Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Idaho

I had a great time visiting my family.  It’s always nice to be home.  Now that I’ve experienced mild weather, I don’t want to live in Idaho, but I do wish my family would move close to me.  No one is taking the bait.

The weather was hot.  It was perfect for swimming and sweating.  I felt like I needed to burn my clothes once I returned home.  I spent a lot of time sweating.  Thankfully my parents have central air.  A few highlights:

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Firekracker 5k on the 4th of July.  I ran it with my favorite attorney, Michael.  We became friends in 9th grade when he let me cheat off of his Geometry homework.  (I still blame him for not knowing Geometry.)  We’ve experienced a lot together and he’s one of the constants in my life.  He’s a feisty S.O.B. and I love him dearly.   

We forgot to get our picture taken before the race so this is a selfie in front of my sister’s house once we finished.  It was a fun time.  We averaged a nice pace and had a great conversation during the run.  I was sad it was only 3 miles because I wanted to keep chatting.  There’s something really nice about being with old friends.  It’s comforting.   

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After the race we stayed for the parade.  It was really hot, people kept standing in front of us, and the candy was crap.  I had a great time anyway. 

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So did Eva.

My sister, Chris has a cotton candy machine.  It’s been a weird obsession of hers for a long time.  In a grand, romantic act, her husband bought her one.  Now he regrets it.  But I sure don’t!

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I was pretty sick of cotton candy by the time I left.                                    

 

We made the journey to Lava Hot Springs, the best swimming establishment in all of Southeast Idaho.  I spent the day eating and bossing kids around.  Pretty much my ideal day.  They had a new kiddie section this year that Eva loved.  She must have gone down the slide a hundred times.  Thankfully it was indoors and the water was heated so I didn’t mind standing there.

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This might seem weird but I like sitting on Chris.  I used to sit on her lap during Drama class in high school.  It was way better than a chair.  Still is.

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My dad had friends visiting from Norway so we went to Yellowstone.  It was hot and a bit crowded but we saw a lot of animals and had a great time.  We went on a little nature hike at the Yellowstone Grand Canyon and it started pouring rain.  Before we went my dad offered umbrellas when he saw the clouds rolling in but we all told him it was a dumb idea because it was so hot and sunny.  Turns out you should always listen to your father.

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We had a fire in the backyard of my parents’ house where I gorged myself on a million S’mores.  I have an obsession with S’mores and eat them until I’m sick.  They are one of life’s wonderful pleasures.

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And then a BBQ at Chris’ house where Eva discovered the neighbor’s sprinkler.

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My sister, Camilla did a Triathlon while we were there.  It was a lot of fun to watch and cheer her on but I would never do that sport.  Mostly because I swim like a horse and have a dislike for bicycles other than my cruiser.  She did a magnificent job and I was really impressed with her athleticism.  I do not appreciate, however, that I went running with her a few times and she made me increase my pace. 

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And then it was time to drive home.  I filled my car with lots of gems; a case of Head Country BBQ sauce, a table and chairs for Eva that my mom restored, (it belonged to my dad when he was a child), treasures from my Grandpa’s house, and my niece.  I was so grateful she was with me.  She handed me fries while I drove, took care of Eva, and told me secrets about her brothers.  It was awesome!

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WP_20140714_003                                            This is at a gas station in Pendleton.                        

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This is my niece.  She’s only 12 but excellent company.

Sigh.  I wish I could have stayed all summer.  It was hard to come home. 

1 comment:

  1. This made me miss you so much! Wanna' come hang out at my house for another week? ;) Love you!

    ReplyDelete