The fastest trip to Idaho... Ever!

We just made a whirlwind trip to Idaho for Clint's family reunion and his brother Ben's wedding reception. We left late Thursday night and made it to Vegas around 11pm. All three kids were wide awake and were super excited to be staying in a "hotelo" Cole and Pierce were yelling and jumping across and off the beds while we were trying to get Cooper to sleep. Finally we put them both in time out and threatened not to sleep with them (Andrea with Cole and Clint with Pierce). Pierce got right in bed and shut up. But Cole lost it. Major Meltdown! Screaming and crying it seemed like forever. We were having the hardest time deciding what to do with her. On one hand we don't want to give in and on the other we didn't want to get kicked out of the hotel! Finally I had had enough and told her that the hotel people would come and take her away if she didn't be quiet and go to sleep. This only brought on more screaming and tears. What a night. We should have just kept driving.


We made it to Idaho the next day in time to take showers and head up to Great Grandma Johnson's to kick off the family reunion with a delicious dutch oven dinner made by Kurrtis and Suzan. After a few minutes of visiting with everyone we headed to Brent and Cathy's to help get ready for the reception. Ben and Kymmy got married in Mexico earlier this month and we're super excited to have Kymmy in the family! It was a really nice evening and we had so much fun eating ice-cream cones and visiting. Clint really enjoyed catching up with friends and neighbors that he hasn't seen in 12-15 years.
The next morning we headed to Pocatello to Ross Park for some rock climbing and a picnic with the whole family. It was so great to visit and catch up with everyone. The rock climbing was a big hit with the kids. Pierce was a monkey and climbed right up the rock face. Cole was a little unsure but tried anyways. Tyler, Makenzie and Emily did great (Lindsey chickened out). Dylan shocked us all and climbed up 3-4 different routes (I think he just had back surgery 2 days ago too!).
After lunch we took the kids out to Arbon to visit with my parents. As soon as we got there we had to clean the car. Cooper spilled some milk and I thought I got it out...but now our car reeks like sour milk! We took everything out and scrubbed and washed the carpet with vinegar. I don't know if we got it though since now everything just smells like vinegar. Just as soon as we got the car put back together, a huge storm hit us. I have never seen anything like this. Heavy rain and huge hail stones coming at us sideways in the serious strong wind. It was crazy. As amazing as the storm was to watch, it was so sad to think about what damage all the hail and wind was doing to all the wheat which will be ready to harvest soon. At my parents house it ripped all the leaves and unripe cherries off her trees. They were almost bare. The kids did great during the storm which I was worried they'd be scared. Wiley the dog was terrified and Pierce sat by him, petting him and saying,"It will be okay Wiley. Nothing is going to hurt you. Unless there's a big tornado that sucks you up and spins you around and you might get hit by a car that got sucked up too." (So Funny). Here's Pierce playing in the mud after the storm blew through.


We left my parents' house around 7 to go back to Inkom so the kids could have a slumber party with their cousins. Cole and Emily spend some time feeding the horses apples and playing outside. Pierce ran around like a maniac (You'd think he never saw wide open spaces and grass before) and played Nintendo DS with Dylan. Later we took a big family picture and then played a very competitive game of Capture the Flag. Just when the game was getting good...Cathy got out the sparklers for the kids. It was short lived though when Cole stepped on one in her bare feet and blistered the bottom of it. After some serious tears and a lot of cold water the kids all spread their blankets out on the living room floor and watched "Where the Wild Things Are"



The next morning (Sunday), Clint and I loaded up the car and kissed the kids good bye and left for Arizona. Cooper will be staying with Grandma Cindy and Grandpa Moustache, who have turned their living room into a giant playpen for Cooper to practice his walking in and Pierce and Cole are starting off the week with Grandma Cathy and Papa. It was so hard to leave them and the whole way home I just felt like we were missing something since it was so quiet in the car. We are so lucky that our parents are willing to let them stay the week. I'm going to miss them like crazy but am excited about everything that I'm going to get done. We took our time on the way home taking the scenic route and enjoying the cool weather in the mountains and the green grass and trees from all the rain.