Girl's Weekend 2020

 Despite Covid, we made our annual girl's weekend happen again this year and it was just what we all needed. We stayed local and rented a room at the Grove Hotel in downtown Boise. It was filled with late night girl talk where we tried to solve all the problems of the world (haha!), dinner at a restaurant (Fork!) where we only had to worry about eating our own hot plate of food, the best junk food in-between, pedicures and shopping at the Village, a long walk around the greenbelt, and so much laughter. Thankfully this time there weren't any random run-ins with complete strangers in the deserted mountains or almost falling off a waterfall cliff! Good for my sanity's sake. haha 

We even had a fifth wheel tag along and he was the cutest, happiest, most quiet baby I've ever seen! We all took turns snuggling him and getting our baby fix, that sweet little Jamie.

The hotel's hot tub is located just enough floors up that you have a beautiful view overlooking downtown Boise. There was even a terrace up there that was covered in string lights. We picked up Chick-fil-A for dinner one night and ate it up there. 

Our last morning together we we walked to breakfast and took pictures in Freak Alley.

On our greenbelt walk we passed the Boise zoo and saw Melman peeking over the fence. ;)

It was so much fun!! I love these girls; they mean so much to me. I am grateful for their friendship. The best part about it is that no matter how much time goes by between seeing each other, we pick up right where we left off. 

Meanwhile back at home Nic was holding down the fort perfectly. Liam earned his first reading challenge reward and got the lego he had been working so hard for! His face says it all. They ate pizza for every meal and had the best time bonding together!

Then I came home to this and my heart melted ...

It feels good to be missed sometimes and boy did I miss them! 

Boise Aquarium

Hi you guys! I've been organizing and purging like a mad woman today, ya ya is sick with a cold (so sad, poor girlfriend), and I just sat down for the first time for a few minutes and I may not ever get back up again. haha I'm thankful that tomorrow is Friday and am very much looking forward to the weekend with my people. Speaking of weekends ...

We wanted to make last weekend special for Lyla's birthday. With it being on a Sunday this year, we knew we'd have church and kept it to a family party so Saturday we went on an adventure to the Boise Aquarium! It was our first time there and after hearing not the best reviews, I didn't have my hopes too high but knew Lyla would love seeing the fishies no matter what. 

It turned out to be so great!! It may not be the Seattle Aquarium or even the one in Salt Lake that we've been to but it was so much better than other people have described to me. The best part was, Liam and Lyla LOVED it!

The biggest hit were the 4 different touch pools! One was more of a tide pool that had hermit crabs, shells, anemone that when you touch them they shrink down, and sand to play in. You were allowed to touch anything as long as you kept it in the water.  

There were two tide pools with different fish too. If you held your hand still enough they would come up to it and open and close their lips against it. They were all different beautiful colors and textures and neither one of our kids were afraid of touching them which happily surprised me. 

Then there was the string ray touch pool! They'd swim laps around the outside flapping their fins up high enough that you could feel their slimy backs. The kids would giggle and quickly pull their hand away every time it slide over their fins. 

I could not believe the size of that fish in the tank below ...

Literally the only thing that wasn't great about the experience was the building they have it in. It is basically a warehouse with very little windows and light. The dark space made it seem small and closed in and there wasn't a ton of circulation so it got pretty stinky. That's to be expected though with tons of sea life!

Liam loved the little crocodile exhibit! Can you spot him?! His head was the only thing peeking out through the yellow leaves ...

We will definitely be going back for another visit!

Jump Creek Falls

Who knew this magical spot was right here in Marsing, Idaho ... only an hour drive from us!

Jump Creek Falls is less than a quarter mile hike on this simple trail surrounded by majestic rocky cliffs and opens up at then end to this giant waterfall and swimming hole ...

One of my favorite weekend activities we've done so far this summer! I loved that the hike was simple enough even Lyla could do it. Nic still wore her in the baby carrier on the way in to test it but she definitely wanted to do it herself on the way out. I was glad I had us all wear sweatshirts because the cliffs blocked out any direct warmth from the sun and it was a little chilly for a summer hike. Usually a bunch of people are jumping off these cliffs and swimming in the water below but not this day. I was thankful though because it wasn't crowded. 

We went with our friends, the Cardon's, and poor Ephriam gets cold easily. They were in t shirts and shorts and he fell in the water at one point and was shivering like crazy after that. haha We hiked up through this tunnel to get around that big rock to this side of the water but you also had to slide on your bum down the dirt hill to make it to the bottom because it was so steep. Nic and Lyla tried to come and realized they weren't going to fit together through the tiny hole at the end so they turned back around to the entrance and waited for us to come back and meet them. I definitely slipped on this hill and while I wasn't concerned about injuring anything, I was thankful my favorite Lululemon leggings didn't get a hole ripped in them. haha

The kids all took off their shoes and climbed from rock to rock exploring the shallow parts of the water ...

Then they took off and decided they wanted to try hiking another steep hill off to the side. It was incredibly slippery with very little to hold on to so each adult followed closely behind each kid. Liam LOVES this kind of stuff and was far ahead of the rest of us half the time!

Halfway up the steep hill there was a cave off to the side. We originally brought Liam's flashlight with us but accidentally left in the car and he was so bummed. So no one made it very far into that creepy cave without being able to see. haha

We took some family pictures before we left and can't wait to go back again soon. It has definitely made the list of top favorite hikes we've ever been on! 

