Idaho Trip: Jerome County Fair

One of my favorite memories as a child was going to the Twin Falls County Fair. Since we've had children, I've always wanted to take them, but we are never in town at the right time.  I got smart during this trip and did a little research to see if any other counties were having their fair.  Lo and behold, Jerome County was!  So we decided to check it out and we convinced Amy to meet us there.

I saw a 4-H dog show on the schedule and thought the boys might enjoy that.  It was....um...very...cute, and small-ish.  The "show" consisted of about 5 kids walking their mutts around a 20 foot square.  Most of the dogs weren't exactly on their best behavior, and some of those poor kids had no idea what they were doing.  (Although, I saw even more frustration with the poor kids in the arena next door trying to get their big bulls to obey!)

But the boys enjoyed it for a little while and mainly just liked being with Grandma Lori.

And Aunt Lauren, although I'm not sure she was enjoying getting her hair pulled!!

We let the cousins check out the big slide

and then headed to the animal stables.

Wesley LOVED the horses!

Caleb and Grandma got up close and personal with the sheep.

It was a great Western kind of day!

Idaho Trip: Day in Hailey

From Boise, we drove to Hailey -- near Sun Valley, Idaho -- to visit my sister Kamie and her family.

 The boys had so much fun playing in the pond.  Dillon caught lots of salamanders,

 ...and Wesley got lots of snails!

 Little cousin Avery is such a cutie and has such a fun little personality.

 The neighbors have a horse and we couldn't resist saying hello.

 especially Wesley :)

 He was even more thrilled when Aunt Kamie's friend showed up with her dogs.  Wesley was in heaven!  He kept calling them his friends and is still talking about them!

It was so fun just to be with the cousins and see their new home.

 And my sister is quite the hostess. She gave up her own bed for us to sleep in and she slaved away making this super cute Olympic cake.  Isn't she amazing?!

Thanks for all the fun Berkeys!!!

Idaho Trip: Day in Boise

We drove up to Boise for a quick day with Amy's fam.  The cousins had so much fun together and could have just stayed in the whole day, playing with trains and cars.

Despite the HOT HOT weather, we ventured out to the park and then hurried home to cool off with popsicles.

Caleb warmed up to Amy Jo so fast -- it was amazing! I wish I had a better picture of them, but just know these two were really cute together.

Popsicles didn't quite do the trick, so we pulled out the sprinkler to put under the tramp.

Now THAT's fun!

Then we met up with our daddies for dinner at Red Robin.

Caleb warmed right up to Shane too!  I don't know what it is with those Tuckers!! I guess they're kind of fun!!!!

We were ok saying goodbye, 'cause we'd see them in a few days. We hurried to hit the road to Sun Valley/Hailey...

Idaho Trip: Grandma Lori and Grandpa Chandler

The highlight of every trip is always being with the grandparents.  We're lucky to have both sets in the same town so we can get our fill of Hobbs and Chandlers.  Here are some fun pics at the Chandler home.

This grandpa earned major points when he surprised everyone with this:

Stay tuned...

Don and Lori, we love you!  Thanks for everything!

Idaho Trip: Time with G & G Hobbs

Twenty-three hours in the car is no fun. We do it straight through the night.  I like to think of it as ripping off the bandaide -- just get it done! The boys were really troopers and slept well through the night.  They also took a nice nap the last couple hours of the trip!

When we pulled in, one of the first stops was Grandpa's Garden. He's done a pretty great job with it this year. Go Dad! Wesley had lots of fun with the water and ended up getting soaked head to toe.

And then a picnic dinner.  What a great way to start our week!

 There was lots of fun with Grandpa,

 including mowing the lawn.

 And the boys had so much fun reading with Grandma.  I love that my mom always takes time to do that with my children.  The favorite was "The Bears Vacation"

 Fun at their house wouldn't have been complete without a campfire out back.

Thanks for your hospitality Mom and Dad.  Wish we could have stayed forever!

And a special thanks to my dad for saving our sweet little Wes during a scary choking moment.  Those two were already bonded, but this just sealed the deal.  I love seeing those two buddies together.  Wish I would've gotten a good pic of them side by side.  I was too busy enjoying!

Life Saver Lauren

While I was off doing this...

 ...this girl saved the day by flying in for the second half of Girls Camp to help take care of my boys. 

THANK YOU LAUREN!

When I got back we made sure to play while she was in town.  First stop, Rascal Flatts in concert!

 This brother/sister combo were so funny together.

 I think I was as entertained by them as I was by these guys.

Lots more fun as the week progressed at the pool,

at the zoo,

on the train to the city,

 (check out the couple behind us, do you think he's about to lay one on her?)

and Pirates Cove.

So much fun! She edured lots of hot Chicago days and then the 23 hour drive home!

 What a trooper!

Thank you so much for coming Lauren.  You were a life saver and climbed pretty high on the favorite aunt ladder!  LOVE YOU!

Stay tuned for more on that awesome 23 hour drive!!!