July in Idaho, El Fin

As the day of my niece's wedding approached, other out-of-town family members started to pour in.  2 of my brothers rode in on their chariots and Kitty was able to take her very first motorcycle ride.  She was nervous at first but came back hyped about how much fun she had. I went for a ride on my brother's Indian and all I could manage to utter was, "Holy crap, I'm gonna die!"  I've never been on a bike with so much power.  We zipped through the summer air and it was equal parts exhilarating and terrifying.

But then we had to get down to business; wedding business.  Have you ever put on a wedding luncheon?  There's only one word for it: work.  There was ironing galore, food prep galore, and quality time together galore.  This is what we do for family...we show up and we work.  And then we eat.

On the morning of the wedding we all gathered at the temple and were promptly politely asked to stop talking so loudly.  That's another thing we do.  I loved sitting in the waiting area with my siblings that I don't get to see often enough.  It was especially sweet to be in the temple with them.

Do you want to know the crazy thing that happened next?  

My niece was married.  I couldn't wrap my brain around it.  I sat there looking into her face and her entire life swirled through my mind.  She's been an integral part of my world since her birth.  For all of the heartbreaking years that I didn't have a child of my own, she and her siblings were like my children.  I certainly bossed them around as much as their own mother did.  Sleepovers at my house, summers spent at their house, milestones of life, I was present for all of it.  And now here I was, sitting in a sealing room in the temple, watching her join her life with someone else, making the transition to wife.

And that's when I started sobbing.  It wasn't just a little tear trickling down my face, it was full on ugly-crying.  They weren't tears of sadness.  They were tears of disbelief, wonderment at how fleeting the years are, and then tears of incredible joy that I've had a front-row seat to her life.

After the ordinance, we stood outside the temple waiting for the couple to emerge, and my thoughts jumped again to Kate as a child, to those precious and vanished years.  I yearned just a bit for the child-Kate to emerge from the temple.  But that's not who walked through those exit doors.  

Mrs. Green did.    

It was just as it should be.

So what did we do next?

We celebrated.  And we ate enough carnitas and chocolate cake to stuff a horse.

And then we went on a sibling bike ride to close out the day.

It was just as it should be.             

July in Idaho, Part 3

Sheesh!  You're still in Idaho?

Why, yes.  Yes, I am.  

Even though Kitty and I had plenty of time to gallivant with cousins, we also had quite a few days where we were on our own to make up adventures with my folks.  Don't worry, we worked it out.  We filled our time with things like:

Taking The Potato to get snow cones.  The Potato is my parent's dog, Pepper.  She's pleasantly plump and shaped exactly like a potato.  She also walks to the Sno Shack at a turtle's pace.  BUT! The Sno Shack now has sugar-free snow cones that taste nearly identical to the originals.  It was totally worth the slow trot in the desert sun to get there.

We made slime, exploding soap, and tried other sciencey experiments that we found in a book we picked up at a Little Free Library while on an evening walk.  Some worked well, others were duds.

We bought a boomerang and tried to make it come back to us.  It didn't.  Not once.  Those Australians are full of crap.

Kitty found a new reading spot.

And made her own Ninja Warrior course out of it when she wasn't reading.

We enjoyed quiet evenings watching art restoration videos.

Well...some of us enjoyed the videos.

And I ate one of the best steaks of my life.

But perhaps my favorite activity was when we ventured out to the Butterfly Haven.  It was located in the middle of nowhere among farmland, so I was expecting a podunk outfit with a modest number of butterflies.  Boy, was I wrong!  It was amazingly beautiful with thousands of butterflies fluttering around.  We saw eggs, baby caterpillars, fat caterpillars, chrysalises, the entire life cycle of butterflies.  The man in charge even let us hold a butterfly since he was releasing a new batch of monarchs into the enclosure.  Kitty was able to feed the quails that were running around and it truly was a magical outing.  To top it off, we had lunch at a Mexican restaurant that serves the best Pollo Asada you will ever eat.  I hadn't been there in at least 10 years and it was divine. If you ever find yourself in the middle of nowhere in Southeastern Idaho looking for something to do, go to the Butterfly Haven.  And then eat Pollo Asada.  Or the Pollo Con Crema.  Either one will change your life.

We also went to the museum to learn all about Genghis Khan but I failed to document that.  I was too engrossed in the exhibit. That guy was wild!

All in all, I'd say we did a mighty fine job keeping ourselves entertained!        

July in Idaho, Part 2

One of my favorite things about being in Idaho is watching Kitty play with her cousins.  We had plenty of cousin time during our stay and it was stupendous!

Kitty engaged in activities galore.  Things like:

Cuddling the newest cousin to join our mob. She's absolutely adorable.

Attending an art camp and creating an impressive frog on a metal sheet. 

Going to the movies.

Going to the splash pad.

Helping a younger cousin study for a Kindergarten test.

Painting rocks that we gathered in the searing sun and had to carry in our shirts after our chintzy grocery sack broke.

And perhaps best of all...getting to go to Lagoon amusement park!  My brother and his wife generously invited Kitty to join them and she had an amazing time.  As a bonus, they helped her to be brave enough to try the rides that scared her.  Score!

Aw, yes.  Cousin time really is the cat's meow.

Just ask Kitty.  

July in Idaho, part 1

We always spend 4th of July in Idaho.  It's just what we do.  This year we ended up spending ALL of July in Idaho due to my niece getting married at the end of the month.  You see, I have a thing about making 2 trips...I refuse to do it.  This is the precise reason why I pile all 43 sacks of groceries onto my arms at once before taking them into the house - I'm a 1 trip pony.

When my niece set her wedding date for July 26th in Idaho, I knew I'd be staying well past our normal travel window rather than make 2 trips.  And that was alright by me.  I was excited to spend an entire month in Idaho with my family.  

It turned out to be a pretty nice time.  The only downside was that Mykey returned to TN after only a week, and the ensuing 3 weeks apart were lonely.  That's a long time to be without the guy I love.  But we made it and we also made a lot of memories along the way.

Starting with our flight.  Kitty traveled in style and wasn't the least bit interested in conversation during our layover.  Nothing but a screen for that girl!

Once we safely arrived in Idaho, we did all of the things that we go to Idaho to do.  

Like watching a Chukars baseball game. They had to arrive early to score free t-shirts but it was worth it. Kitty conned my dad into buying her some cotton candy AND ice cream in a little plastic batting helmet.  Talk about a generous grandpa.

We also went to the Menan parade and fireworks.  Big disappointment this year with the parade.  Usually it begins near my mother-in-law's house but this year it ended near her house.  We sat in the hot sun for half an hour waiting for the parade and by the time it arrived, there was no candy for us.  You can bet I won't be attending THAT parade again next year.  

But the fireworks were great and Kitty and I made the world's longest licorice chain.  We also set off our own fireworks the next night.    

We also had a mandatory BBQ in my parent's backyard but it started to rain!  We were forced to make S'mores over the grill's leftover coals.  

And then, perhaps the most important event of all, Lava Day!  I wait all year for Lava day.  I love it!

Lava was extra-exciting this year because they wouldn't let anyone stake down their sun-shades and umbrellas.  A big gust of wind sent a plethora of shades sailing through the sky.  One of my mama's umbrellas was destroyed.  We were mostly lucky that no one was injured.  It was craziness!

And then it was time for Mykey to depart.  What he doesn't know is that's when the real fun began.

I'll tell you all about it next time!