Our Idaho Trip

We usually only make the trek to Southern Idaho once a year, so we cram in as much activity as possible to make up for not getting to be with Corey's side of the family the rest of the year... I think we definitely accomplished our goal this time! We took the road trip slooooowly this year (as in 13 HOURS each way, including stops), and it worked! We had fun along the way, and I couldn't believe how well the kids did. First stop: Pilot Butte in Bend:

While at my Mother-in-Law's, I got to sneak away while Corey put the kids down to catch a few farmland sunsets:

To my sheer delight, my Sister-in-Law, Sierra, was game for letting me snap a few of her just before the sun slipped away one night:

I also wanted to try out some sunrise light. My Mother-in-Law said, "The sun comes up EARLY. Like at 5:00." So I got up at 4:30 one morning, and tip-toed out to meet the glorious light of dawn... but the sun didn't show its face until 6:15!!! Ha ha. So I had a nice, long, quiet time of reading scripture that morning. ;0) And I eventually got some pictures, too:

(These were all taken out their front door... How cool is that? To have the Snake River as your front yard???)

I was so happy to be in Southern Idaho for the 4th of July. We went to the parade, and it was led by troops carrying flags who were greeted with heart-covered hands mixed with robust cheering. I looked around and noticed that about half of all the businesses use red, white, and blue as their colors. There were American flags everywhere. It was awesome! I was absolutely thrilled to be in such a patriotic place on the day we celebrate our freedom:

We relaxed, played in the pool, and went for long walks in the sagebrush:

We drove to Utah and met up with more family to play at Cherry Hill Water Park for a few days:

Back in Idaho, we visited my Father-in-Law, Gene, and got a personal tour of the printing press he runs:

On the way home, I snapped one final sunset pic. Somewhere in Eastern Oregon: