Visiting Family in Idaho

Craig had a few weeks off from school in between his 3rd and 4th year so we decided to head to Idaho to visit family.  We flew out of Memphis on Saturday May 3rd super early.  We had to wake up Brooklyn at 4:45 am and thankfully Michael Cole woke up early to drive us to the airport.  The flights to Boise went well.  Brooklyn took about an hour nap on each leg of the flight. We stayed that night at the Moss' house before heading up to McCall on Sunday.  Brooklyn was so excited with all of the new toys.

She loved pulling the wagon around

Sunday we drove up to the cabin in McCall and just relaxed.  It was a little chilly there so we were able to have a fire each day.  Brooklyn loved the fire but luckily she didn't ever get to close to it.  She was also excited to play with even more new toys.

On Monday we went to the Pancake House for breakfast.  Brooklyn absolutely loved the crepes.  She ate at least half of one and also enjoyed the whipped cream from my hot chocolate.  We then just relaxed at the cabin for most of the day and then that evening we went out to a Mexican restaurant since it was Cinco de Mayo.  Brooklyn wasn't the biggest fan of the meal but she sure loved the little treat they brought at the end with the check.  I'm not sure what it is called, but it was a fried tortilla with cinnamon and sugar and whipped cream.  Brooklyn ate the whipped cream off of a couple of them and she was not graceful about it.

On Tuesday we went for a walk in the morning and since it was chilly we all bundled up.  We didn't bring any hats or gloves, so we all had to borrow. We layered up an went for a nice walk around the neighborhood.

 After our walk we went to My Father's Place for lunch.  We can't go to McCall without getting a milkshake. Brooklyn then took a nap and then we were off to the hot springs in New Meadows.  It was the perfect temperature for Brooklyn and luckily it wasn't too stinky with the sulfur. It took her a minute to get used to it, but then she had a lot of fun.  she also loved that there were two dogs in the lodge at the hot springs and of course she had to pet both of them. Luckily they were both really old and calm.

Wednesday morning we just woke up and cleaned-up and then hit the road back to Boise.  That afternoon we went and hung with my mom and grandma for a while. Also that afternoon Craig finally got his scores back from his first round of boards.  Why he was nervous to look I'm not sure, because of course he passed and did really well.  Yay to being one step closer to becoming Dr. Moss.  Only 2 more rounds of boards to go. On Thursday my mom was watching Tiff's little one, L.J., and so we took the 2 little ones over to the YMCA to swim.  They had a blast and we swam for over an hour.

 Friday morning we went to the new aquarium in Boise, well I guess it is only new to us.  Brooklyn had a lot of fun looking at all the fish.  It was a pretty small aquarium but they did a really good job with it.  They even had an octopus and also maniray that your could pet.  I was kind of a wimp and only touch them once, it was a really weird texture and was not a big fan, but Brooklyn loved sticking her hand in the water and touched them multiple times.  She had fun splashing the water with her cousin Audrey.

That evening we celebrated Craig's brother, Mark's, birthday.  Diane fixed a yummy meal and the kids had a lot of fun playing with the little cobra Pops bought at Christmas time.  Audrey was able to drive it all by herself and she only ran into the tree once. Brooklyn had fun just sitting in it and having Craig help her drive it.  Maybe next time we are in town she will be able to drive it all by herself.  That night my parents stopped by because my Dad had been out of town and hadn't seen Brooklyn yet.

On Saturday, May 10th, my mom and sister Tiffany put together a Mother's Day celebration.  All my sisters, except Sunni, our mother-in-laws and grandma's were able to get together.  There was a lot of great food and even better company.  On Sunday we went to church with my family and by this time Sunni and her family had made it in town.  After church we were able to have a nice lunch with everyone to celebrate my dad's, Sunni's, and my Grandma's birthdays.  It is always so nice to have all of the family together and I love my sisters for always making the effort to come to town when we are there.  That evening we had a nice Mother's Day meal at the Moss' that the boys prepared for us. While we were at the Moss', Brooklyn became obsessed with Diane's turtle, Big Mac.  She kept escaping to the laundry room, where his aquarium is.  When we would take him out she would take off running and then slowly work her way back in and then would come sit down right next to him and pet him.  She did this every time, it was hilarious. On Monday morning we headed over to the YMCA again to go swimming with Sunni and her kids. We then grabbed a quick bite to eat for lunch before Sunni headed back home.  We ate lunch at a place called the Boise fry Company, they had a ton of different types of fries and ketchup that I had never even heard of.

While we were swimming and at lunch Craig was shadowing at an optometrist office in Eagle.  After he was done he packed up all our stuff from the Moss' and brought it over to my parents house where we stayed the rest of our trip.  Brooklyn of course loved that there were more new toys for her to play with.  She especially loved a stuffed kangaroo that was about the same size of her, a puppy dog, and the rocking chair.  By the end of the trip she had figured out how to climb up into and sit down in the rocking chair all by herself.  Craig taught her how to tackle the kangaroo and also a big teddy bear that was at the Moss' house. She also tried out the trampoline for the first time. She was a little hesitant at first but she really liked it.

On Tuesday Craig shadowed another Dr. and we went to the park with my mom and grandma. After Brooklyn's nap we drove out to Middleton to visit some friends, the Eldredges.  That evening we all went out to dinner to Casa Mexico to celebrate Craig and Llyr being done with another school year.

On Wednesday, the 14th, Craig shadowed one last doctor.  Brooklyn ran a few errands with grandma while I worked out.  That afternoon we went to Stan's office to get a couple x-ray's of Brooklyn's feet, everything is ok she is just a little extra flat footed, but she should grow out of it as she grows up.  Stan also cut a skin tag off my back while we were there.  We then went to the park again and hit up Smokey Mountain's for dinner.  Thursday morning Brooklyn ran a few more errands with Brooklyn and Craig and I met them at the park after our workout. When we got home Brooklyn and I took a quick swim in the hot tub. Brooklyn had fun playing Grandma's piano and especially loved when Grandma would play with her

.Friday we packed up and said goodbye to everyone and then headed off to the airport.  Again brooklyn did great.  She got a little crabby on the second leg of the flight because she was so tired, yet refused to fall asleep.  She finally fell asleep, literally 1 minute before we landed, but somehow she stayed asleep as we walked through the airport, got our bags, and loaded her into the car.  My arms were a little tired by the end and I'm sure Craig's were too because he was stuck carrying everything.

We had a super fantastic trip.  It is always so good to see our families.  Brooklyn did amazing bouncing from one place to the next.  She slept awesome the whole time (I'm sure we are due for some crappy sleeping soon), she did well with a lot of people and hopefully she is now getting to the age that she will remember them all better.  we were sad to leave, but ready to be back to our own beds and routine.