Oh man. How do I even blog about the 2 most perfect weeks of Summer? We squeezed in SO much in a short time. Sometimes it’s hard to summarize everything fun that you did unless you take it day by day so I think that’s what I’m gonna have to do here.
We overpacked like crazy (I’m so annoyed with myself) and had an early morning flight out of Tulsa on July 18th. We landed in Boise on Thursday afternoon and the first thing we did was go out to my parents yard (the river) and let the kids swim and play after a long day of travel. It’s the only day I took my phone out on the water, so even though we did that more than once I only have 1 set of pictures there. Also that day was the first time I met Colette, AKA "Coco." My heart exploded with love for her. Almost like she was my own baby. I could not put her down; I love her beyond comprehension. She’s literally the sweetest baby in the entire universe. She let me snuggle her forever. Sweet, sweet baby love. I miss her so much already.
Friday Ninny and Baba treated our family to a day floating the Boise river! They rented rafts for us and Baba and Ninny took Piper while Shawn and I took Lucy and Sully down the river. It was so much fun! The icing on the cake was that we floated right behind the BSU stadium while Garth Brooks was doing a sound check for his concert later that night! We heard 3 whole songs while we floated. We were so close to him, without being able to see him. I haven’t floated that river since college so it was fun to get to do it again. And since half of Boise was going to the concert, it wasn’t busy at all! It was such a fun afternoon. Later that night Piper snuck away and pulled her tooth out (I didn't even know it was loose!) and then... S'MORES!
Saturday I woke up and was scrolling through my social media, seeing that a lot of my Boise friends went to the concert the night before and I was so bummed I wasn't there. I LOVE Garth Brooks sooooo so much and he was singing INSIDE the BSU stadium. That’s my school! I wanted to go to his concert more than anything. So, thinking it wasn't going to amount to anything I posted “I know this is a super, super long shot, but do any of my Boise friends have or know of someone selling Garth tix for tonight’s concert?” Well, Tiff saw my post and asked if any of her friends knew of anything and one of her friends did! She had a friend who didn’t want to go anymore, and she was willing to sell her tickets to us for $40 EACH. DO YOU KNOW HOW CHEAP THAT IS??? She paid $260 for her tickets and practically just gave them away! Shawn was not super into going because he was tired and said he would rather wait until Garth comes back to his “hometown” (Tulsa) to see him again. So Ninny suggested I take Coley. Best idea ever.
"Last night was one for the books! Coley and I used to be INSEPARABLE ‘til the Summer we got married and she moved out of the apartment we shared. Girls-night-out with her used to be every weekend and we’ve been to a thousand concerts together so going all these years without it all has been tough for us sisters! But last night was one of the best. I can’t tell you how much we both needed it! Seeing Garth on the Blue with her (even though the turf was covered up), being part of his new Dive Bar music video, running into one of my favorite people on earth (@mrs_boom_g how many times have we been to that stadium before 😂😂) and watching Buster and the cheerleaders present Garth with BSU gear made last night THE BEST NIGHT EVER. I wish I could re-live it all a hundred times."🧡⛰💙#Idahome #GarthBrooksStadiumTour #BSUAlum @ Albertsons Stadium
Sunday we packed up and headed for the Oregon Coast. My Dad rented a 12 person van and drove Lucy, Piper, Tiff, KJ, Jack, Liv, Evvy and him and my mom. Shawn rented a little Toyota RAV4 and we drove alone with Sully. Brittany and Jesse and their 2 baby girls drove in their minivan. So we had 16 people caravanning to Bandon, Oregon. We split the drive in half and stopped in Bend on Sunday night. It’s just under 5 hours away. We ate at Roberto’s (YUM- something I refused to not do while visiting either Boise or Bend) and stayed in a hotel for a night. The next day we walked around Bend for a little bit then met up with everyone for lunch at Cibellis. Their pizza is amazing! It was Jesse’s choice and it did not disappoint :) We drove the second leg (another 5 hours) to the coast and the scenery on the way down was absolutely stunning. It made the drive so much more enjoyable. Just gorgeous! The kids splashed in the cold ocean water that night but no one cared about the temps. It was beautiful and we had finally made it!!
The next day we “hired” Brittany and Jess and took some family photos on the beach in the morning. Those 2 are so talented at what they do! They took amazing pictures! I’m so thankful for them! We just played around in the tide pools the rest of the day and kind of just relaxed. It was heavenly!! Seriously. Before bed we played some heated (hilarious) rounds of Catch Phrase and called it a night.
SNEAK PEEK OF OUR FAMILY PICTURES. These are just the cell phone ones. The REAL ones are really cute :)
Wednesday was Dunes Day. We drove an hour out to the big sand dunes and jump, jumped to our hearts delight. I LOVE the sand dunes. I could stay there for EVER but we had some babies that weren’t too happy so we didn’t last very long. It’s ok though. I’m just glad we got to go! And we got some super cool pics while we were there!
Another thing I want to write about is something really special to Shawn. Bandon has a golf course called Bandon Dunes that is famous. It’s one of the top 20 golf courses in the entire world. It’s very expensive but it’s one that is on his bucket list. Well, it was on my Dad's bucket list too. There is no way Shawn could have afforded to play there, but my Dad said “this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. We HAVE to play there. I will buy you a round of golf.” —> insert jaw drop here <— Shawn was in heaven. Playing at a prestigious course with my dad soars as one of the best days of his life (his words, not mine). They had an 8am Tee Time and were back to the house by 1, which is when we left for the Dunes.
I think Thursday is when we walked all around town and visited the little gift shops? I could have that day wrong, but either way we did that one day. Tiff, Jack and me all bought matching shirts and later that night Tiff and I wore them together while all the girls did face masks and the guys watched Nacho Libre. Since the house that my parents rented was on the beach we could come and go as we pleased. We did tidepools more than once and we also flew kites one day as well. It was exciting! Ninny had a super heavy duty kite that all my kids got to hold and fly! It was awesome!
