Spring Break in Idaho

We decided to head to Idaho for Spring Break to see my parents.  We hadn't been there for about a year and a half, and the kids kept asking when we would go see Grandma and Grandpa Ricks.  They love going to their house.  They love seeing their grandparents and also I think they love being in the country and enjoying the 3 acres to roam. 

So, Friday, March 19th, we checked the kids out early and got on our way about 1:30pm.  When we left Tennessee, it was a beautiful and sunny 72 degrees.  We had a pleasant drive that evening.  We even enjoyed a stunning sunset and a good dinner at Cracker Barrel.  We drove until about 10:00pm and stopped for the night just outside Kansas City, Missouri.

To our great surprise, the next morning when we got up, this is what we found:

It was cold and snowing!  It was such a difference from the night before.  There were a few inches of snow on the ground and it was icy.  You can see the icicles hanging off our license plate.

Eric drove for the first few hours that morning until we got through the worst of the snow.  We saw car after car after car off the road as we drove.  Finally, I told Eric, "I'm going to a picture of the next car we see off the road."  It probably wasn't 15 minutes and I had the following 3 pictures:

There were cars off the road everywhere!

Here is some of the roadside scenery we saw as we drove:

So much for SPRING Break!

When we finally made it up to I-80 and into Nebraska a bit, the snowing slowly stopped and the roads were clear, but we still hit patches of ice and blowing snow occasionally even into Wyoming.  Saturday night, we enjoyed a nice dinner at Applebees and again stopped around 10:00pm.  This time making it to Cheyenne, Wyoming for the night.

A few things we saw in Nebraska:

There were so many windmills in Nebraska and Wyoming.  I tried and tried to get a picture of the vastness of them while we were driving, but just couldn't get the right angle so you could see how many there really are.

As we went through the canyon connecting Wyoming to Utah, we saw something we haven't seen in awhile:  Snow-capped mountains

After a good breakfast at the hotel, we headed out Sunday morning and finally arrived in Burley, Idaho about 6pm Sunday evening to a delicious meal of ham and twice-baked potatoes and a full spread.  My kids said grandma's baked potatoes are so much creamier than our mashed potatoes...I guess they'd never had twice-baked potatoes before...(you know they are actually whipped/mashed first and then put back in the skins)!  I had to explain that to them!  It was pretty funny!

Sunday evening, we discovered our list of jobs.  My dad had made a list of things they would like our help with if we felt so inclined.  So, Eric and the kids got started Monday morning.  After helping my mom clean up breakfast, us girls headed out to help too. 

Eric pruning the fruit trees.  My dad loved having Eric as his working buddy. :)

The kids helping pick up branches, Alex likes "using" the pruning sheers

More pruning: there was a pile of branches this big under each pine tree

After we got them all in a BIG pile, we figured we were never going to get them all to the other side of the shop, so I suggested stacking them in the pick-up.  My dad had a better idea...wrap a chain around the branches and drag them over.  Eric got to ride the branches over. 

Here Eric's giving the "hang loose" sign as if he is surfing.  I guess this is the closest thing to surfing in Idaho

The kids were tasked to catch 2 baby lambs that needed rubber bands on their tails.  The lambs were much faster than they expected.  Here they are closing in hoping to corner them in the far corner.  What they didn't expect was the sheep to bolt as soon as they were cornered.  As it turned out, one of the lambs that they were trying to catch got through the fence once it was cornered and went running free.  After some chasing, Hero Eric saved the day and caught the runaway lamb. :)

Here all the kids are petting the little lamb

Here, Eric was surprised when Austin came and sat right on his lap.  The mysterious cut-off head in the front of the picture is Alex who didn't want to be part of the picture, but was still very interested in the lamb.

After the kids were done petting and playing, they put the band on and it was time to catch the other lamb.  Once again, they cornered and we thought they were going to lose it, but my dad caught the lamb just as it was bolting.  Even at age 63 with bad knees, he can still catch those lambs.  In the picture, the kids are watching with interest as the rubber band was placed on the tail.  I am glad that my kids get to experience life in the country sometimes.  It's good for them.  

