Summer Trip Part 1- Idaho!

We took a road trip down to Idaho and Utah last week to visit with family. It was so much fun and all three kids were so good.



I couldn't believe how well Ellie traveled, slept, and socialized with people she didn't know!

We decided to leave Friday night after Ben got done with work, which made it possible for us to split the trip in half. We stayed the night in a small town called Wallace, Idaho, which is nestled into the mountains just past Coeur d'Alene. Apparently aliens have landed there. ;)



We made the rest of the drive on Saturday and arrived just in time for a yummy dinner. On Sunday, after church, my brother's family came over to hang out.













I got to meet my new little niece, Ameisha!





We were also treated to a little performance by my mom and her friend. They had been planning on performing in a concert but my family will be living in China by then, so they did a mini performance for us instead.





After the performance, we had dinner and then we celebrated Ellie's birthday!

She was really unsure about her cake at first and didn't like the burning candle.







She wanted nothing to do with the cake, even after the candle was blown out, so Daddy gave her a little taste.



She realized what she was missing and dug right in after that.







After cake, Ellie opened presents from my parents. They gave her this adorable little dress and a shape sorter, which she loves.





On Monday, we took the kids to the splash park and they had a blast playing in the water. I forgot my camera, so I didn't really get any pictures except for this one of my little watermelon....



....and one of me snuggling with Ameisha.



After the kids had their fill of the splash park, grandma bought them a ride on the merry-go-round. The boys loved it, but Ellie was crying by the end of the ride. I'm not sure why... I thought she'd love it!



That night, we had a weenie roast!











For desert, we roasted dough and then rolled it in butter, sugar, and cinnamon. Yum!







We also did a little canoeing, which my boys LOVED.







"Hey Evan, let me take a picture of you in your life jacket."



On Tuesday night, we did fireworks! We were going to be leaving for Utah the next day and wouldn't get to set off fireworks with my family on the 4th, so we did them a day early. The boys had a BLAST. (No pun intended.) They yelled and cheered the whole time and absolutely loved it.











Ellie wasn't so sure about it, but she stayed awake for the whole thing and didn't cry.



I had a little bit of fun with long exposures on my camera. :)

















On the morning of the 4th, we went to see the parade. The boys got bags full of candy, which made them very happy.



Ellie enjoyed most of the parade from Daddy's shoulders...





.... but Grandma made sure she also got a front-row view, and even gave her a taste of parade candy. Yum!





After the parade, we headed off to Utah! But, that's another blog post for another day. :)