ON THE WAY HOME

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After our Ferndale adventures, we jumped in the car and commenced our journey home...Andrew, don't look so sad. It's only a thirteen hour drive...
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Accompanied by Andrew's brother....Sup, Ryan. Sweet shades, by the way...
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And Andrew's brother, Lane....You can't make me smile....
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...Leaving behind the beautiful, snow-capped Mount Baker.
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After two hours on the road, we were rewarded with a view of Seattle. All I could think about though was Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, and a fancy, little house boat.
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But we stopped at a beautiful, ocean front park to eat lunch...
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And meet up with our Blevins buddies! They were kind enough to ferry across from Vashon Island to spend an hour with us. And bring along a ten-course meal! We couldn't believe all they spread on that picnic table to share!
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We sure love them. Hopefully next time, we'll have more time to spend with 'em.
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While we were there, Andrew couldn't resist the miniature zipline. He wanted to do it Superman style, but decided against it when a bunch of little kids showed up to watch.

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Wimp.

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After our visit came the driving-all-day-and-night-back-to-Idaho part. It had the potential to be mind-numbingly boring. But somehow, it became one of my favorite parts of the trip.

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We played every car game known to man: Alphabet Game, Twenty Questions, Rhyming Game, I'm Going on a Trip, Fortunately-Unfortunately...

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Several of these games had me laughing so hard!
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These two guys were extremely entertaining

...whether they knew it or not.

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While playing a game in the back:

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Don't put your elbow there...it's in the way.

Can I put it here?

No.

Well, you can't put your elbow there either!

Fine! Neither of us will put our elbow there!

Fine!

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I think that's about how it went down.

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Then it turned in to the wee hours of the morning, and I slept. Somewhere in the middle of the dark, empty state of Montana, I woke up to Lane and Ryan beginning a game in the front seat:

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Lane:

I spy with my little eye, something that is...

{pause}

...Something that is....

{pause}

Never mind. You can't see anything out here.
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I smiled before drifting back to sleep.
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After rolling in to quiet Rexburg, we collapsed into our beds. But not before Andrew took a picture of Lane and Ryan , who from the looks of it (who must have been really out of it), are snuggling on one side of the bed.

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Nothing like brotherly love.
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The next morning, I got up to go to work, while the guys slept the day away.

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Jerks.

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But they did come together that night to create a fabulous Japanese dinner! Yakisoba and gyoza. Mmmm....
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We were sad to see them go.

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GREAT WOLF LODGE

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From the Seattle Airport, we traveled to the Great Wolf Lodge to spend two days relaxin with the Ashmore family.
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Let me just say...this place was flippin' awesome. I was blown away by the coolness of the front lobby, before I'd even been to the water park part. Let me give you the tour:

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The view as you walk in the front doors.

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A view looking back at the front doors. I liked the can't-believe-it's-not-real pine tree, myself.
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Here is the view from the second floor, looking down on the rest of the lobby. Antler chandeliers and cushy, log furniture set a cabin-y mood.

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My favorite part was the two-way fireplace. River rock, stuffed wolves, and flickering flames. I wanted to spend a day with my book, curled up on the couch in front of this baby.

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Where they put on shows for the kids.
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The most magical part of the lodge were the bracelets. Passing them over the hotel door knob, made our room automatically unlock. I felt like a mix of James Bond and Harry Potter.

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And the water park. For me, seeing this for the first time was more exciting than walking into Disneyland. That giant bucket sure holds a lot of water.
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See?

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Ready to get wet.

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The wave pool.

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The water slides. The Howlin' Tornado drops you unexpectedly into a giant halfpipe. Oh. my. heck. SO fun.

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Maybe it was just the goofy artist in me, but I loved the trees painted on the walls.
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Grandpa Ashmore and Braxton (our nephew) walk hand-in-hand.

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The family stake their claim and prepare for a wet n' wild day.
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Andrew plays with Baby Laney (our niece).
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Andrew's brother Jeff plays with his two kids: Brax and Adelle (or "sissy", as she informed me earlier).
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Adelle gives Uncle Ryan a high-five! Look at that grin (and that cute baby belly) !
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Anyway... we wore ourselves OUT. My full recuperation from all this fun required several days and nights.

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But next, we were headed to Ferndale, WA, for a not-so-surprised, surprise party for Andrew's mother. The BIG 5-0.

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Lots of people showed up to celebrate Rhonda...

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But all Braxton and Riley really cared about was getting some cake! {I just love Brax absentmindedly running his fingers through his cousin's hair . So precious.}
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On our last day, we were privileged to attend the beautiful baby blessing of brand-new baby Emmett.

