Road Trippin'

Like I mentioned in the earlier post, we pulled the girls out of school a couple of days early and headed out in the motor home.  It was a blast!  We left the valley around 4:30 or 5:00 and drove to Pocatello where we ate at Chili's.  They had a coupon out that gave 2 free kids meals for each adult meal purchased, so we were able to feed the whole family a great dinner for really cheap.  Love that.  After dinner, we let the kids lay out in the bunk and on the master bed while we drove the rest of the way to Craters of the Moon near Arco, ID.  They were asleep within 20 minutes and the drive was really nice. 

By the time we got to the campground at Craters, I was pretty much asleep too.  We got everyone situated and slept the night away.  We woke up the next morning bright and early and took Charlie and the kids for a walk around the campground.

We ate a quick breakfast and then headed out the the Craters of the Moon to look and hike around.  Craters of the Moon is this very cool lava flow that happened around 2000 years ago (I know 2000 years is a long time ago, but in archeological terms, that seems really recent and is just a little unsettling).   :)
We did two different little hikes -- one looking for a cave that we never found and then another where we found exactly the caves we were looking for.  The kids were awesome and I had several moments where I just looked around and thought, "Man, we are in the PRIME right now." 

Inside the caves.  The kids were total rock stars.  Even Cannon climbed right down in and explored with us.  Lily was really super nervous about the caves, especially so when she saw the "Hazard" sign.  It's present at every cave and basically just reminds you that the rocks are slippery, it's cold inside, and it's a real live nature thing, so be careful.  Well, Lily read it as, "DO NOT ENTER" and decided she was going to just sit on the path and wait for us.  After a pep talk and explanation that Mom and Dad wouldn't go into the cave if it was off limits and that it's good to be cautious, but you shouldn't pass up opportunities to have an adventure and do something new.  She thought about it for a bit and decided to come in with us.  I think she was glad she did.  Also, I will be remembering this about Lily and TOTALLY using it to teach/scare her into sexual abstinence as a teenager.  Okay, I'm being a little dramatic here, but seriously, this is a great quality and we will appreciate it in our LilyLove.

Okay, back to the matters at hand...the caves were awesome.  The walks were awesome.  The kids were awesome. 

The kids and I on the way to Beauty Cave and Stanton with the kids outside Dew Drop Cave.

Cannon.  That kid is such a lover.  We couldn't live without him.

We ate a little lunch in the RV and then left for our next adventure....a drive through Sun Valley and Ketchum en route to the Sawtooth Mountains.  We were wondering what on earth we were thinking as we drove over the Galena Summit surrounded by snow.  We're really going to camp here?!  Why did you choose this place, Stanton???!!!!   Haha.  As we descended in elevation, we breathed a sigh of relief.  The weather was beautiful and by the time we got to Redfish Lake, we were golden.  We found a campsite, got situated, and started a beautiful fire.  The kids had a blast gathering kindling...or "kindling" in Brigham's case.  Haha!

That's Stanton catching air while trying to break Brigham's stick.  He's lost so much weight he has to get serious momentum to break stuff now.  :)

They also had a great time at the lake pal-ing around.  It was insanely gorgeous overlooking that lake.  The Sawtooths (which are very accurately named, by the way) are jagged and beautiful and snow covered.  Beautiful.  Don't you wish I had a picture of the to show you?  Me too.

We roasted hot dogs and giant campfire marshmallows.  It was basically the perfect camping dinner. 
Charlie was super appreciative of being able to be out of his kennel.  None of the walking paths at Craters allow dogs, so he was pretty cooped up most of the day.

Cannon was making my heart melt watching him.  He's just so dang cute and thinks he is some serious stuff.  And he pretty much is.  He sat in his little chair and roasted his hot dogs to his heart's content.  He's so snuggly, too, which wins him lots of extra points.  We love that boy.

So, we got everyone to bed that evening -- we tried to do our normal bedtime, but haha!  Not so much.  It took the kids till 8:30 or later to fall asleep, which now that I'm writing it makes me laugh.  That's pretty awesome for camping! 
I did the weirdest thing after they fell asleep -- I got out the kids' How to Draw books and drew and colored a picture for each of them.  Haha.  It seriously took me like 2 1/2 hours do them...I felt like Napoleon Dynamite, "I spent like 3 hours on the shading of your upper lip." 
It was actually really fun and the kids liked them in the morning. 

Here are some cute pictures of the kids sleeping:

Do you see that picture on the bottom right?  Yep, we woke up to about 2 inches of snow on the ground.  Lemme just say that I am SO thankful we weren't tent camping.  It was rad to be so warm and snuggled while it was snowy outside.
We ate breakfast in the camper and headed out of the Sawtooths on our way to Blackfoot.  I think if the weather had held up, we would have opted to stay another day -- it was a lot of fun.

It was also fun to get to spend a couple of hours in Blackfoot with my parents.  They are so fantastic.

My mom made an amazing dinner/lunch that we all gobbled up.  The kids played and played outside and Charlie, once again, appreciated a chance to stretch his legs. 
While the kids played outside, we had a great time visiting inside. 

There they are.  Love 'em.

We got home in the early evening and got everything unpacked and cleaned up.  It was a great trip.  We're loving spending this time with our kiddos and loving having a summer to play.