My parents took us all out to a delicious dinner later that night. The servings were massive! I wish I would have known that before I ordered my pasta dish 
It was SOOO big! Most everyone else had fish n' chips. It was such a delicious place!
Friday was the day we had to drive home. I wish we could have had a few more days there, but the short time we had was incredible. Seriously perfect in every way. I hope to do it again a few more times in my life because it’s just such a magical place. And taking my kids for the first time made it even better. Piper doesn’t care what temperature water is, she can’t stay out of it! Lucy played in the sand most of the time, Sully did water and sand (his dump trucks were a lifesaver!) but Piper was splashing in the waves everyday. And finding things in the tidepools to hold and touch. She’s like me- the beach is our happy place. We all had the time of our lives.
We drove 10 hours that day- straight through. Sully was pretty good, actually. He didn’t have any sisters to bother him so the trip went pretty smooth. My parents had the girls and they apparently were soooo good, but their trip was way longer than ours. Evvy gets car sick and she threw up twice. Lots of stopping to pull over and crying on her end. But I feel so bad for her because she felt awful. My mom said she kept saying sorry to everyone and my heart hurt for her, hearing these things! They took 12 hours to get home and by the time the girls walked in the door at midnight they were done! Brittany and Jesse took about 13-14 hours because Adalae also gets car sick as well and I guess she just projectile vomited over everything! Oregon has lots of windy, twisty roads so it didn’t go well for those 2 girls. Brittany and Jesse said the car seat was just unsavable. It was soaked and they weren't even halfway home. They had to leave it on the side of the road and drive an hour out of the way to a Walmart to buy a new one. I felt so bad for them! We had literally NO drama in our car but everyone else had terrible trips!
Saturday was spent unpacking and bringing the rental cars back to the airport. Shawn and my dad went to golf galaxy and played around a bit. Me and the kids went back down to the river, or ”Riber” as Sully likes to call it. And then later that night Coley, me, my Mom, Tiff and Brittany all had a girls night. We went to Red Robin and ordered a million appetizers and DEVOURED them all We had soooo much food. It was amazing! We had some good laughs and didn’t want the night to end when the food was eaten, so we made our way to Target just for fun. We tried on shoes, we browsed and we laughed a lot. I am so lucky to have those women in my life. They mean so much to me!
Sunday was giant burrito making day and I DIDN'T TAKE ANY PICTURES!!! We made a video instead that I can't upload, dang it! I have never been able to help make their semi-annual burritos so it was fun for me! And so, so good! Everyone came over and we laughed and played and ate ‘til we were too stuffed to move! But then the kids had a water balloon fight and Piper and Sully held some crawfish :) I held Coco as she fell asleep on me and just started bawling. Crying for the fact that her life is going to be different than what's considered "typical", and also because I love her so much and I can’t handle thinking that I won’t get to see her very often while she grows up. There is something so special about her that I just can’t ignore. We have kindred hearts and we have a bond that is is strong, even though I’ve only just met her for the first time this trip. I feel such a strong, sweet connection with that baby girl.
On Monday's agenda was swimming at Nana Raine's new neighborhood pool and seeing her new house. And then later that night Shawn and I had a date night! We got a hotel room and left the kids with Ninny and Baba. Well, Coley had the girls for a few hours so Sully had the full attention of my parents and loved it🤣
Meanwhile, Shawn and I first went to Ahi Sushi (a favorite place we used to eat at when we lived there) and then we went to the Gazebo where Shawn proposed to me, and he played one of our songs while we danced. It was a super sweet idea, but I’m terrified to be dipped and I’m also really bad at twirling😆. So half of the dance we were cracking up. 😂 We’re terrible dancers.
Later that night we went swimming/hot tubbing and then sat on our balcony and watched a tiny thunderstorm play out. After living in Oklahoma, seeing storms in other places are so insignificant! I'm not trying to be mean, but Oklahoma thunderstorms are beyond spectacular.
While we were out exploring Boise, my mom took all 3 of my kids plus Liv and Evvy to Eagle Island State Park to swim. They got snow cones, had a picnic and played HARD. They are so lucky to have a Ninny who was willing to be brave and take all those kids out by herself! Thank goodness Liv is a huge help. **Editing to add that my pictures of my Mom at the park are NOT uploading! I can't get them added :( I have a bunch saved but only 2 will upload!
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| I'm glad this is one that would upload because this is Sully to a T. He is OBSESSED with candy. We have to hide it because he can't control himself when he gets it. Anyway, Ninny snapped this picture and it cracks me up every single time I look at it. |
I’m currently on the airplane headed home. I’m writing this blog while flying so that all the details are fresh in my mind. Shawn’s still hurting but he’s feeling so much better. I’m glad he was able to get in to be seen. I know how debilitating back pain is. I’ve been there!!
When we got home, Piper was SO happy to see her baby, Jolie :)
In conclusion, my kids behaved pretty great both weeks. They had their fights, but for the most part I was so thankful that they did so well. We saw a lot of Tiff’s family (Liv is just the best babysitter and has a heart of gold!), a lot of Jesse’s family (and met baby Emma!) and Coley and her sweet babies! It was a trip where I think I spent the most time with those siblings of mine than any other time I've been to Boise. It just filled my heart to the brim. I know everyone thinks this about their family as well, but I have the best family ever. I am so lucky to call them mine. And Boise, you will always have a piece of my heart. I love you.
I loved reading this! I have to keep reminding myself of my favorite quote, "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." I have been teary since you guys left. So many wonderful fun memories to tuck away in my heart. It was a special time with all of you.
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