From Boise we went on to Richland...Yeah for Grandma and Grandpa's house!!!

Going to Richland was super exciting because Alan was the only one that knew we were coming. It was a complete surprise for Peg. We had it all planned out to go to Granny's Buffet after they had all gotten their food and sat down and we were going to send just the kiddos in. Well it worked really well and Peg was shocked. Lincoln was also wearing the below shirt to make an early announcement as we had literally found out 1 week before this. We usually like to wait but we had to tell them in person. It was lots of fun to surprise Peg! I am such a kid, and I love getting and giving surprises.

Vienna really enjoyed being with Grandma and Grandpa and despite the fact that she asked for her purple bed every night or sometimes during the day if she was tired or hungry, she had a great visit. I only have videos but Vienna got to ride on Grandpa's cool lawnmower and she loved every minute. 

We walked down to the river and got to enjoy the warm weather of Richland. Look at that studly little boy, and the big boy too of course. Lincoln looks like he is flexing. 

Vienna with her necklaces of Grandma's from Korea

Vedder and Remy come over on Mondays and when they came over we all went to the play place at the McDonalds far away. The kids had an absolute blast!

Here is Vedder and Vienna telling Lincoln that he is too little to go up in the tunnel.

what a girl!

Finally finding her way out of that maze.

My bestest friend in Tri-Cities, Mrs Bree Kogan invited us over for dinner and so we enjoyed some special time with them at their new place in West Richland. Vienna and Bryson had such a great time digging in the rocks and dirt and getting all dirty. How cute they both are!

Lincoln getting in to plenty of mischief all on his own. 

Steve and Tiki had us over for dinner and while we waited the kids played pirate dress-up and had loads of fun! There were boats and treasure maps and every accessory you ever needed!

Thank goodness our family is going to be pirates for Halloween this year! It will be so much fun!

Trying to capture the moment and Steve wasn't to happy, nor was Tiki. 

Remy and Vienna

Vienna and Lincoln on a Fish at Howard Amon Park. We had a picnic lunch with Steve and Tiki. 

Vedder is a little stink and won't take any pics so I had to sneak a few but the one above is the cutest one I got and it actually looks like they are bonding, but I assure you he has slid over away from Vienna as she has slid closer to him. He just didn't seem to like her much. 

From behind is safer, he doesn't know.

Vienna with her Grandma, playing with all the toys

Grandma with Lincoln and Remy

Vedder wouldn't get in the picture but he would throw the blanket on Grandma all the time. What a little boy. On this same day we also were privileged to have Great Grandma Grace come down and play the piano while the kids danced and sang. I only have videos of this as well, but it was lots of fun! What a special memory we captured!

Despite the kids to a great job on the way out, we had to fly home or we might have all died and so me with 2 kids flew home from Spokane to Cleveland while Daddy drove home by himself. It was an aweful day, but it was better than 4-5 days in the car and mike was able to do it in 3 days. We were glad to be home, all of us, but we had an amazing time out west and look forward to heading back out that direction again someday..hopefully!

Our adventure out West and our visit in BOISE!

Our roadtrip out west went really well considering we have a 3 year old and a 1 year old. It was a total of 4 days in the car with the first day being the longest and getting progressively less each day - Thank goodness.

Here we are at the very beginning of our trip. Vienna and Giraffe all strapped in and ready to go!

Lincoln getting all strapped in :)

My Mom and Dad were there for a visit and we actually left them at our place alone for a few days, but here we are saying goodbye - who knows the next time we'll see them. 

While saying goodbye my mom put her phone on the hood of our van. We left and while at a red light on Belvoir and Mayfield someone beside us pointed it out, so of course my Mom was very grateful because who knows where it would have fallen off or how far we would have gotten and we had no idea it was there. Oh Mommy! we got to say goodbye again!

So don't tell the police but if we were going absolutely stir crazy we would get out of our seats and have a little play time. It was the only thing that kept us sane.

 

 

Originally we were going to stay at our friends parents place because they have lots of room, but after day 1 Laura asked if we would just want to go stay at their place and so that is what we did. We had a blast and this way we got to see much more of each other. It probably was too much for Laura with a little 3 Month old baby on top of company but at least Jack, Luke and Vienna played super well together. Like any kids, near the end of the week they kind of got sick of each other, but we had an amazing time. 

Going to visit Cowboy ElRay was a real treat. Depsite the sprinkles we still rode some horses. Vienna was a total natural and from the very beginning wanted to ride all by herself and when it was other peoples turn she was not too happy about that.

Lincoln on the other hand was shaking when I first brought him close to the horse and then after having him sit with Vienna - well his face says it all.

Once he watched Mommy a bit, he was ok to get on with me and did really well. 

Vienna conceded to ride with me for a few minutes before demanding to go on by herself again.

Mike - my business casual cowboy

Vienna and her Daddy for one last ride

 

We spent most of our days with the Johnsons and with the amazing Boise weather it looked a lot like this...

Sprinkler fun

Walks with friends to the river (Vienna holding hands with Rylan Pooly - finally  a little girl that wanted to hold hands)

Absolutely loving the refreshing water on this super hot day

What a little stud man, just loving the sand

Vienna and I got to go to the aquarium with Jack's playschool group, which was a lot of fun!

 

Our week in Boise was marvelous and more than anything, Mike had a great experience doing his externship with Dr. Hathaway. His confidence level went way up, he learned lots and was able to work on me, and did a great job. Perhaps we will be able to go back there and buy in with him, but only time will tell. We sure love and miss Boise though! 

Our time with Mema and Papa!

There is no rhyme or reason to these photos. Pictures are the best way to capture the moments we had while Mema and Papa visited us.

We got to see Daffodil hill in full bloom, which is gorgeous!

Trying to get them to both look at the same time is a real task.

That tree at the top of the hill was so neat looking.

what a cutie pie!

Hanging out with Papa!

Buddies!

Mema with her little man

We ran a marathon relay at the zoo and my Dad being the He-man that he is decided to do a Full marathon. For those of you that know, the hills at the zoo are tough but to do them over and over again was a killer. My dad climbed over 5000ft during his race. What a stud!!!

Here was our team. We each did a quarter of a marathon. It was lots of fun!

I love my Dad's shirt. He got it specially made!

The dinosaur exhibit was out just for us to get a sneak peak at and honestly with their roars sometimes I got startled.

Could you really outrun him in real life dad???

Sorry hun, because you ran last and it was dark we didn't get any picks of you :(

The rest of the pics are just random activities

Lincoln was still getting his balance down and would walk everywhere with his left hand up, and Papa wanted to be just like him.

working with Vienna to help her ride her bike.

Enjoying the fresh air.

We sure love our backyard

The swing set is the best!

Vienna has really been into having long hair. She picked these out at the dollar store. So cute!

She sure loves her papa!

Spending time with Mema!

What a handsome little boy!

Crazy curls and loving her dandelions

Story time is the best!

turning the pages is the best part for Lincoln

looks comfy...NOT

Love the yukata hello kitty outfit from Japan

Lincoln pushing his own stroller, what a big helper!

such a grown up little girl

 Above: Vienna wearing her shirt that she made with Mema!

We had a great visit with Mema and Papa and were sad to leave them a few days early, but they helped with so many things around our house those few days it was worth it. Thanks Mom and Dad. Come again, sooner than later!