Road trip to Idaho

We were there for Halloween so there was lots of dressing up in Grandma's costume collection. These were both made by Aunt Cindy for her cousins. 

One of our audiobooks this trip was Where the Red Fern Grows. "It wasn't impossible even though it was a long way from the Snake River Valley in Idaho," the narrator read as we drove through the Snake River Valley. There is a statue of Billy, Old Dan, and Little Ann in front of the Idaho Falls library because Wilson Rawls lived here for a time. We stopped by after the library trick-or-treat for a photo.

With cousin John and cousin Abby (and Billy and the dogs).

There was pumpkin carving at the house and a harvest festival at the church (Penny loved the bounce house) and lots of candy.

This little ladybug took some unassisted steps while we were there.

We got to press some cider with Mark's aunt and uncle and some of the cousins using his Grandma's cider press.

A fun-filled visit for sure!

Idaho : Birthday celebrations, cousins, crafts

Our travel day was a little shorter this trip because Grandma Irene was visiting a new great-grandchild in Arizona. We missed having dinner with her.
When we got to Grandma's house Helena was given some birthday gifts. A book, finger puppets, and a fantastic red cape sewed by Grandma. It's going to get a lot of use in their make-believe play.

We made our usual visit to the library for story time. And it was craft day so the kids got to make a tissue paper fish. We also checked in on the live fish in the library and saw the fattest koi.  
Aunt Jennifer organized a birthday party for the little girls and Mark. Millie loved her birthday tiara.

She opened presents like a pro.

 Birthday buddies.

 Balloons and the cakes that Jennifer made.

 Aunt Maryann is always a favorite with the kids.

 Aunt Becky arranged a serious crafting session. They are decorating picture frames.

Henry is pretty sure he needs a tablet just like cousin Tony.

Grandma Irene joined us for one night, it was so good to see her again.

A busy and fun trip.

Idaho : Family reunion

This time when we went to Idaho all of Mark's siblings and their kids were there. That's fifteen kids 11 and under and fourteen adults.

Thankfully the weather was good the whole time we were there so we could take advantage of being outdoors.The trampoline and bounce house were popular entertainments.

 We ate lunch and dinner outside,

played lawn games,

munched apples,

 took up archery,

 watched rocket launches,

and enjoyed spending time with each other.

Aunt Cindy has a cool airplane at her house.

Idaho : The Zoo

There was free admission to the zoo on Saturday.  So all the cousins headed for the zoo.

Helena and Liam were good buddies. This is before they started walking like penguins.

Penny is counting on Liam to keep her from falling off the tiger.

Visiting

The girls and I drove over to Idaho to visit with Lydia and Lauren (and their parents) for a day. They were staying with family before their move to Hawaii! I'm not sure we'll get there to see them, so we jumped at the chance while they were in the area. Penny is about 6 weeks older than Lauren and Helena is two days younger than Lydia. Soon these girls will be four! We had such a good time. On our way home we stopped for sustenance in Dayton at Ray's Drive-In since I had heard good things about their milkshakes for years. The cherry one we tried was very tasty.

Christmas trip highlights

We went to Idaho for Christmas this year. I can never remember to take pictures of everything, but I did take a few. We stopped to see Grandma Irene on the way and had dinner and the kids helped set up her nativity.Penny got acquainted with her Dad's old horse and became an enthusiastic rider while we were there.All but one of Mark's siblings were there and we had many big meals and there was lots of cousin play time for the kids. Penny and Luke got along pretty well.The kids rehearsed and performed a nativity play for us several times with different people taking turns with the lead roles. Nora was either Mary or Joseph (who also doubled as a wise man). Henry and Helena took turns being baby Jesus and the chicken.We opened our stockings and the presents we brought from home early on Christmas morning. The gifts from Grandma and Grandpa were opened after our celebratory lunch. Mark's mom made parachutes for each grandchild and they had a group "jump" from the balcony.