Idaho Recap: Short Story Long

Idaho was wonderful. It was full of adventure from sun up to sun down. We are completely exhausted from the endless amounts of fun, it almost seems like a blur. It was really great seeing everyone, especially those we hadn't seen since our last visit over a year ago. I never imagined I would only visit Idaho once a year, but it's actually become acceptable for me. I think it helps having so many people come visit us in Texas throughout the year, but regardless, travelling requires a lot of stamina. Airport life is ridiculous, especially if you have an extensive layover. I can still hear that airport announcement voice blaring in the back of my brain. Ahhhh! It's over now. 

Anyway, I think two weeks is the perfect number for us. It give us enough time to see everyone at least once, but also extends just long enough to make us beg to be back home. It also gives Kirk a chance to remind himself why bachelor life is not as fulfilling as the family circus. I knew I was feeling homesick, but it was a pretty tough seeing the kiddos cry for their Daddy the last couple of days. We were over it. I was really wishing we could just click our heels three times like Dorothy. But in a round about way, the whole experience is humbling. It is a reminder of why there's no place like home! 

My favorite part of returning to Idaho is sharing the parts I love with my kiddos! I drove around one afternoon just showing them bits of my childhood. Lyla seemed to appreciate it, but that's still a bit out of reach for Max. We have a giant family circle established there and it's so important to me for them to experience that. It was nice this round to bring mostly self-sufficient kiddos, instead of babies. I didn't feel like we needed to adhere to a schedule as much or feel the repercussions of moving our base camp several times. In the past, I always felt like traveling was overwhelming enough on them and once we arrived it was best to stay put. But now they are big and stuff. They can deal with change. 

We stayed with Kirk's parents for the first leg of our visit. Max went to a car show with Grandpa. they enjoyed four wheeler rides, catching up with Ashton & Jarem, and playing with Scarlett. Ashton loaned a necklace to Lyla for church, and Lyla commented that Ashton was obviously her fanciest aunt. She also had a lot of wisdom to share with little Scarlett, who transitioned into becoming a big sister during our visit. It was such a treat to be there for the arrival of baby Mack. He is the sweetest little dude. I always stare at newborns in such wonderment. Their tiny existence is amazing. Mack probably makes a top three of this visit to Idaho. Max is still calling him "my baby" and insists we take him home to Texas. And I completely agree, but sadly this milk machine is retired.

We stayed with my Grandma Paula for a few short days. She always provides endless amounts of food and entertainment. I am continually amazed by how good she is at playing pretend. And she can play for hours. Boredom does not exist at her house because she is constantly stirring the plot of pretend. I love it. She is the best. We enjoyed time with my Aunt Kari and beautiful cousins. My cousins are transitioning into beautiful adult humans and I'm enjoying watching our relationships evolve. It doesn't seem like that long ago when I was changing their diapers. Now they get to embrace the energy of my kiddos, sometimes against their will...but that's okay. I think it's funny. Life is funny. 

We were able to visit the Idaho Falls Zoo, always a classic, along with the local theme park --- Fun Land. I don't think it can necessarily be considered it a theme park, but I don't know what else to call it. Lol. Anyway, Lyla and I sat together on the ride known as The Octopus. And if you aren't an Idaho Falls native, you may not understand how terrifying this ride is. I still have traumatic memories as a child. But this time I was still the one who was more nervous about it, mostly thinking about how dang old the ride is. As we were going around in circles, I kept imagining the bolts coming loose and us flying off into the baseball diamond nearby. But we survived. And Lyla loved it, surprisingly. Usually she is just as anxious as I am! My Grandma Carter joined us on our day of adventure and we were able to sneak in one more day with her, including pedicures and lunch. That's one of the things I miss about Idaho the most. Grandma time!!!

I decided to accept the challenge and drive to Boise for a few days to visit my Dad & Shelby. I only note this as a challenge because driving with two little people without a co-pilot can be seriously dangerous --- like probably worse than drunk driving. Let's just say...it was nice when they slept. We had a fantastic time at my Dad's, which was actually relaxing like vacation is supposed to feel. That's the nice thing about visiting my Dad, no pressure to see anyone else. The Idaho Falls schedule runs from morning to night. That is not a complaint, just a fact. I love busy and always expect it when going to Idaho. My Dad entertained us with his usual delicious food and backyard antics. The kids are always easily amused by the doggies and hot tub time. 

After Boise, we drove back to Idaho Falls to spend the remainder of the trip at my Mom's house. She was my rock the entire trip and always provided a home base when needed, but we finally got the chance to unpack for a few days. The highlight of my Mom's house for the kiddos is most definitely the plethora of neighbor kids. That neighborhood is swarming with children, it is insanely fun. My Mom also randomly purchased a bounce house, so that made her house pretty popular. We were able to catch up with Grandpa Rick, a few friends, and even Uncle Jake squeezed us in for an overnight visit. It was an exciting two weeks full of adventure. We are so blessed. Life is full of so much love. 

