Idaho!

 We got to go to Idaho for a summer burst!

We left on a Friday morning and got home the nest Wednesday. 

That Friday we had plans to meet up with my family in a small town and go on an adventure before getting all the way to my parent's house. But on the drive that morning a ton of yellow smoke rolled in! I didn't even saturate or change these photos! It was so eerie and weird outside! And it got cold without the sun! 

 

But thankfully by the time we stopped at our destination, the smoke wasn't nearly as bad, although it was still grey and smoky. First up, we had a picnic!

 

Then we got the canoes ready! This was all thanks to my sister and her husband and their friends who let them borrow canoes, a trailer, and Dan's dad lent his truck! Thank you to everyone! We couldn't have done this alone! 

The goal was to canoe down the river and into a kind of secret spot, called "The Blue Heart." Or an alcove of blue and green waters.

 

I don't have many photos of the canoe trip because it was TREACHEROUS. The winds picked up and caused waves in the already moving river. If we stopped paddling even for a second we would get flipped around or sucked into the bank! It was so crazy! We nearly gave up and in the end my parents had to turn their canoe around and go back.

 

Buck and I with Johnny, and my sister and Dan with Harvey and Rose, all made it to the destination. It was really cool, although, admittedly, not AS incredible had their been actual sun light to illuminate those sapphire waters. But I'm still grateful we made it!

The water is lined with five story tall rock walls but there was ONE tiny patch of dirt that somehow Johnny and Rose found. Of course. They were COVERED.

Dan actually braved the ice bath. It was about 59 degrees! Yikes!

The way back was much calmer since the winds had died down. I guess it was nice and relaxing for Harvey!

 

And THEN the other super cool thing is that there are a ton of natural hot springs in the area too so we went and swam in one of those. The pool is filled every day with natural, hot mineral water from the earth. Everyone loved swimming!

And we even got ice cream afterwards.

 

After all of that fun, we went to the small town nearby and ate at a small pizza restaurant. And the grandkids were spoiled by grandma with quarters for the prize machines. 

It was about a two hour drive to Boise from there. The sun was bizarre along the way.

 

 The next day, and the days following, there were many hours spent swimming in my parent's swimming pool. One of those days my kids were in there about 5 hours straight! Most of the time they were able to swim with their two cousins as well. 

One day grandma got out a bunch of bubble wands! It was a hit for children and adults. haha

One evening we went to the outdoor mall and ate dinner and did some shopping.

On Sunday we went to my sister's house and got to see her huge and amazing food and flower garden. This is only her first year, I can't imagine what will come in the years ahead!

 

And she clipped a bunch of things and let us make flower arrangements.

Another day I got to visit with my old young woman's leader, Marcie. It's really nice to stay in touch. We don't meet up all the time, but it's great when we do!

 

Another night we took all the kids, in their pajamas, to go get ice cream at a local shop that Erin and Dan's friends recently opened up. It was very good!

On our last night, it was my dad's birthday. We went bowling, then out to dinner at a barbecue restaurant, and then came home for cake and presents and even a game that my mom planned. Also, my sister made these perfect matching shirts for the girls on a whim!

It was, as always, a perfect getaway and hard to leave and say good bye. 😢 Till next time Boise!

 

A big "THANK YOU" to my family for all they do and for being so wonderful to be around.