A Trip Up North

Last week, I made a last-minute decision to get the heck out of Boise and take the kids for a visit to see Dana, Veronica, and Easton. I needed a road-trip with my kids, a visit with my brother, and some fresh air to clear my mind of people who have nothing better to do with their time than sit around and play mind games. It's nauseating, tiring, and frankly, pathetic. And a visit to the fresh, northern Idaho air was just what the doctor ordered. The kids did great with the ride, though we were set back on Whitebird due to a terrible accident, and we made good time. 

 

 

Friday evening was spent with a pizza dinner, followed by drinking and games after the kids were in bed. Followed by more drinking, therapeutic cleansing of the mind (also known as a crazy amount of shit-talking, one hell of a pissed off brother, and laughter), and more drinking. It was a crazy night, and one that I will remember forever simply because of the advice and pep-talk from Dana and Veronica.

I can laugh about the entire situation now simply because I see it for what it truly was, and am truly grateful to be removed from the.....shitstorm? Yes, that's what we'll call it. Having a guy's take on the complete lines of bullshit I had been fed for years was something I needed to hear, and I'm thankful to my brother for this.

 

 

 

 

We had already decided that Saturday morning would be spent hiking in the mountains of Coeur d'Alene. Since Easton wakes up so early, all of that drinking from the night before suddenly didn't seem like the greatest of ideas. Were we still drunk? We had a big breakfast and slowly got ourselves and the kiddos ready to head out the door. A couple of hours later, we were finally at the mountain base for our hike. I knew it was a strenuous hike and I was prepared for it. I wasn't, however, prepared for carrying Kendall virtually the whole way up the mountain, and back down. She wasn't into the hike at all and wanted to be carried. Even walking on the flatter portions of the trail was NOT her cup of tea. She kept telling me "mommy, this is hard" or "my legs hurt". She cried every time I made her walk. It turned a strenuous hike into an impossible one, but I stuck with it. There was even an older gentleman with his wife, who commended me as a "super mom" - taking his hat off and bowing to me. Rather funny, but I was exhausted!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were all exhausted, actually, and everyone in the house took a 3.5 hour nap. After the nap, Veronica made us dinner and then we headed to downtown Coeur d'Alene to check out a new park. The kids had a great time running all over the place. We attempted to watch a movie (Due Date, one of our favorites) after the kids went to bed, but I think all of the physical activity of the day caught up to us again, and we hit the hay rather early.

 

 

 

 

Sunday morning was another quiet one...just breakfast, followed by watching Dana and Carter play catch. They are such great buds and Carter really looks up to Dana. It made my heart happy to watch them play. The drive home was rather stressful as I hit rain from Lewiston through Whitebird. Whitebird was actually a bear, and really scared me on a couple of the turns. But we made it home without incident and I'm so glad I had the time to take the trip with the kids.

 

 

A new adventure is about to begin - I'm hoping this is something great for me. I can't run the risk of jinxing it, so hopefully a big announcement is coming soon!