BOISE (DAYS 8-11)

4/5 - We had a very early flight out of Boise this morning. We packed up the car, said a quick and tearful see you in 2 years goodbye to my parents, and headed off to the airport. The kids did so much better on our flight back, which was a blessing. We returned to a very cold and sunny Colorado - missing the bulk of all the terrible storms that caused many travel issues while we were away. Thanks again to Scot for the decision to fly to and from Boise - that made life SO much easier for everyone. We had a fabulous time in Boise - thanks again to my family for all the time and effort you put into spending so much time with us while we were there. We love you all.

4/4 - Today, Camille and her kids left for Utah. It was so sad to see them go, but a little easier because I know we leave tomorrow. This morning, the kids spent time playing with Grampa and Gramma. Unfortunately, I didn't get many pictures of my kids with their Grandparents - which seems strange, but I caught a couple...none of them all together, but alas. As you can see from the picture of Brynn with Gramma, she's still working the faux hawk action, hopefully one of these days, her hair will start coming in along the sides as well. The Hoppe's took off right around lunchtime, which left Ethan sad to see his cousins go. He also mentioned that he wanted us to buy him a digi just like Cade's so he could play the Star Wars game, just like Cade. I bought us some time by telling him that he'd have to wait until he gets a little older. He just loves his cousins and wants to be just like them - and after he and Cade shared a room at Gramma's, their bond was that much deeper. ( : (*The picture of Ethan and Cade has a story behind it - of course Ethan thought he was being so funny by trying to have his eyes closed in EVERY PICTURE...hence the final outcome. It was rather funny - and he certainly was proud of himself. Reyna and Brynn finally wore their semi-matching pj's, so after a very sad Reyna the other day when Regan and Brynn matched, all seemed right with the world today).

4/3 - Today was rather cold in Boise, so we (Becky, Camille, Scot and I) took our kids to see Aliens vs. Monsters. The moment we arrived at the ticket booth, we lost Ethan to some video game that had a gun. He was totally into it the promo screen, & was prepped with stance and all to open fire. He made his own sound effects and thought he was totally playing - it was pretty entertaining, but we had no time to let the play time linger, which was heartbreaking for him.

Scot stopped to grab a bucket of popcorn for the group to share, and we were off. The movie was pretty good, & the kids sure laughed a lot which was the whole point. One of the highlights of the movie for me was when Scot went to hand the bucket of popcorn to me over the row and dropped it before I even had my hand on it. Needless to say, it spilled all over the floor and filled Brynn's carseat. I made a quick trip back to the concession stand for a refill, and I'm sure only a select few even noticed, well - at least until the movie ended and the lights came up. It was also clearly apparent as we exited the movie that Regan had enjoyed a blue sucker (you've got to love it when that happens). When we got out of the movie it was snowing, which doesn't seem to happen all that much in Boise - and it was freezing. Becky and the kids had to race off to take Seth to a party (or something), so Camille and her kids joined us for a quick bite at Gandolfo's...it made me a little nostalgic for my days working at NuSkin in Provo (we used to eat lunch at Gandolfo's regularly).

We had another family party (dinner & games) at Jared & Becky's tonight. Burgers & hotdogs, salads - the works. Yummy. We also enjoyed a rousing game of girls vs. boys pictionary. It was close, but the girls won by a narrow margin.

(Jared with his oldest daughter, my oldest niece, Rachel)

4/2 - Brynn and Regan had matching jammies...how could I not post a picture of these two?