The second lamb was a boy which means there was one additional band to be placed.  Alex thought it inappropriate for the girls to watch and sent them away.

Mission accomplished

Poor Abby was sick most of the time we were there.

One of the kid's favorite things to do is swing on the tire swing.  They all spent a lot of time on the tire swing and swing set.  Even though it was windy and a bit cold, that didn't stop them.  This is Jarem with cousins Ashlyn and Austin having a good time.

Here the girls are taking a turn: Tessa and Jesikah with their cousin Hayley

Worried about hitting the bar

Our nephew Jayden enjoying another swing.  My sister, Candace, and her kids came to Burley to see us and stay while we were there.  It was a lot of fun having them there.  It's been a long time since we've lived closeby and our kids match up in age pretty well.  Also, we were able to spend time with my brother, Mike, and MJ & their kids Austin & Abby.  They are building a new house just down the street from my parents.  Eric and my dad spent a few late nights helping Mike finish the electrical.  Jesikah was a little sad at first that Abby was all grown up.  She was just little last time we saw them.  She still had fun with Abby though even though she isn't a baby anymore.

Mom cooked a delicious hot breakfast for us each morning.  These are scones...one of our family favorites.  We ate them with honey and butter...mmmm!  Some of the other things we had were whole wheat pancakes with apple syrup, raspberry almond crepes, eggs and bacon, oatmeal bar with all kinds of toppings for oatmeal.  My mom cooked a hot breakfast for us every morning when we were growing up, and it's still fun to enjoy a delicious breakfast as a family.  We also had a smoothie each day around lunch time.  The kids waited and looked forward to that each day. Each of us took a night to cook dinner, and we enjoyed some good dinners as well.  We also got treated to mexican one night too.

Alex got teased a lot about his "locks" in the back of his hair.  His hair was longer than it's ever been and he desperately needed a haircut.  This particularly day he decided to just slick in all back, so I nicknamed him "Slick".  Alex was very nice and helpful.  He enjoys doing yardwork.

One morning, we spent about a half a day cleaning up my Grandma Dayley's yard.  She is 96 years old.  It was a good service project for the kids to help her.  She treated them all afterwards.  I hope they all remember her after she is gone.  Amidst our work, we got some playing in too.  We spent a beautiful afternoon at the park.  Thursday we spent the day cooking and making desserts because it was miserable outside.  Candace made a banana cream pie, Eric & I made lemon meringue, and Mom made green mint squares.  Dad helped make the potato salad and mint squares too.  My mom gave each of the kids a special Easter present and they spent a lot of the day playing with their new toys.

I think Eric and I's highlight of our week was being able to go to the Twin Falls Temple with my sister, Candace and her husband, Aaron Friday afternoon.  We attended a session together and then were able to spend some time with my parents in the baptistry where they were working that night.  It was a neat experience being with my family in the temple.  Many thanks to Mary Jane for watching all the kids.

The worst thing about the week was me being sick.  I had been sick for about 3 weeks before I came. I finished a 5-day z-pac while on the trip there and was hoping to be cleared up. I had started to feel better but then suddenly got worse before we even got there. I was able to stay medicated during the day and feel pretty good, but the nights were miserable. I just couldn't breathe at night and I was constantly having to get up and blow my nose or change positions or drink water because the decongestants dried me out. I couldn't smell or taste most of the week either, which was a bummer with all the good food.  By Wednesday night I was feeling a lot worse and I had a fever too. I knew I needed more antibiotics, because it had clearly turned into a sinus infection.  Eric took me into the ER that night and I was able to get a new prescription of antibiotics.  This time for 14 days.  As early as the next morning, I felt better, and I continued to get better after that. 

We left Saturday morning for the long drive home.  It took us 26 hours to get home.  We drove straight through only stopping for gas and bathroom breaks.  Eric took the worst shift from 9pm-3am.  By 3am, I had enough rest that I was able to drive enough that he got some sleep.  It was nice to have the trip done quicker, but we were worn out by the time we got home Sunday about noon.

We had a good week, and we appreciate Mom and Dad having us, feeding us, and keeping us entertained.  I'm glad we were able to go.