Idaho Falls trip

On Friday, August 17th my cousin was married in the Idaho Falls temple. It was the second marriage for both of them, and they rushed to get it done as soon as they got the Temple clearance and cancellation. They literally weren't even sure if it was all going to work out, but the day of the ceremony every came together.

I've been very close with this cousin for many years, so it was a priority to go up there to see him married. It got a little crazy when Brandon and Peter had a camping trip already planned. In the end, I took Luke with me and we made it a mini vacation together.

Thankfully, I have another set of awesome cousins that live in Idaho Falls. They were willing to watch Luke for me while I went to the temple sealing. It was a fun memory, and one that I will not forget. There were only 6 family members of the family in attendance. Yet the excitement and love in the room was amazing!

I'm not very fond of driving, and the thought of driving three and a half hours was very scary for me. We took it slowly and it all and it all worked out perfectly. The first day we left home at 7 in the morning. We drove until we got to Brigham City where we took a break to go to the bathroom. Luke also convince me that he needed Cheetos. What a hot mess that made. However, it gave us a chance to be outside and stretch our tired bodies

Then we just drove and drove until we got to Idaho Falls. We arrived about 5 hours before we could check in. It was lunch time so we found a McDonald's, and enjoyed the food. We still had lots of time after that so we went to the local Zoo and wandered around for about 40 minutes. Luke was so excited about all the animals. He really loves, loves, loves animals right now. They had some really neat ones too.

Then, we went and asked if the hotel would let us check in early. Thankfully they said yes. By the time I was dressed for the wedding it was time to go and drop off Luke. My awesome cousin - Chris - took care of three kids by himself until I could get back there. It was so generous of him. Luke loved it because they had a trampoline and a cute little dog to play with (Max). Honestly, Luke has been so scared of dogs for the longest time. But, Max was so awesome and by the end of the evening Luke didn't want to leave.

The ceremony was awesome. Afterward, the bride had hired someone to come and take a few pictures. That was so nice. It was enjoyable to be with aunts/uncles that I don't often get to see. The bride and groom were just as darling as you would expect them to be.

After all the picture taking was over I went back to be with Luke. I got to stay for a yummy dinner and just rest and relax. It felt so amazing. I also got to chit chat with my cousins, which is a favorite past time for me.  Their kids are still young, so Luke and I left around 7 so we didn't mess up their bedtime routine. Their Mom is due to have baby #3 in just three weeks so I didn't want to overtax her already exhausted body.

On the way back to the hotel we couldn't resist stopping at the local DI. Luke especially loves going. I was hoping to be able to find a skirt or two while we were there, but all we found was a giant stuffed monkey. It was almost as big as Luke. We got super luck though, because the store was having their 80th anniversary celebration - so we got the money for 20% off. It cost us a whopping $1.70. Sweet!

We headed for the hotel after that and changed into pajamas and then spent a couple hours in the media room at the hotel. Luke played the video game Minecraft while I wrote my journal about the trip events. It was relaxing and just what we needed.

The next morning Luke just wanted to go down and play video games some more. So, that's what we did after we ate breakfast. We checked out of the hotel at 10am and made a stop at Walmart before heading back home. I knew Luke was going to be hungry before getting to Utah, so we stopped in Pocotello and ate at McDonalad's - again. Luke loved the play area they had. They had this platform area where he could bounce - just like a pogo stick. He was on that thing for a super long time. Across the street was a Fred Meyer. Brandon is always talking about how we had a Fred Meyer back in our childhood. So, we had to go and see what it was all about. It looked just like our local Smith's Marketplace on the inside. Too funny.

The drive home from Idaho felt like it was taking FOREVER! Drowsy driving was something that I was feeling really badly once we hit those small Utah towns in Northern Utah. So we ended up stopping at Artic Circle in Tremonton.  It was heavenly, and just what I needed to be able to finish the drive home. I highly recommend the Moose Track Shake there.

I would have liked to stop a few more times before getting home, but Luke just wasn't in the mood. He did allow me to stop one more time though in American Fork. He wanted to stop because I wanted to go to DI and see if I could find some skirts. We got lucky this time and found two darling skirts, plus a plastic organizer, and 2 awesome stuffed animals for Luke. Plus, all our stuff was cheaper because of the Anniversary sale. It was fabulous.