I imagine the same time next year will roll around and I'll start missing Idaho again. I think it takes that long to forget how exhausting it is. Haha! My kids are becoming professional travelers though. They seem to understand the rush of the airport routine. They walk for themselves and their complaints are minimal. They even survived a ten hour layover! I'm proud of those little munchkins. See you next year!

Hermann Park Adventure

This week we joined some friends to explore Hermann Park in Houston. This giant park offers all the big city appeal, including no parking and plenty of free spirits roaming around aimlessly. I feel like I'm generally the type of person who is always aware of my surroundings, but put me inside of the city and my danger radar is on high alert. We stopped to play at one of the playgrounds and I quickly scanned every adult wondering which one was there to kidnap my children. I think I nearly crawled into the fetal position when all the kids started running in different directions as they were playing. Oddly, I don't get that same feeling of angst at any of the parks in my blissful bubble of suburbia. My devotion to crime television is likely to blame for my fear on that one. And as I always say, it's better to be paranoid than murdered. Actually, I've never said that before, but I think I'll start. 

note 1. It turns out all those adult creatures surrounding the playground were completely harmless. In reality we all had the same common goal of keeping track of our children. I even said "hi" to one and it said "hi" back. I think they could sense my unfamiliarity to this big city lifestyle. 

note 2. I would suck big time being a real resident of Houston. I would probably have to keep my kids on leashes, assuming we ever left our apartment. And yes, people residing in the city are only allowed to live in high-rise apartments. Don't argue.

note 3. Is my Idaho showing yet?

I will conclude that rambling session and continue writing about our afternoon now...

We had a wonderful time at the park. The weather was perfect. The kiddos rolled down giant grassy hills, found the best kinds of trees for climbing, visited the Japanese Garden, watched longingly as the paddle boats rowed by ---> begged to rent paddle boats ---> cried when denied, checked out some artsy fartsy statues and fountains, and played their little hearts out at the splash pad and playground. We also sat down for an exquisite picnic featuring ham and cheese sandwiches, only the finest for these kiddos. And I was so impressed that nobody ever complained about all the walking. 

I've drove in circles around Hermann Park several times before, but this was my first experience checking it out on foot. It was a really fun time! After we all wore ourselves out, we loaded up the car and returned home to the happy land of suburbia with a vehicle full of five tired kiddos. It was a calm drive home until Max announced he urgently needed to pee and unfortunately the bumper to bumper traffic made it impossible to exit in time. It was all down hill from there. Max may have earned himself the nickname Mr. Peebody, but a soiled car-seat wasn't enough to ruin our day!

Max The Fashionista & Monday Muse

Max is deep in the stage of insisting on dressing himself. His fashion choices are often questionable, but that's one area I [try to] avoid interfering with. The freedom of self-expression is important for all ages! Max's favorite outfit combo tends to be a button down paired with basketball shorts --- business on top, leisure on bottom? The funny thing is most of his button down shirts are much too small, allowing his Buddha belly to poke out the bottom. Oh, and his preferred basketball shorts [um capris/pants] are those left behind by our four year old friend. The expression on his face is pure disappointment if I ever try to convince him to wear something different....sooo we just roll with it. Haters gonna hate. 

This is how Max shows off his muscles!

It was a beautiful day in Texas today. We spent some time playing at the park, where Lyla's topic of conversation was convincing me she is five. She exclaimed, "this is what five year olds do..." as she climbed the ladder to the monkey bars. She completed two full bars, arms swinging and everything, before she realized what she was doing and had a moment of panic. It's funny how much we can accomplish before we allow fear to set in. She's such a silly girl.

We came home and both kiddos took nice long naps, leaving me with the sweet sound of silence for a couple hours. I was feeling inspired after binge watching Pioneer Woman over the weekend and decided to bake some mini-loaves of banana bread. It was going great until my 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg turned into 2 teaspoons due to a shaker malfunction. I took a photo of the final presentation for the blog, like a true social media monster. Then Lyla woke up & we shared an entire loaf...apparently the nutmeg mishap wasn't that detrimental after all. Haha! Today was a good day. I feel more at peace after getting that crazy lady out of my system.

Life Is Swell.

We packed a lunch and escaped to the park to give our ears a break from the endless noise of football. Lyla stopped when she noticed Max was struggling to carry his lunchbox while also holding her hand. She said to him, "Oh here Max, let me help you," as she took his lunchbox to hold it for him. It was such a sweet moment. That little boy holds a tender spot in Lyla's heart, always revealing her caring, nurturing side. There is no denying that motherhood has its ups and downs, but it's moments like these that I will cherish forever. 

In an effort to entertain myself, I had no problem finding time for a photo shoot on football Sunday...hehehe! These kids are pretty cooperative these days when it comes to my doorstep picture shenanigans. I'm not sure if they are mocking me or just want it to end as soon as possible. I don't really care either way because I'm getting some pretty cute faces out of it. The last couple photos show their version of a "game face." 

Technically these events happened last Sunday, but this weekend was equally as hilarious. Belly laughs for days. It's remarkable how much free entertainment they provide. They really are getting funnier day by day. I love my little people. I'm a lucky momma.