It's been too long

We just returned from a somewhat spontaneous trip to Idaho.  We did not plan on going but when my father-in-law asked for help to reshingle his roof, we started packing.  It had been 3 years since we had visited and about that long since we had seen Seth's parents.  That's a long time to go without seeing family.  Little A didn't even remember them.  But she was just as excited as the rest of us to make the long 19 hour trip.

Rambo, however, wasn't that thrilled.  The 6 hours to Iowa was long enough.  19 hours was almost too much for the little guy.  He didn't whine or bark or become a nuisance.  He just looked depressed.  He didn't eat as long as we were traveling.  He mostly curled up on my lap and slept.

We left on a Saturday morning around 6:00 AM central time and arrived Sunday afternoon around 3:00 PM Mountain time.  Seth's grandma has been staying with his aunt in Utah so we stayed in her house by ourselves.  It was kinda nice having a place to go to when chaos errupted (and when you're around in-laws for long periods of time, that tends to happen  lol).  Not that my in-laws are stereotypical.  In fact, far from it.  I must have the best in-laws ever.  Chaos just tends to happen with family.  :)

Anyway...

Seth worked on the roof with his parents, sister, and brother-in-law.  The kids helped a little too.  It had been 5 years since we saw Seth's younger sister and her family.  Of course Little A didn't remember them since she was about 6 months old the last time we saw them.  Mike and Mati and their 4 kids just officially moved to Seth's hometown.  Mike is the new pastor at their church.  Their kids really hit it off with our kids.  2 of their kids are the same ages as our older 2.  They got along as if they had never been apart.  It was awesome.  Little A claimed their youngest as her buddy and enjoyed picking on the 2 older boys.  It was just amazing how much they all had in common and how well they got along.

Our kids introduced the art of becoming a ninja to their cousins.

J and K are on the roof while Little A watches from the ground.

Since we missed K's birthday, we celebrated her birthday there.  We also got to watch my niece and youngest nephew play softball.  Twice.  It was fun to watch all the kids play.  Little A bonded with older nephew during the game.  And Rambo escaped his leash like Houdini and took off just before the game ended.  We still have no idea how he did it.

Once they decided to stop working on the roof, we enjoyed some fun outings.  We went swimming at the hot springs which is usually my favorite part of going to Idaho (besides seeing family, of course).  After coming home, we enjoyed some homemade pizza and ice cream.  We also got to see our oldest niece and nephew who joined us for pizza and ice cream.  We hadn't seen them in about 8 years.  Little A had never even met them and K probably didn't remember them.  Their mom came the next day.  It was soooo good to see them all.  8 years is just insanely too long to not see family.

We bought some fun things at the farmer's market and made tie-dye shirts. There was a lot going on while we were tie-dying. There was sword fighting and rubber band wars. And if you read my blog on facing your fears, you would know my phobia with rubber bands. So, I hid inside.

We decided to grill out at the reservoir for supper.  The kids thought they would wade in the water.  We adults thought they would be crazy.  But they did.  And it was very cold!!  The next day, Seth's older sister and her 2 kids had to leave.  It was so hard to say good bye to them, not knowing when we'd see them again.  My nephew will be heading to boot camp in November and my niece will be starting her senior of high school.

For our last hoorah, we headed up into the mountains and roasted hot dogs and had s'mores.  The kids had fun building dams and bridges in the creek with sticks and exploring the hills close-by...and others that weren't so close-by.  We adults talked and shot guns.  By the end of the evening, I was in 2 sweatshirts, my in-laws were in sweatshirts, and K was in her winter coat and gloves.  Even Rambo was shivering in his sweater.

The next morning, we said a teary good bye to our family and left around 10:30 AM mountain time Monday.  We always take it a little slower getting back.  None of us wanted to leave.  We have been praying to be able to move there but God has not yet opened that door.  It's hard to be patient but we know God's timing is perfect.

With a little mishap of running out of gas, we made it home around 9:30 PM central time Tuesday.  Rambo was sure glad to be home.  He was the only one of us who was happy.

So, here we are, trying to get back into the grove of being home.  It was an excellent vacation, but exhausting.  And my house just isn't as clean as Seth's grandma's.  :)

The mountains of "home".