We recently returned from a very fun, lots of sunshine vacation. Who would want to come home after all that? We certainly didn't.

We drove to Yakima to see Mike & Carolyn and family. It was so fun to see all of you, thanks for letting us stop by. Kaden was definitely having so much fun playing with Halle and Cole that he didn't want to get back in the car for another 90 minutes. But we made it, thank goodness! Before leaving to Idaho the next day, we got to see Kristin and just hang out with my family. It's always good to go home and just be.

The drive to Idaho was nice...and LONG. Everything takes longer with kids, so we were in the car for nine hours, when it should have only taken seven. Lyndsey let us borrow her portable DVD player, which was such a lifesaver! Kaden would have been driving us crazy.

We went to Redfish Lake on Friday after Tyler, Jeff and Rick went mountain biking. Here is my honey showing off...err, I mean, I don't know what he's doing actually. I saw this picture and I just busted up laughing. I think it's just his way of taking a cool picture. It just reminds me of those hard-core mountain bikers...and he is just so NOT that hard-core. Anyway it makes me smile.

Then we were off to Redfish Lake. It is such a fun place. The water is shallow for 50 yards or so, and so it's fairly warm for being a mountain lake at 6,000 feet elevation. The sand is so fun for the kids to play in, the men take their snorkels and try to find fish or something out in the water. Grandpa brought his boat tube this year, so that was way fun for all the grandkids to play with in the water.

Jaren and Grandma in the tube. See the mountains in the background?

The water is shallow clear out to the floating dock in the background.

Kaden and Dawson were both old enough this year that they could play together, understand each other's language, and have fun! Tyler sat a piece of cheese that got dropped on a stump for some animal to come and take. They both sat and watched for the longest time. I don't think they sat still for longer at any other time during the whole weekend. The next morning, the cheese was gone! I don't know what wisdom Kaden was sharing in this picture, but I wish he would share some of it with me!

Dawson talking on his "phone." It's a rock, and he was walking around talking on it. So cute!

Daddy and the boys in the hammock.

One of the many forest fires we saw smoke from. Our camp was close enough that ash was falling on our tent the entire weekend. I kept hoping that we wouldn't have to evacuate, and Michelle had a nightmare that we had to. We didn't have to, thankfully. Driving home between Boise and Tri-Cities we saw at least ten plumes of smoke from fires. Crazy how dry it is this year.

Daddy and Kaden at Kirkham Hot Springs. The hot springs just bubble right out of the side of the mountain and runs over the edge of the rocks. Then the water mixes right with the river(it's behind the camera in this shot) so if you find the right place, the water is perfect. The river is actually freezing cold. It's a fun little place, except there is no shade. Jaren and I stayed at camp while Tyler and Kaden went. Kaden had fun throwing rocks in the river and playing in the warm water.

I love this picture of Jaren!

We went swimming at Grandpa's pool on Monday before we came home. Jaren just loved it. Kaden did too, before we left. He got out at one point and took a break, then asked to go back in of his own free will. That was a total, complete shock. He loves baths, but any body of water bigger than a bathtub just scares him at first. I'm glad that he went back in and had fun.

A few hours before we headed back home, Tyler asked me,

"So what time do you want to leave?"

I replied, "Around five or so. What do you think?"

"I just don't want to go back," he said.

The funny thing is, I felt the same way. Driving through Oregon I kept thinking to myself how it was weird that we had to come back to our apartment. And I didn't want to! This trip was an eye-opener for us. We realized we don't want to live in the city. We already knew that before we moved up here. But we have become used to it. Now with leaving and then coming back, we realize how much more we want to live in the country, have room to breathe and live and just be our little family without neighbors ten feet away. It feels so confining being back. I just want to be able to do whatever I want in our home and outside of it(don't worry, nothing bad) without worrying about other people looking on or watching. Maybe I shouldn't worry about that now; should I really care what other people are thinking? Anyway.

Kaden is hilarious. We were driving through Boise and I noticed a banner next to a little airport that was advertising for skydiving. So I said, "oh, you could go skydiving there." Kaden looked at me and repeated, "skydiv-ey?" I said, "yep, that's when people jump out of airplanes." Then he looked really confused. "It's crazy, huh?" and he said with raised eyebrows, "yeah, big owie." Haha, it was so funny. We had such an amazing vacation. It was so fun to see family and friends. I only wish I could have gone to Kari's wedding as well. I saw pictures and everything looked gorgeous. I love her dress, and the desserts looked so yummy! They look so happy together.

Nicole forgot about the most important part of the trip. The reason we go to Stanley is for the Idaho State Bowhunters Jamboree. It has been a tradition in my family for the guys to go to the archery shoot every year since I was a little kid. The last couple of years it has changed from a "guy" tradition to a "family" tradition because it is such a fun place to camp at. And the girls get to go to the arts and crafts fair while we are shooting our bows.