FRIENDS!!!

En-route to Idaho we stopped and stayed with my sister. It's too long of a drive to do in 1 day, plus then we get to visit. Axel was enthralled with my phone camera!

We had arranged to meet Amy & Nate in Salt Lake for lunch at a park that had a splash pad. It was so fun to meet up, it had been WAY too long since we had seen them.

After lunch we drove up to meet up with Kathryn and John. In the 5 years since they moved they have never been at their house when we've driven through. Finally we caught them. The kids play and the parents visited. Our kids all "match up" in age so we needed pics:

3 months apart

3 days apart

1 day apart

Ok, these 2 don't match up, but they sandwich the ends!

I'm so glad we took the time to meet up with Amy & Nate and Kathryn & John.
Friends that will last a lifetime!

Our Idaho Vacation...part 2

One of the kids favorite things to do when we're up in Idaho is riding the 4-wheeler. This time was no exception!

Beside riding the 4-wheeler the ran around in the sprinklers a bit as well to try and stay cool! Even though it was much cooler than being in Cali, it was pretty hot for Idaho.

One day my sister and I stay with MO and Henry while the rest of the crew went fishing/hiking. The fish weren't really biting, but I think they still had a good time.

The meal after made up for the lack of fish! Nate took the 1lb burger challenge. He finished the burger, a basket of fries and a shake! He can eat!

Since we were in an area much closer to the temple we made sure to bring our temple clothes. It happened to turn out that one of my cousins daughters was going through for the first time in preparation for her mission. It was fun to be there with so many family members!

Part of our festivities included part of the family running a 5k on the morning of the 4th. We had 8 runners (2 teams of 4). There were the Flying Bananas: N8, Bud, Emma and Lucy; and Mr T and the Glitter Girls: Karen, Casey, Taylor and Bridget! They all did awesome and it was a great way to start our 4th of July!

After everyone came home and cleaned up we headed to Rigby to visit my some of my Aunts and Uncles with a BBQ and some Nerts!

This is the only picture I took!

Then we headed back to IF to find a spot to watch the fireworks. We found a spot about 5:30pm and waited. Then we waited some more. The fireworks didn't end up starting until 11pm!! It was a long wait. Pretty awesome fireworks, but a long wait!

On Friday we headed over to Rexburg to the Rexburg Rapids, a pretty awesome splash/water park. It was busy, but fun and well worth the $5 admission!

Our Idaho vacation..part 1

Our summer of trips continues! We headed up to Idaho to visit my dad and had a blast. My sisters family was there at the same time so we got to do things together.

Idaho has amazing sunsets and I took pictures of the kids with my grandparents potato dome in the background!

As the evening came on the sunset got better and more cousins came!

One of our planned activities for the week as 8 of the family running a 5k on the morning of the 4th of July. So the kids needed to stay limber and ready. We had the run together!

and while they ran Henry slept and the men worked on the yard!

This is what happens when you edge the yard in shorts (see that lovely ankle line!).

Part of the yardwork was picking the rhubarb plant. In the end I chopped and froze 76 cups of rhubarb!

The next day we headed to feed some fish (we fed them bread and marshmallows! It was super fun, they would jump out of the water to get the food!).

Then we headed to Mesa Falls!

In the visitors center there was a bear :)

After grabbing some lunch we tried to stop in Rexburg at the waterpark but it was full. So we headed back to grandpa's house and turned the sprinklers on. A great alternative. It was followed by more running!

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