Our first stop? Cabela's in Post Falls with Thad. (I mean, come on....who doesn't fly all the way across the country to go to Cabela's?! hee hee) Nikolas loved playing the shooting game under the advice of Uncle Thad.
Then reality sets in....why are we INSIDE when it's such a beautiful day OUTSIDE? Ok...they didn't make it far...... about 20 feet from the door to Cabela's. Sven and I were still busy shopping (and ironically mostly for Nikolas).
Look at that glow. =)
It's becoming tradition for Thad to show us around the Post Falls/Coeur d' Alene/Spokane areas when we visit. We love to drive around and visit open houses and day dream about the day Sven can retire from the Navy. With every visit, I think we're getting a better idea of where we would like to live and the type of house we would like to have. We found a possible contender for our dream house this trip. We walked through the front door and were greeted with a wall of windows looking out over Spokane. So amazing.
A little cuddle time after a busy day of house-looking. =)
We spent the weekend with Thad and were off on Monday morning to Hamilton. Here, Nikolas and Darryl (dad's brother) play a game of War. They are like two peas in a pod....they're quite entertaining to watch. Seeing them together reminds me of Darryl teaching Nikolas how to crawl when he was a baby. He's always teaching him something....good or bad. Ha!
My Aunt Jackie (Darryl's wife) and Grandma O. (my dad's mom).
This is Maggie-- not technically an 'aunt' but thought of as one. It was sad to see the decline of her health this trip. She has cancer and it's really taken her energy away.
And off to Stevensville to visit my cousin Kyla in her new house (which is great, by the way!). She has a wonderful new dog, Allie, that Sven and Nikolas were trying to figure out how to dognap back to MD. =) Kyla has the best views from her living room-- mountains and even a field of buffalo. How cool is that?!?
Me and my Grandma O. (See, grandma, pictures aren't so bad are they?!)
A little ways down the road from Grandma O's house were a pasture of sheep. We stopped and how to get our fill of these cute little things. Come to find out (yes, from the friendly lady who owns them and didn't mind whatsoever that we had stopped by) that two of them were only two weeks old! Oh, so, so cute!! This one here that is checking Nikolas out is a little older....but still just as cute!
Look at that face! =)
The Bitterroots topped with snow. How pretty is that?!
We loved getting away from home for this vacation (and to still feel at home). Although we brought Nikolas' Nintendo, he rarely played it. He didn't watch much tv and he couldn't play Wii. It was great to see him enjoy such activities as blowing bubbles, doing puzzles and playing outside with only his imagination to keep him busy. Why is it that none of these things appeal to him when we get back home?!
In this picture is my Aunty Vicky (my dad's sister), Nikolas, Grandma O (dad's mom), me and Grandma G (mom's mom). I have to laugh when I see this picture. What I haven't mentioned yet is that a few days before we got there, Grandma G. had a bad fall. She hit her face and forehead, which left some cuts and bad bruises. It was hard to see her all bruised like that. We're very thankful that the damage appears to only be superficial....which is very lucky when you've taken a fall and hit your head. As you all know, I LOVE photos. I take pictures of everyone and everything. Grandma O. is usually the one who hides from me and my camera ("Now Tara, you know I never take a good picture.") but this time it was Granmda G. who outdid herself. As you can see here, she would not even look at the camera (maybe the 'if I can't see you you can't see me' approach?). Well, just for Grandma, I polished up my photoshop skills to cover as much of the bruising as I could. Now if only she had been looking at the camera, this would be a great photo! =)
Thanks to Aunt Vicky for making the drive down from Kalispell to see us. We know how busy she is and the hours of driving that took....so thank you, Aunt Vicky. It was so nice visiting with you!
Nikolas got Sven to go outside with him whatever chance he could to play with him. Here, as if they hadn't gotten enough of it this winter, Sven and Nikolas are out playing in the snow thinking it's the 'most awesome' thing ever. Whatever, boys! =)
It was the neatest snowfall.... more like little, tiny pieces of hail than snow. It didn't cover the ground, but it just kept falling. Here we are driving up our old road on our way to our other Aunt Vickie's house. Oh, how I miss this country road that leads back home! (Do I sound like John Denver?)
Aunt Vickie (my mom's sister) was so sweet and invited Grandma, Sven, Nikolas, me and my cousin Kyle and his family over for dinner one night. She's so good at planning things like this and understanding how hard it is to see everyone in such a short period of time. (Thank you, Vickie!!) After dinner, we had an easter egg hunt for the kids (Nikolas was very concerned about not 'getting an Easter' this year since we had to fly home on Easter day). Here, Lauren strides out in front of Nikolas looking for those eggs (poor Nikolas, he may be older, but Lauren is taller!).
Layne, Kade, Nikolas and Lauren (and Bogey in the background)
My cousin Kyle and his son Kade. (How did I not get any other pictures of the rest of the family this visit? Too busy talking, I guess!)
We were happy that Uncle Kevin (my mom's brother) and his son Landon stopped by while we were in town. Landon is my cousin who is on the Olympic ski team. Unfortunately, he had a bad fall over the winter that prevented him from competing in the Olympics this year. We're proud of his accomplishments and hope his road to recovery goes well so he can get out on the slopes again for the next Olympics. Go get 'em, Landon! =)
This is a photo of what was once known as Tammany Stables where Marcus Daly (founder of our town) kept his horses. Now it's a private home that's up for sale....for millions. Amazing....both that they remodeled stables into a home and that it now has such a high price tag!
This is the morning we had to leave Hamilton. We were worried about the weather since we had a 3+ hour drive over 2 mountain passes to get back to Thad's house. No cause for concern as we made our trek though, the roads were fine and more dry than they had been in the valley that morning. Nikolas just can't get enough of snow!
Me and my Grandma G. (and more photoshop bandaging!).
Since the drive went so smoothly, we got back to Post Falls by early afternoon. We decided to take Nikolas bowling (he loves that about as much as he loves snow). The few times we've been able to go bowling with Thad have been really fun.....but who's more competitive.... Uncle Thad or Nikolas? Actually.... me.......I was the top scorer! hee hee =)
Not the greatest quality photo, but not too bad for a timed shooting! Here we all are at Thad's house.
Now, you all know how much I.... hm..hm... love the east coast. Can you imagine how hard it was to pack up our bags and head to the airport when this is the view out of our window?? The time we spent in Post Falls, Kelly let us stay at her house on the river that they rent out as a vacation home. (Thank you, Kelly and Thad for arranging that for us!) You know the "God Grant me the serenity" poem? This must be the serenity they're referring to. Nice, so very nice. Is there any wonder why this is where we want to retire?! Not in our minds!
So, that about sums up our vacation back home. A wonderful, wonderful time. Thank you to everyone we got to see. We miss you all and can't wait to come visit again!
