We mounted our cargo box on the minivan and stuffed it with the necessities last Friday because it was time for us to migrate southeast to Boise! We left early at 5:40 am and stopped at our first pit stop, Sunnyside WA, at 8:00 am. The kids were wide awake, but were occupied by the scenery passing by and their DVDs. After playing inside McDonald's for 45 minutes, we drove all the way to La Grande, OR, about two and half hours away. We had lunch in the car (all packed lunches), we stopped once again at Ontario, OR, for a quick potty break and arrived Boise at 4:20 pm.
After checking in at the hotel and putting things away, we went to grandma Marie's house for dinner. It was hot in Boise. Us, the Sounders, are not used to that kind of heat anymore. After driving 10 hours, we were officially tired and went to bed early. The kids did better than last time in terms of sleep, but they were still quite restless. Saya had stuffy nose and Noah wandered around the room for a while before crashing. We were smart this time though. We brought a queen-sized air mattress and laid it next to the main bed so that Noah can wander all he wants and just lay down when he is tired. We also put on a child lock on the room door, so that he won't go outside the room. That worked.
The next day, we were quite ambitious and took the kids to the zoo. They had a music festival at Julia Davis park on that day. Lots of people and noise. The zoo was fun and Sean, Alyson and Saya had a lot of fun exploring and looking at the animals. However, Noah was being very difficult. He wanted to dive in to Boise River or get inside the exhibit. I ended up taking Noah back to the hotel with me since he was screaming the whole time. The other children and Mike stayed at the zoo for a little while longer, but they didn't last much. It was getting very hot and they were pretty tired. Their little bodies do not get much exposure to this much sunshine and heat! Sad fact!
After the zoo, we rested at the hotel room for a while before we went to grandma's house for dinner. Grandma Marie's house is full of antique figurines. That is a bad news for Noah, because he LOVES to touch and play with any kind of figurines made with heavier material like ceramic, porcelain and metals. I said it's a bad news because he won't be able to touch them at all. So, all us available adults were onto him like soccer referees to prevent him from taking any offence. He would sweetly hold uncle Kirk's hand and guide him to near the target object is so that Kirk could give it to him. In the end he was whining constantly and it all became part of the background noise for us. The dinner was delicious and we all had a good time, except for the poor little Noah.
The next day was even better. I got to see my friends from college and had fun catching up. I cannot believe nearly 15 years has passed since we were a group of young college kids with less complications of life. They looked pretty much the same as the last time I saw them. Idaho must have been good to them! Maybe the sunshine and less crowd. Sometimes having more choices, which comes with living in a bigger city, creates more stress. Bellevue is a wonderful city to live in but I do feel a lot of pressure, on children's academic achievements to my own success etc... I am sure it happens in where ever I choose to live, but it's fun to idealize Boise for the moment!
After lunch with the girls and boys, I joined the family barbecue at uncle Kirk's house. The children had a wonderful time in their backyard. They played with water guns, found favorite rocks, and found some ants... I was surprised that even Alyson, who cries when a fly comes near her in the house, picked up small ants and carried them around to show people. Funny Saya loved carrying this big rock and wouldn't let it go. Noah was trying to figure out how he could climb up the tall fence, but never succeeded. Sean was busy playing with rocks, talking to people and exploring. They were all busy and no one complained the entire time. Hemkers came over, too, and we had a good time chatting with them. They are certainly part of our family and kids will know them as their aunt and uncle. An afternoon like that made our long trip worthwhile. That is what we came for. It was nice to spend time with the family.
It's almost August and we are gearing up for Sean's kindergarten. Grandma Audrey's memorial service will be held on Aug 6, and Mike and Aaron are going to attend it. It's hard to believe the summer is at its peak. I am glad I got a good tan in Boise because the sunshine certainly has been missing since we came back!
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