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Then, we piled into the car with Andrew's brothers, Lane and Ryan, and began our journey back to Rexburg. But, that folks, is another adventure in and of itself.

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To be continued...
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LEAVIN' ON A JET PLANE...

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We recently flew up to Washington to join the Ashmores for an extra special family vacation. Our first flight took us from Idaho Falls to Salt Lake City, where we had a two-hour layover.

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My pictures don't begin until the Salt Lake Airport.

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Before this point, I had not been awake long enough to be fully functional (our first flight was reeeeally early).

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There's not much to do in an airport for two hours but

watch people and eat...both activities I highly enjoy, so it wasn't bad.

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I started out on my trail mix

{and slapping Andrew's hand each time

he tried to put his raisins back in the bag}...

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I was quite content with my yummy, healthy snack UNTIL...the scent of the nearby Cinnamabon lured me with its gooey, calorie-filled goodness! I gave in. Andrew and I split one. .
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It turned out to be a pretty
good day for people watching:

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a guy in a turban (don't see many turbans in Rexburg)
90+ old couple holding hands
an Indian lady with a red dot on her forehead
the cutest smiley baby ever
red necked Cowboys
a Catholic priest
LDS missionaries
a basketball team
rich couple with bling like you wouldn't believe
dread-locked Jamaican gangsta
and his mini-me son

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But then we were on our way to Seattle! .
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We sat next to the Indian lady who as it turned out, didn't speak English. But she was very nice. After a few rounds of charades, I was able to:
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direct her to the bathroom, help her with her seat belt, learn her name {couldn't even say it then, so don't ask me to repeat it now}, introduce my husband {explaining that I love him very much...she laughed}, and discover this was her 2nd trip to the U.S.
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the view from our window over The Great Salt Lake
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For the rest of the flight, Andrew and I read, watched sitcoms on the mini screen {without sound}, and took naps. Finally, we emerged from the clouds to a view of the city below.

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I couldn't get over how green it was! The fact that it was raining--and kept raining for several more days--probably had something to do with it.
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Dad and the boys were there to pick us up.

Good thing the rain wouldn't be affecting our

super awesome vacation plans...

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to be continued...
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JACKSON, WYOMING

A couple days after X-mas, we drove Mom and Becca to Jackson, WY, for the day. The Tetons were sure majestic under that blanket of Christmas snow.

The drive was almost as fun as the destination. We read comics, rocked out to my new Taylor Swift CD, and were just plain goofy. Family is so fun. .
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And of course, I had to take some pictures. What a beautiful, sparkly drive it was! Click HERE for a few more of the trip through Jackson Pass.

For an updated family picture, we stopped on our way at the giant potato...again. Mostly I wanted to try out my new tripod. How did I ever live without one?

(Mom totally kicked Andrew in the head a second after this was taken. It was an accident of course...but sooo funny.)

Jackson is the best. Ever been? So quaint and touristy and artsy...and still so festively decorated for Christmas! Here is "take one" of Andrew and me in old town Jackson. (Andrew always needs a few practice shots first before he gets his sillies out.)

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I won't mention how many takes it required before we got this one.

Pretty Mommy.

Oh No. That giant stuffed polar bear in the middle of this department store is going to EAT us. FYI: We were lucky enough to escape unscathed.



Meanwhile, Andrew was distracted by wildlife of his own.



I was wondering why he was making such a goofy expression until I stood in the same spot, and suddenly, I understood. lol!
(Doesn't it look like he's smiling for the camera?)


I was in heaven, wandering through countless high-end art and photography galleries, outdoor sporting goods stores, and charming little book shops. But nothing compared to this glorious sight.



Now, I've been to Disneyland several times, and I'd say it's a pretty happy place. But, I don't think the guys in charge of slogans over there have ever been to this candy store.



Becca: wandering around the happiest place on earth packed wall to wall with every imaginable goody. I'll admit it. I have a sweet tooth...a really big one.



Guess what I discovered? Huckleberry Fudge. (They gave free samples of a whole parade of fudges.) Who even knew such an exalted sweet existed? This place was so magical, I just had to take lots of pictures.

The snow, the lights, the decorations, and the magic of Jackson sure made me miss Christmas. I love this picture! Nativity set, presents, ribbons, wreath, and stockings. And the TV's reflection shows our Christmas tree and the shape of a paper snowflake cut-out hanging in the window. Sigh. This'll have to hold me over til next year...