As many of you probably didn’t know (because I never mentioned it here), we spent last week in Idaho with our friends, the Huffs. Tim and Mike went to dental school together and have remained close since. Just check out the hunting/fishing pictures to see lots of appearances by Tim. Our original plan was to meet up for a cruise sans kids, but with all of us having small children it was just easier to head out to their turf. The last time we got together was actually in D.C. before we even lived here, so we figured it best to head west (hey, that rhymes). In fact, I designed Tim’s website for his dental practice a little over a year ago when he was opening his practice. I hope they don’t mind, but the site address is www.timhuffdds.com. I think I did a pretty good job, if I do say so myself. Maybe this self-promotion will get me some more work. Mike’s been bugging me lately about chippin’ in around here (wink).

Anyway, we arrived into Boise on Saturday after a FULL day of traveling. Surprisingly, the girls were quite well-behaved on both flights. We had a short layover in Minneapolis, so Mike’s dad popped by our gate to see us (he works there, ya know). The girls warmed up to their grandfather within seconds. Annie was glad to have someone new to tell all about her plane ride. We were dead on our feet by the time we got to the Huffs’ home. Tim and Coline had a sweet set up for us to stay and even gave us our own vehicle for the week. The rest of the day was spent just relaxing. The next morning the guys got up at the butt crack of dawn to get in a few hours of fishing. After they got home we headed over to Zoo Boise (yes, that’s what they call it). The kids were thrilled to see so many different animals. I was relieved by the diversity of animals because I had been talking it up to Annie the night before. The facilities also offered a few pit stops for kids which included slides, tunnel fun, a tiger ride, merry-go-round, and junk to eat. However, we were all exhausted by the end of it.

A trip to the water park was how we spent our next day. It was way cool! A whole section of the park was dedicated to little kids with 6-inch deep water, slides galore, water spouting up, down, out from all over. The kids couldn’t get enough. One of Annie’s favorite features was this ginormous bucket of water that poured out every few minutes. A bell would ring right before the spill. Each time it went off a whole gaggle of kids would go running over to it to wait to be splashed with hundreds of gallons of water. Annie never got bored with it. The guys disappeared for awhile to try out some of the big people slides. Oddly enough, I was not tempted to go on any of them. Am I really getting that old?!? Later in the day we took a trip on the “endless river” where each person gets their own tube in which to float. Mike and I each took a girl on our laps, and we drifted for a bit. Both girls were nervous at first but soon realized it could be quite relaxing. Another fun-filled and tiring day down on the books for us.

The Huffs took it upon themselves to plan some other fun stuff for us. We headed up to the mountains for a couple of days and stayed in a cabin in McCall (about a 2 hour drive from Boise). Annie and Mimi got to share a bed, and it was actually a successful set up. Mimi only fell out of the bed once or twice. I think it may be time to get her own bed at home. Of course, the guys got in another day of fishing. Mike and I drove way up into the mountains one of the afternoons. We hiked around and discovered snow. The girls were very pleased. Watching the girls climb up and down rocks was quite fun. Tim and Coline took me up on my offer to do a photo shoot. We found a cool location on a lakeshore with the mountains landscaping the background. Amazingly, I did catch a few moments where both kids were both looking and even sometimes smiling at the camera. I definitely would have loved to have spent a few more days up there, but two days was enough with small children. I was so glad I didn’t have to drive home because I probably would have fell asleep at the wheel.

The last day was for the girls (me and Coline). While the guys were wrestling with 4 kids Coline and I went downtown for lunch, shopping, and pedicures. I was quite surprised at how many cute shops there were to choose from. Some of the major stores were Ann Taylor Loft, Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie (coming soon anyway). After seeing all the fun stuff there is to do in Idaho and how beautiful the mountains are to constantly have in the background, I’m up for moving there for good. Too bad we have four more years before we’re done with the Navy. The Huffs were wonderful hosts and made our stay in the Gem State fabulous. Drew and Ava were absolute cuties and kept our girls busy and entertained. Since we’ve got a while left with the military, we may have to make Idaho a regular place to visit during the next few years. A zillion thanks to Tim, Coline, Drew, and Ava! Feel free to look to at some of the pictures of our different adventures on the memories page under “Idaho – 2007“.

So now we’re back, and I’m getting caught up on all the daily stuff. It’s no fun. Cleaning/unpacking on Monday. Grocery shopping on Tuesday. Dog to the vet today. Like I said, lack of excitement here. However, this weekend brings more merriment. The Evans clan (all seven of them) arrive on Sunday afternoon and will be staying through the week. They, of course, want to visit all the D.C. landmarks and see what our nation’s capital has to offer in the way of fireworks on Independence Day. We’re very excited for their arrival. I’m not going to dare tell the girls about their visit until the day of because I know it’s all I’ll hear about. Plan on tons of pictures. Have a great rest of the week!