We had the best time in Burley for the 4th of July. Rachel invited us down last-minute and we're so glad we made it work. We drove straight to the Albion parade and made it just in time. Call it pregnancy hormones or something else, but as the veterans leading the parade approached with the flag I got emotional. I love this country and feel so blessed to live here; particularly Idaho where there is such pride in God and Country. Following the parade we headed to Chase's house for a pit stop lunch and to change to head out on the boat! Chase took us to Walcott Reservoir; we basically had the lake to ourselves. We weren't sure if his boat would even start but once we got out on the water I got in with the kids with our life jackets. The kids absolutely loved getting pulled behind the boat in the tube. I screamed at Chase to slow down and stop taking the kids across the wakes when I was scared all the turns would throw my kids. They don't have a lot of water experience and I knew if either one fell out and went under with waves crashing in their face afterward realizing he was getting left behind it would cause forever trauma to his little brain. He accommodated my crazy and kept them right behind the boat the rest of the time. Justin and I agree that we are not boat people. It would be the last thing we'd ever spend money on but we had to admit it was a fun day and I can see why people like it...just not us. Ha!
From the lake we drove to Ma's Custard for some delicious ice cream. We ate it in Chase's backyard while he got the burgers ready to grill. We enjoyed hanging out in the backyard until it was dark enough for fireworks. We brought ours down to share so combined with Chase's lot we had a fun little show. At 10:00 the fireworks started on the river. It's so cool that the greenbelt next to the river is literally a couple hundred meters from Chase's house! We veered off to a lone parking lot to avoid the crowd and had a great view. We were absolutely pooped after fireworks and headed straight to bed. We got up as soon as Beckham woke us up the next morning and headed straight home just in time for Justin to catch his 10:00 work call. It was a fast and furious 24 hours!
This weekend we decided to take the kids camping for an overnighter. We were torn on where to go all week and finally decided to risk Wildhorse even though it's really busy these days. We were happy to see it wasn't completely packed once we got there so we had several spots to choose from. I picked a spot out that turned out to be a terrible choice. After unhitching the trailer and unloading a few things we did some exploring and came upon the absolute perfect spot. We got out to explore and discovered it had several access points to the river, shade, and a fantastic view of the mountains. We decided to switch! We hustled back to the trailer, hitched it up, and bolted back praying the whole time someone didn't slip in and steal it in the 20 minutes we were gone. It was still open! Success! Immediately we were so glad we switched. The shade made all the difference and the river! There was so much more to explore and keep the kids engaged. We got briquettes going to cook the tin foil dinners with and relaxed while we waited. They were delicious, though next time I'll be sure to remember ketchup! After dinner it was time to hike to the waterfall. The boys still pick flowers for me and by the end of the hike I had a cute bouquet of wild flowers from their pickings. After the hike it was the perfect time to put Beckham to bed and enjoy a late night with the big kids. I went fishing with Logan which turned into me fishing while Logan threw rocks and played with meal worms. Justin made everyone hot chocolate and read the first of many "The Magic Treehouse" series books and we told stories about camping before putting out the fire and calling it a night.
Saturday morning Beckham blessed us by sleeping until 7:00! At Crystal Springs he only slept until 6:00 so that was lovely. Justin made us French toast and got a fire started outside. By the time I got breakfast cleaned up and kids/myself dressed it was honestly hot already! We decided to throw in our fishing line one more time to test our luck. Once we were done with that we were pretty much ready to go so we hitched up and were headed home by 10:00. It was nice getting home with time to get everything put away, the trailer dumped and parked, and have time to enjoy the day and relax before Sunday.
Between Burley and Wildhorse it was an epic week. The kids keep saying, "Today is the best day ever," with every adventure. I hope they will cherish these memories forever!
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