A summer with friends

Whew, it has been a week, you guys! Lyla has been sick (ear infection) and not sleeping because of it, our bunny required a vet visit for her eye, and my car battery died and left me stranded with two kids and a bunny in the vet parking lot when it was 97 degrees outside. haha Sounds like a reality tv show! They say bad things happen in 3's so I can consider all of mine done at this point, right?! 

On to some more fun times ...

We have made some of the best friends since moving here, we feel so lucky! I think it is one of the biggest reasons this summer has been so magical! Every day there is something exciting to do or see with friends to come along and experience it with us. Liam has had play dates with his friend, Everett. We'll trade houses back and forth and they are so cute together! They have so many of the same interests and similar personalities so they get along great! Both in love with two different super heroes and ready to save the day!

They also love being outside together! We've done this activity a ton this summer where you freeze things in ice and "excavate" them ...

And it is ALWAYS a good time when Hadley comes to visit us! Make new friends but keep the old! Adding to their engagement picture collection <3 p="">

Our newest best friends, the Cardon family! Lauren and I hit it off right from the start and have spent so many of our summer days together with our kids ever since. She has a daughter about 6 months older than Liam named Avaree, twin boys who are 3 and one of them shares the same name as Liam! The other twin is Ephriam and their littlest guy is 9 month old baby Griffin. I love their family so much! We have play dates in each other's backyards ...

We've been to just about every park in town! This particular day we went to the Village one and were lucky we made it home without one of our kids getting a disease from geese poop or from falling in the pond! haha

Lyla loves Avaree! She calls her "Ree Ree" and it is so adorable! Avaree is so patient with her.
It was a slower start for the boys because Liam and Ephriam were used to playing with each other but now these three are always together ... sometimes teasing each other and sometimes getting along just like best friends!

He has become quite the climber this summer!

We watched the Meridian Dairy Days Parade together and the kids collected enough candy to last for weeks! Lyla loved dancing to all of the floats that had music.

We visited the Nature Center and Lauren showed us this amazing little den that a momma deer kept her babies a few summers back. Walking by, you'd never even know it was there without pulling back some of the bushes! The kids went inside to investigate ...

There is the perfect park right next door that

Making cute fishy sounds!

Over this bridge there were 7 ft long, 100 year old sturgeon in the water below! Absolutely shocked me when we spotted one because they looked like sharks!

I can not believe how big my girl is this summer! Just last summer she was going down her first slide in my lap and this summer she was to do everything on the playground all by herself.

I learned a lot from the man who's kids are playing in the sandbox with ours ... he came to the park with his 2 kids and about 7 buckets and shovels in hands to share. I could tell his kids had become incredible communicates and sharers because of his generosity he was teaching them. I want to pay it for, to be that kind of mom, and to never show up at a park, pool, etc. without enough toys to go around for everyone. I want Liam and Lyla to grow up knowing sharing whatever you has with others not only blesses their lives but blesses your own. You have more love for God's children and a Christlike generous heart. Thankful for that dad's wisdom and kindness!!

One Saturday we crammed in our first annual neighborhood bbq (met so many sweet neighbors that we've had play dates with since ... like an Albanian couple who have two little kids!), wen to the water park with the Southworth's while they were in town, and had a spontaneous girls' shopping night at the Village since Dani was in town running a spartan race! I missed these girls so much!!

Just after they went down this slide together!

I love this picture so much because it looks like Liam is carrying Hadley! haha They are the cutest and so is Rilynn!

Mickenzie is one of my best friends from Pocatello and I miss her so much! Thankful she has family she comes to visit here and she makes time to see me when she does!

Wildly steering this plane at the Children's Museum with her best friend Roey!

Visiting the Watershed and being blown away by all they had to offer for kids and for FREE! They had an entire outdoor complex with water spickets you could turn on and off, a little river to splash in, an area where you could build log teepees, a section you could learn how to weave, and so much more! Inside they had a mini library with books, a fish tank, games, puzzles, microscope slides, stuffed animals, coloring, etc. and an entire museum that taught kids all about how water is recycled in our homes and atmosphere. It was incredible! Lyla loved the virtual reality water/land sandbox!

Testing out the spickets ...

Liam has been into this show called 'Brave Wilderness' lately and learned all about black widow spiders on it so when we came across this metal statue, he was like, "Look mom! They have a black widow spider! Take our picture by it so we can show dad!" haha

The little river to splash in ... they even had river rocks, boats, animals, and other toys to play with in it! Like I said, amazing and Lauren and I could not believe it was all free!

Settler's Park! It is such a fun one but we haven't gone there a ton this summer (only once with Lauren and once with Everett and his mom) because it is so crowded! A lot of day cares or day camps show up there and it quickly becomes overwhelming in a sea of colored t shirts. The kids love it though and they even traded out their old dinosaur rocker for this new space ship one that fits two kids!

Other summer adventures include trips to every splash pad and play ground in town, weekly dates to different libraries, our first swimming lessons, snow cones, as many trips to the water park as possible, splashing in our backyard pool, and very little time spent practicing anything related to school (oops! haha)! A summer with friends is the best kind!!