Fun with Cousins in Idaho

I think I'm still recovering from our trip to Idaho. It was a WONDERFUL trip FULL of family, but it was SO HOT in Boise and I seriously think the heat sucked 3 years of my life away. It was definitely worth it though, we had so much fun with cousins and I got to know my 2 nephews so much better. Family is the best. Here's some highlights:

We got to stay with my brother's family...unfortunately he was away at the police academy while we were there but we still had so much fun. We took a trip to the discovery center and loved playing with the bubbles and the grocery store.

Emery loved playing school with Kylee. Kylee was such a sweet teacher, she made her worksheets, coloring pages, math problems--it was so cute.

Uncle Matt was there for the first evening so we had to take advantage of that with some horse rides

We also got to stay with my sister Natalie and her daughter Olivia at their new place. It was so fun to see where they live and be a part of it for a few days. Emery and Olivia had so much fun together. Emery wanted to wear Olivia's clothes, her shoes, use her hair bows, EVERYTHING. She kept begging me to let her sleep by Olivia and the last night I relented. Here they are, 10 pm, pretending to be asleep. Emery stayed up so late while we were in Idaho. It was difficult for me to put her to bed on time when it stayed light until 10 pm!

We got to watch my other nephew JJ one day while we were there. My nephews are so grown up since last time I saw them and I LOVED getting to know their little personalities.

We were very tired when we got back to Texas, but it was definitely worth it. We miss out on so much being so far away, it was nice to be in the thick of family stuff for a few weeks!

Jump Creek

Another Idaho adventure: Jump Creek! It was a fun little hike along a creek that ended in a little pool of water with a waterfall coming down the rocks. It was really pretty. We packed plenty of food and water for the short trip...but I didn't think about packing Emery any water shoes. That would have made the trip more fun. The rocks in the water were SHARP! I could barely hobble over them. Emery still had fun playing in them though. Don't let this first picture of Emery fool you, she had a blast and was a good little hiker

It was a hot day, but the cold water felt refreshing. It was way too cold for me to even consider swimming in, but there were tons of people there swimming. BRRRRR!!!!

4th of July

We had a blast celebrating the 4th of July with our family in Idaho. The celebration is always a highlight of my year! Here's Emery and cousins at the start of the day, before she was covered in sweat, soda, watermelon juice, and all that other summer stuff.

Waiting for the parade to start! I'm not sure why she is wearing a crown...I suppose one never NEEDS a reason to look fabulous...

My cousin's husband dresses up as Captain America for the parade, it is the best thing ever! What's more patriotic than Captain America?!

My aunt and her future daughter-in-law have some awesome face-painting skills. Emery was so proud of her butterfly!

There is always so much fun to be had at my grandparent's house! It's heaven on earth for me, I love going there.