We all had so much fun visiting our family and friends in Idaho and Montana. I'm always so sad to leave them to come back home, but I guess after 2 weeks, sleep does become a necessity.
After our day of airports and airplanes on the way up, we have decided that we may just drive next time and take a vacation on the way up.
We started out in Idaho.
Mylie and Callie came up to spend part of the weekend in fun and chaos. All of the cousins had a blast creating fun and mischief whenever they could. Grandpa Dave's genius and elbow grease made his homemade slingshots a hit. All the boys (and even many of the girls) wanted their own to take aim with any unripe plums that had fallen to the ground.
Everyone rocked out on the kickball field, and after a quick lunch, took off to the backyard. The girls, of course,
disappeared together and made berry juice and potions, and the boys stuck with their "dangerous" nature, building a fire pit in the middle of the backyard...showing resourcefulness by using the flowerbed border rocks to make the pit and old raspberry sticks arranged perfectly in the center. Unfortunately, this didn't impress the parents (well worried them, really), so the kids were quickly whisked off to the splash park to continue to run off that energy.
Saturday evening we were lucky enough to have a visit from our long-time friends, the
Wilsons, who were up in Idaho for
BYU education week. It was nice to reconnect and catch up with them. Totally fun!
On Sunday, we got to go to
Jerimiah and
Sesha's new baby's blessing. Little Matthew is completely adorable. They generously hosted everyone back at their new home. Allie was entirely impressed at their garden... "Wow, they must really love to grow vegetables." We've been so busy moving around that we haven't ever planted a garden, so she loved seeing what the vegetable looked like while they were still in the ground and on the plants.
Monday was a bit of a wash, since Alex, my mom, and I woke up during the night totally sick. It continued through Monday, so we didn't even get to enjoy Dustin's steak and chicken, so he grilled it up for himself, the girls, and dad.
Tuesday, Alex and Aimee went swimming with Brandon and Kelsey and the fun continued...4 wheeling, movies, fire pit,
smores....they always have so much fun together.
On Wednesday, we had a beautiful drive over to Billings through
Targhee and part of West Yellowstone for Kara and Shane's wedding. Despite the slow traffic, it was impossible to not relax and enjoy the scenery. Hazel treated the girls (Kara, Allie, Aimee, Madison, me, and herself) to pretty
pre-wedding pedicures on Thursday, and on Friday, we had an awesome day of shopping. Kara was so efficient at getting every line on her list checked off that it was hard to tell that she was even stressed at all.
Saturday, of course, everyone was bustling about trying to get everything ready for the wedding. Brittany was the glamour stylist of the day and stayed busy with gorgeous
updos and curling like a mad-woman.
When the moment finally arrived, Kara was absolutely glowing as she walked down the aisle to Shane, who was just as happy, although he may have seemed a little more happy once it was all finished (what can I say, he's a guy.) I hear the reception was a hit, and all the hard work totally paid off! I was in the hotel room with a slightly ill Mr Aidan, but I did get to enjoy the
Backyardigans, so I can't complain, right?! We were all able to see so much of the family and visit with most of them.
We are so sorry that we couldn't make it to the party at Uncle Daryl's house the following weekend, so we invited ourselves over to Marvin and Darlene's and Daryl's new homes, both of them beautiful and designed and built by Marvin and crew. I really love that they are all so close and able to be there for all the fun milestones, games, and other events. I always feel that Daryl is so charismatic and he and Jeanne were excellent examples for their children, who are always just as wonderful as their parents. Actually after Dustin and I were married, at the first family reunion that we attended on his side of the
fam, I felt so at home and welcome with Daryl and Jeanne and their stories and smiles; they totally reminded me of my own Grandma and Grandpa. So, thanks so much for the nice visit guys.
Kara and Shane had to go back to work, but they generously lent us Madison so that the kids could get in some more quality cousin time. In Helena, the kids played together endlessly, caught some grasshoppers (which was also very impressive to them), and got to play one of their favorite new games-PIT. Something about the random screaming out for your cards, trying to yell louder than the person next to you, mix up your hand trying to save what
everyone's ditching, and trying to grab what you want, when you want it appeals to a wide audience.
I finally went on the boat ride up the
Missouri River for the Gates of the Mountains tour. It's really nice and peaceful and our tour guide was really
knowledgeable. He kept trying to throw in some humor, but it was just slight enough that it made me smile that some people were missing it. At one point he was describing how the Natives were not settled right next to the river, but were 1/4 mile away. Lewis and Clark wondered about this, but when they wrote about the mosquitos, they found out why. He said that the mosquitos bothered them so much that they "spelled the word 16 different ways, none of the way we spell it today." It was neat to float right up to the "gates" and see sort of what those early travelers saw. As you get closer to the curve, the mountains really do seem to open up and greet you. 
Our tour guide let the kids steer on the way back up.
Grandma and Grandpa made sure that we visited the Carousel in downtown Helena. Aidan had already grown addicted to the ride the previous weekend, so he didn't need but a split second to realize where he was. He circled the gate looking for a way on, and when he couldn't find one, he just decided to scale the fence. We tried to lure him away after a few rides, but even ice cream can't win out the music, the animals, the turning. So, we headed out to the courtyard.
Although the residents may have had to endure the politics of it all, as a visitor, I can say the the Lewis and Clark trail information with all the fun statues and information boards is a great addition to the downtown area. The kids got to throw pennies in the stream to make a wish. Madison can seem so grown up, but then she is so funny; I think that she needed to remake her wish so...she reached right in and retossed one of hers.
On the way back down to the airport, we were able to stay in Idaho Falls for another couple of days. We played games (yay!!!) with Grandma, Grandpa, Blake, and Brecca and found out who to call when I want funky new stuff on my phone (yep, bro, that's you).
Allie LOVED picking currents in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard.
One of the "totally cool" moments for Alex and Aimee was fishing early Saturday morning...or should I say picking cattails and photographing roadkill. They did get some photos of the fish they caught, but didn't want to keep any...hmmm....Today Alex's shoes were finally dry from the mud pit he was stuck in and wore them shopping. About halfway through the day he noticed grime between his toes and muddy socks-the shoes were dry, buy not quite clean in the toes. Oh well...now he knows.
Just before we left, we were able to enjoy a visit with the Wight family at Mac's baptism in the creek at his Grandma and Grandpa's house. That was a neat experience and Mac was adorably excited. I even got to catch up with a fellow blogger and Twilight fan, my cousin, Clancy.
Of course, after tearful goodbyes throughout the weeks, we did need to come back home and hop back on the planes...
aarg! We got to stop and visit with Melissa, Dillon, and little Hayden before staying the night in Salt Lake City for an early wake up. We didn't get to walk around Temple Square, but the children were impressed from the street because it really is so beautiful. They've decided that it looks like a castle.
LOLObviously, we had so much to do, so many people to see, and everyone went out of their way to be such great hosts, hostesses, and make it easier to visit with everyone! We love you all and hope to see you soon!
