to the little island, and jumping off the dock.
We had a family dinner with those that were around which was nice and enjoyed being outside once the sun started to go down. It was pretty hot most of the time we were there, and my parents don't have AC, so the house, especially upstairs, stayed pretty warm. We loved the evenings and the sunsets when it finally cooled down a bit for the day.
Wednesday, we had another slow morning of playing the backyard and the girls love spending time with Grandma.
We met Derek and Amy's family for lunch and had Arctic Circle. Their fry sauce is the best ever!
Then we spent the afternoon at Derek and Amy's house. We enjoyed the AC, visiting, playing bucket golf, the girls loved playing games, and I made some lasagna for dinner.
My parents and I left after dinner to go up to Saint Anothony to watch Erika and Grace in their community play of Annie. It was so good and I'm glad that I went. Baylor and Paige spent the night at Derek and Amy's house and had fun with cousins.
Thursday was a day filled to the brim with fun and cousins.
We got up and headed up to Rexburg and spent some of the morning going thrift shopping. Then we met at Porter Park for lunch. Amy and her girls and Erika and her two youngest all joined the fun.
After getting wet and having fun on the splash pad, then we all went on the carousel. There were so many fun pictures! The girls would always come around with different poses and faces. It was fun to watch!
The kids all went twice, and Poppy had bought a pass and there were three left, so Amy, Erika, and I got to go on it once and we were laughing and having so much fun. We also had to come up with a different pose every time we came around which was harder than it seems but was so much fun.
Then Erika had to leave since she had her play in the evening every day this week. Amy and her girls went to Karie Ann's with us for some dessert. McCall fell asleep on the way to Karie Ann's and stayed asleep the entire time. She was tuckered out! Then we took Emily with us and drove around campus and walked around the temple.
Then we spent the evening at Karlton and Michelle's place. It was one of my favorite evenings because it was just so chill and perfect for everyone. They had baby kittens, swings, a smaller pool that was perfect for McCall and then a bigger pool for the bigger kids. I enjoyed visiting with Derek and Karlton at Tannin's soccer game. Then we all had dinner together and stayed out late. The girls all loved the pool so much and were busy swimming all evening and of course they loved the baby kittens and wanted to bring one home so badly.
Friday was another day filled with so many fun things. We first drove up to Warm Slough near Rexburg. We met up with Derek and Amy and their girls and Karlton and Michelle and their family. It was quite a bit of effort to blow up everything, find where we were supposed to be and go, and it was so hot outside. There were some learning curves along the way since it was our first time doing this. We would all totally do this again because once we got in the water it was AMAZING. It was nice and relaxing and perfect for all ages. We loved it so much that we floated it twice. The first time I was on a tube, and I got warm so the second time I just floated down with a life jacket which I loved. There were parts that I had to walk because it was too shallow, but I loved having McCall with me the entire time in her life jacket. She just floated on top of me or alongside me and it was so relaxing. I loved listening to her comments, and we even saw a beaver swim right by us. Baylor and Bria floated together and were in a tube some of the time but mostly just floated with their life jackets. The older girls loved being on the paddleboard. They had fun jumping off of it and it truly was the perfect thing for all ages.
Then we went to the Sand Dunes. We got there right as a rainstorm came through. We hung out in the car as the wind and rain came through. It didn't last very long but was still a bit windy. We made the most of it and the wind did die down as the evening went on. Next time, I will go probably about an hour or so before sunset. The kids had so much fun playing in the sand. McCall and Callum were in sand heaven and loved following each other around and kept each other entertained. Bria and Baylor at one point were shoveling sand into their shirts and pants and even in their hair. We had fun jumping down the dunes and we enjoyed the most gorgeous sunset and some smores.
Emily and Bria spent the night at Grandma and Poppy's with us and so the girls had some extra cousin time. Saturday was our last full day. :( Grandma took Paige and Juliette to an art museum and they had fun together. Nate, McCall, and I got some shopping down for our Oregon trip and went to a thrift store. Then family all gathered in the afternoon for family time and then we all went to Rupes for dinner.
And Grandma and Poppy treated us all to ice cream to end our day.
Then it was time to say our goodbyes. :( There were lots of hugs and it is always sad to leave family, but we did so many fun things and now have amazing memories to hold onto until next time. We always love our annual trip to Idaho and are already excited for next year!
