Our BeUTAHful IDAHO vacation

 When your husband gets 4th of July weekend off for the first time in four years, you:

a.) do not ask questions

b.) take it and run

c.) don't look back

d.) all of the above

We headed off for a much-needed family vacation to the motherland we like to call Idaho.

If you are anything like the 5-years-ago-version-of-me, then you are rolling your eyes and silently judging anyone who calls a trip to Idaho a vacation.

Butletmetellyousomething.

Idaho is under-rated.

Yes, there are certain smells in the Idaho air that some may gag at.  (It's called manure.)

And yes, there are certain types of people who are... umm... shall we say.... "special."

And yes, there's a lot of horses and hay and farmers and tractors and barefooted kids wearing overalls.

And I love it.  (Minus the manure.)

Our vacation started with a night at the Lehi Fun Center and then a day at Seven Peaks in Salt Lake where Aubrey was finally tall enough to ride the yellow slide of death + Bailey was digging the wave pool +

Cameron spent 99% of his time cocooned inside his tube tower +

I made a massive fool of myself on the rope swing.  Turns out I'm not 18 anymore.  Bummer.

For the rest of our Idaho vacation we enjoyed time with cousins +

ate the stickiest, meltiest shaved-Ice of all time +

borrowed Grandpa Matt's new toy and took it for a joyride through the hills +

 got crowned princesses at Grandma Lori's Princess Camp +

 made ourselves sick in Grandma's ariel hammocks +

practiced our ballet moves +

 performed surgery at the dinner table +

 played night games +

explored the sand dunes +

introduced the kids to street fireworks +

(as soon as the fireworks ended, Cameron asked when we were going to start the fireworks.  *eyeroll)

enjoyed Idaho's total lack-of-drought and got wet and wild +

After a flawless week in Idaho, we headed to Utah for the weekend.

We met up at Seven Peaks in Provo where Cameron threw up in the parking lot + Brooklyn got lost + an over-zealous lifeguard refused to let us go down the slide that we waited in line for for a half hour because the tube that they reassured us was fine - wasn't fine. Growl.

The next morning we went on a family hike to Stewart Falls which was long and hot and rocky and tiring and worth it.

It was absolutely breathtaking, and even though Brooklyn sat down half way there and vowed to not take another step, we all had a great time.

That day we had a family reunion where we ate and talked and played volleyball and shot off rockets are recreated old pictures.

And then an hour before it started, my mom called and said she had found 6 tickets for Stadium of Fire so we booked it down there and walked in right as it started.

We rocked out to all Tim's greatest hits + celebrated the greatest country in the world + had the night of our lives.