We made it back to Idaho for the second time this summer…not something we’ll plan on doing every summer, but it worked out that way this year. It’s so fun for me to go “home” to the place I was raised.

What’s funny is the nostalgia that goes with it. Suddenly, I find myself creating a new pandora station for Garth Brooks (I used to love country music but haven’t listened to it for years) and looking up information on the county fair! It’s home and its comfortable and I enjoy it and I look forward to my kids getting to experience it through our visits.

All of my family gathered for a mini-reunion (I refer to it as a mini-reunion because there was absolutely no planning before-hand, we just all planned to be visiting home the same weekend) and it was a blast.

To put it simply; I love my family. I love spending time with them, playing games with them, disagreeing/conversing with them, I love all of it. It seems as though the older we get and the larger our family becomes, the more I enjoy them!

Highlights from our 2nd trip to Idaho:
Tennis matches. We played night tennis and morning tennis. It was fantastic until the heat became too much to handle!

Slip-n-slide. Surprisingly, my kids had never been on a slip-n-slide. What kind of parents are we? Sadly enough it took a while for Hunter to catch on to the function of the slide. And several of the other kids had a hard time remembering to not walk up the slide which resulted in a number of collisions. Fun, nonetheless.

The Goats. I’ve mentioned that I have an insanely animal loving brother. This same brother bought goats during his trip and the kids thought they were the coolest things ever. I’m not sure what my brother plans on doing with his goats but they provided some great entertainment over the weekend.

Frisbee dodgeball. Nothing says I love you like throwing a somewhat firm disc as hard as you can at every member in your family. I love dodgeball! Especially when you have 50 of these bad boys flying around.

The Snowie Machine. Steve and I transported our Snowie machine (my half birthday present) up to Idaho and it was a huge hit. We made snowies at least once everyday, and sometimes even more! When I asked my 8 year old nephew if he would like one the first day we were there, he looked at me suspiciously and replied, “No, I don’t want one. I don’t like ice.” Trust me, if you don’t like ice, you will not like a snowie! The other kids liked them plenty!

Cousins. There is nothing better than cousins your age, a constant friend and playmate. Hallie and Hunter both loved there time with playmates their own age.

We had a great time and enjoyed fleeing the desert heat! I hope to spend many more summers in Idaho!