"Life is a roller coaster- so sit back and enjoy the ride" is way too true of a statement sometimes. Take for instance, the past few weeks of my life. The good thing is that the roller coaster called life gives us both ups and downs, and at the end of the ride you're glad you went through with it. Things got a little stressful over the past couple weeks, but thank goodness my cousins and aunt and uncle came to visit. My dad thought it would be a good idea for me to go back to Boise with them and get away from life here for a while. What a genius man! :) So, Tuesday my Aunt Josie and Uncle Richard, cousin Carly, cousins Richie, Ashlee and Abbie, and cousins Jonathan and Alanna came to visit at my Grandma's house. We went out and had lunch with them and most of the rest of my mom's family. We left my Grandma and Grandpa's house after lunch and some family time and headed back to B-Town (Boise). Our first stop was at Shoshone Falls. Shoshone Falls is a waterfall area just west of Twin Falls, Idaho. It is 45 feet higher than Niagara Falls, but definitely not as "advertised". I have been wanting to go there for quite a while, so I was glad we got to stop.
Carly, Me, Jon, Alanna, Uncle Richard, Rich, Ash, Abbie, Aunt Josie @ Shoshone Falls
"The Girls"
Carly, Me, Ash, Alanna
Loved Spending Time With My Cousins
Alanna and I- Love This Girl
These Two Could Be Models- Gay Models...Haha J/K Boys- I Love Ya!
Shoshone Falls
After we left Shoshone Falls, we headed into Twin Falls for some dinner....which was super entertaining in and of itself!
2 Of The 3 Cars In Our Sweet Caravan
After we ate in Twin Falls, we headed towards Boise, but Ashlee, Alanna and I ended up getting lost and having to go on Highway 30 the rest of the way. Luckily the guys "intersected" our path and we ended up getting to Boise about the same time.
The next day I woke up and went downstairs in Ashlee and Richie's house and I was watching Abbie for a second while Richie ran across the street, and after turning away for just a second I couldn't find her. I was super confused when she was standing outside the sliding glass door, which was locked and had a stick in the door so it couldn't be opened...the next few pictures recaptures what happened next...
I laughed so hard. Needless to say, she's so stinking cute all you can do is smile. I love her to pieces.
Later that day, we headed out to Lake Lowell which is by Caldwell, Idaho. My Aunt Josie and Uncle Richard have a boat with a wakeboard, tube, and skis...so of course we had to spend time on the lake.
Lake Lowell
Uncle Richard and Aunt Josie's Boat
Jonathan
Richie
Alanna and I
Jonathan and I
Rich Explaining to Jonathan How To Wakeboard
Jon- First Time Wakeboarding. Amazing!!
Rich- Showin' Us How It's Done
Ash- Chillin' On The Dock- Ready To Hit The Lake
Abbie And Aunt Carly
Uncle Richard and I After Boating
Alanna- Gorgeous :)
Richie's Foot After Wakeboarding- It's A Huge Chunk Of Skin But Looked Like A Bone- So Awesome
Abbie And I After A Day At The Lake
It was a great day at the lake. That night we went home, went to bed, and woke up the next morning to get ready to go camping and boating again. We left that afternoon, and on the way to the campground had to stop to get water and ice and other camping things. While Ashlee and I were waiting outside for Jon, Rich and Alanna, we sat Abbie in the trunk and gave her ice to suck on because it was so hot. She was such a doll.
After that we headed to the lake and set up camp and went boating again.
Abbie And Aunt Alanna
Abbie And Uncle Jon
Surfer Jon
Rich's Epic Pre-Crash Picture
Alanna, Ashlee, and Abbie
Abbie and Auntie Jade
Uncle Jon Having A Michael Jackson Moment Hahaha
Alanna And Jon
Ashlee- She Did Awesome At Getting Up On The Wakeboard
Sunset At The Lake
Aunt Josie Beating Uncle Richard- It's Normal- She's Chilean! Hahaha. I Love These Two!!!
A Sweet Praying Mantis We Found In Camp
*Toes In The Water, Ass In The Sand, Not A Worry In The World, A Cold Drink In My Hand, Life Is Good Today*
Swim Time
My Gorgeous Aunt Josie- Isn't She Beautiful?
So I tried to wakeboard, didn't get up, and didn't want to go on the tube 'cuz it was small and the drivers of the boat were too fast LOL. My suggestion was to find a dock and hook it to the back of the boat, so that they could pull us around the lake while we laid out and tanned, but it would be at the perfect pace. The dock we found that we ended up staying the day on (pictured below) was anchored to the bottom of the lake and we couldn't un-attach it. So, the guys went to the other side of the lake, which was the beach area, and stole their dock and went and put it in our docking area so we didn't have to keep jumping into the muddy water getting on/off the boat. They didn't pull us around in it, but Jonathan did get to ride on it in the process. Lucky little shiz. hahaha
We found this dock which was anchored into the lake, so we played on it the entire day switching back and forth from the dock to the boat. It was fabulous. We spent all day on the lake, and afterward, packed up and headed home. Alanna had a little heat exhaustion issue, but after a quick trip to the ER, all was good.
I'm so glad I got to spend time with family that I adore. They are all so amazing and I'm so lucky to be a part of the family. I'm so happy that Jon and Rich both found the beautiful wives they did, and thank goodness because they are a perfect addition to our family. And of course, so glad we have little Abbie around. Can't wait for another fun "nephew/niece" from Jon and Alanna :)
Thank you so much to Uncle Richard and Aunt Josie who provided the meals, let us use the boat, and had the idea to do all the fun activities. It's because of them that this trip really came together.
Hopefully we can all do it again soon!
