Summer Part 1 (Idaho)

The kids and have played a game called "1,2,3 squeeeeeze the baby" since Hailey was tiny.  So, they love when we play it and they don't know when the squeeze is coming.  In an effort to take real life pictures and be in some of them with my kids, here we are.

This was a scary tornado warning.  I could hardly see five feet in front of me when the rain started.  Scary!

Our friends, the Craigs, came to stay with us for a night.  11 people, 9 of them kids and it didn't even feel like it because they all got along so nicely with each other and my kids loved playing with them.  They ask when they are going to come back again and I say "Anytime!"

The beginning of our 20 hour drive to Idaho Falls.  

I had plenty of games and toys and snacks for the drive.  They each got a cookie sheet to do their activities



William fell asleep in the first hour of the trip.  He sure loves his hats!

This was a corner of Minnesota we were in for sixty miles. Those clouds and skies never end!

Hilarious fun.  We tried to keep the kids entertained without movies for as long as we could, so we could use them when we were desperate.  So, we listened to a lot of Harry Potter book 3 and some music and did fun things.  We loved it!

We came across this pretty great rest stop in South Dakota.  There was a fun play area and we saw and crossed the Missouri River!  I had no idea it went that far up!  

The kids played in this empty garbage bin which I thought was pretty gross but the kids thought was pretty hilarious.

When you drive through South Dakota, you will be super bored because there is absolutely nothing for 400 miles.  No joke.  Except for signs for Wall Drug for about 200 miles.  By the time you get to Wall Drug, you are so eager to see civilization.  It's crazy.  And we bought awesome and deliciously large donuts.  The best maple bars I've ever had, I bet!

We went to the hot tub at our pool.  The pool was weirdly small but the kids had a great time swimming off some energy.

We went an hour out of our way to see Mt. Rushmore!  It was really amazing.  Truly a spiritual experience.  Spencer asked if these presidents believed in God and I was proud to say yes!  It was so cool to walk through the sidewalks and there were flags from every state hanging and just the feeling of American patriotism.  We went on July 3, so it was even more exciting.

Here we are at Mt. Rushmore.  Next time I will clean my camera lens and ask someone over the age of 17 to take the picture, but we were there!

Spencer wtih his favorite president, Abraham Lincoln.  He was really struck by the civil rights movement when he learned about it.  

Hailey

Brooke

William lol. That's the best we got!

After driving across Wyoming (less boring than South Dakota) the Tetons are there.  I was so happy to see mountains again that I was about to cry.  Such a beautiful display of God's handiwork.

After the two day drive, we were so thrilled to get to Aunt Kellie's and Uncle Spencer's house!  They had an awesome family reunion planned.  So awesome that the kids were exhausted every day!  We went to a parade that was fun.

We had homemade root beer! It was so delicious that I broke my no soda rule.  We had a fun water fight that exhausted everyone!



Spencer and Addi became good buddies while we were there.  

Had fun with sparklers and fireworks.  Only two kids got burned, so that was a plus.

Blake and I were so thrilled to be with our famillies again.  18 hours is just too far!

Aunt Kellie was six months pregnant with twins, so I was pretty impressed that she was laying down on this blanket!  We loved staying with them.  They were so hospitable and understanding of our sometimes craziness!

William really loved the fireworks!

Me and my wild Cookie!

All the Bells minus Mindy and her kids and Uncle Jordan.  Missed those guys!

Cousins rock!  Our dream is to live next door to each other.

There were some amazing fireworks in Idaho Falls, so Uncle Spencer and I took the kids.  We used to hang out a lot back in the old days, he was my good friend when Blake was in the military, so it was fun to take the kids.  They loved it and stayed up way too late and had a great time.

The next day, we went to the lake.  Ryan and Monica brought their relaxation station so we could float around in luxury while the guys pushed us.  The kids got to play in the sand and swim and we even went off a suspended slide into the ICE cold water!  Hailey got a horrible sunburn and so did I on my leg, but it was totally worth it.  

Blake can nap anywhere!