I am writing this blog entry from the beautiful state of Idaho! Our family vacation this summer is Moses Lake/Idaho - we stayed at my aunt and uncle's amazing house on Moses Lake for a few days before heading to Idaho to stay on a farm. Ryan found a cool B&B on a 440 acre farm and it's minutes from Silverwood!! Today (July 31st), we had our first day at Silverwood. We decided that we would tackle the park within two days - today we played at the waterpark for 5 hours! It was so much fun and the kids enjoyed EVERY SECOND! Tomorrow we plan to arrive when the park opens and stay as late as possible - doing all the rides and games. This place is very clean and well organized.
After we are finished with Silverwood, we are planning on hiking up Schweiter Mountain area (Thursday). We are looking forward to the outdoors and hopefully the weather will cool down a little. We have been in 100 degree weather for quite a while. Basil and Lola are also on this family vacation with us - making it extra special. The girls have been staying cool in the farm bunk house while we play at Silverwood. I think they are enjoying themselves but miss the comforts of home. I know I do!
Summer has been a lot of fun so far. I'm definitely enjoying having both kids around more and our daily lives are a little more relaxed. Ryan is still playing softball on Tuesdays - playoffs are next week and hopefully the following week. Cameron had a baseball camp the second week of July - it was fun for him but really hot! He was also the youngest player in the baseball camp, which was a little intimidating for him but he pushed through all 5 days. On the second day of camp, he won a medal for having great energy and team spirit. We were so proud of him!
Natalie had an art camp at the beginning of the month at her preschool. Ms Cindy (her new teacher in the fall) was the art camp teacher! Natalie unfortunately missed 2 of the 4 days because we were camping with our friends - but she made the most of her time. Natalie came home with beautiful artwork and an added confidence for the new school year! She has become quite the artist and it's so fun to see her experimenting with paints, crayons, marks and all types of drawings. She is very talented for a 4 year old and I hope she continues to enjoy expressing herself through arts.
Like I said earlier, we had the chance to go camping with our friends Chad and Marcie and their two boys, Zach and Connor. We had a really good time relaxing and enjoying each other! The kids all got along and played well together!
I'm sure I'm forgetting more things that we have done in July - perks of being on summer vacation! I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and have a wonderful August!
ADDITION: We are home now and I just want to update everyone on the rest of our trip. This was by far the best family vacation we had shared so far! Both kids (and us!) had a blast at Silverwood, the farm and Schweitzer ski resort! Cameron of course tried everything - including all the big roller coasters!!! I was super impressed by Natalie. She is more reserved and cautious when it comes to trying new things. This week, Natalie tried SO MUCH MORE than she ever has before! Things were of course scary but she tried her best and actually enjoyed almost everything she tried. So proud.
My favorite part of our Idaho/Moses Lake trip was definitely Schweitzer ski resort. The kids were able to do the trampoline, rock climbing and play ground. As a family, we rode the chair lift to the top of Schweitzer and hiked the summit - it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! I'm very thankful my kids enjoy hiking and exploring.
