12 Day Road Trip: Day 4: Fun in the Sun

On Tuesday morning, we had planned to go to the beach, but instead we decided to head out to the Coeur d'Alene Resort outdoor pool.  We knew nothing about the pool except that we got to ride on a boat to get there, it was next to the floating green and kids had to be 5 or older to ride on the boat.

We headed down to the dock and Keith struck up an immediate conversation with the captain of the boat, who was a Grandpa himself.

About 20 minutes later, we were on the boat with our 5 year old son Kellan and 7 year old son Oliver.

Fortunately, nobody asked us their ages, but we did have them prepped, just in case.

From the boat with the resort in the distance.

Taking a ride past Tubbs Hill.

We had planned to hike Tubbs Hill, but we didn't make it.

On the way back from the pool, it was great fun to watch all of the cliff jumpers.

From our room, we had watched this airplane come and go.  It was fun to be right next to them as they took off.  Keith tried talking the family into taking a ride, but then we decided with his and Kellan's motion sickness that it wouldn't be a great idea.

Whoop!  Whoop!

On Vacation!!

Kellan may have been cool and collected on the top half, but he had a tight hold of Daddy's shorts.

"Look, Ma, No Hands!"

Such a gorgeous day.

As we arrived at the pool, this is what we saw.

An infinity pool above the beach access, complete with a clubhouse.

It took about 2.2 seconds for Oliver to trade in his sunglasses for goggles before he jumped into the infinity pool.

Our fish, swimming to the edge.

Meanwhile, Kellan wanted to head to the beach straight away.  Keith joined him on the beach chair and the two enjoyed the crystal clear waters of the Coeur d'Alene lake.

Oliver was considering the lake, but the pool was such a great draw.

Back in he flies.

"Eh - It's all good, Mommy!!"

Oliver and Mommy made it to the beach with Daddy and Kellan.  It was such a great mix to have both the beach and pool.

It was also fantastic that the bar and restaurant were so close that special deliveries could easily be made to the beach.  Rocky Mountain Cold Refreshment from Colorado to Idaho.

The boys wanted to swim in the lake and Keith agreed that he would go out with them.

Then I noticed that they turned around to come back before the water hit their waist.

Very anticlimactic. 

Uh, ya... the lake is cold.

I talked a big story about how I used to swim in this lake, but I was much younger then.

Where there is sand, there is a beach creature to be made.

Where there are beach umbrellas, there are cold beverages in the shade to be enjoyed.

Where there are pool bars, there are "smoothies" to be slurped.

We had an absolutely fantastic day at the pool.   We had NO idea that this little gem existed and it made this stop at the Coeur d'Alene resort worth every penny and eye roll that I received from Keith prior to this day.  After this day, he was heard saying, "now I get why you wanted to come here."  MmmHmmm... that's right, Mister!

As the day at the pool came to a close, Oliver bid the beach adieu.

Such a fun day.

So much fun, that our hair was even on end with sunshine and happiness.

Mommy and her beach bum.

Daddy has the camera.  Watch out, you never know what might happen.

After a fantastic day, we headed back to the hotel to clean up and head out to see some more family.

Yes, North Idaho is crawling with people that we are directly related to.  Not second, third, fourth extensions, direct first relation and there are a bunch of them.

It was super fun that several of Carrie's Aunts, Uncles and Cousins came out to see us in the Coeur d'Alene Park for the evening.  We ordered up some pizza and caught up on the latest happenings with the family.

Uncle Joe kept the kids entertained.  He also introduced them to their new favorite drink, Mio water.

He and Keith went to buy some waters and he picked up some Mio flavoring.  The kids LOVE it!!!  They are drinking more water now than they ever have in their lives.  We did learn not to let them have too much on big travel days, but it is great for days with plenty of available bathrooms. 

We sat and chatted until the sun went down and the mosquito's chased us away.  HUGE thanks to the family for coming out see us.  We loved catching up and hope to see you all again sooner than later.

What a fantastic day.  A paradise pool by day and fantastic family fun by night.

You just never know what fun we have planned for Day 5.  Stay tuned.

12 Day Road Trip: Day 3: Family, Fish and Fun in Idaho

Monday morning, Kellan woke up and he was good as new.  We were SO glad to see two baby blues on this cutie pie.

Monday was a tiny bit of a drive as we departed Missoula, but there was much more visiting than driving.  We had two stops on our agenda before landing in Coeur d'Alene, ID.

The first stop was to see Great Grandma Garner.  We haven't seen Grandma in quite some time, so it was great to get to see her again.

Grandma always has photos to show off.  Here, she is showing the boys pictures of the snow.  They may be wondering if she has ever seen how much snow we get in Colorado?

Photos with Great Grandma Garner!

This was Kellan's first time meeting Great Grandma Garner but as you can see, he wasn't shy and snuggled right up.  As we were leaving he said, "I really like her."  Such a sweetie.

Oliver and Kellan weren't the only ones buttering up Grandma.  

When Grandma said, "I could use some fans out of the Attic," Keith didn't jump right up.  Fortunately, someone was stopping by that afternoon to help Grandma out with this.

When Grandma said, "I just can't get the VCR (yes, VCR) to work," Keith jumped up and fixed it within minutes.

He would have helped with the fans, but Grandma insisted that he didn't need to go into the attic to tackle the spiders, so he didn't.

Grandma receiving a lesson on how to switch between the TV, DVD and VCR.

Keith was already quite high on Grandmas list, but this may  have catapulted him to the top.

Grandma was SO happy to have her VCR working.

Meanwhile, the boys found the magnets that all of Grandma's Grandchildren played with at kids their age.  Now, her Great Grandchildren are playing with them.

The boys also enjoyed playing with Great Grandma Garners stuffed animals.  Especially Kellan, who has a big soft spot for the fuzzy friends,  

After a great visit with Great Grandma Garner, we headed out to visit with Carrie's Godparents and Carrie's Dad's Aunt and Uncle; Neil and Carolyn.

Neil and Carolyn have always been very special to me, even if we don't get to see them very often.  They were definitely a 'must stop' on our agenda.

The boys were fantastic while we visited with Great Grandma Garner, followed by Neil and Carolyn.  Toward the end of our visit with Neil and Carolyn they discovered their tractor sprinkler outside, which also means that they had fun getting completely soaking wet.  Oh well, that's what summer is for as well as a suitcase full of dry clothes.  As we were working on leaving, Kellan had decided to take a run down the path.  Do you see that tiny little white spec to the bottom left of the tree.  Look closely.  You'll see him.  He ran all of the way down there and all of the way back.  Whew!  Nothing like the thick air of Idaho.

Carrie, Neil and Carolyn

Oliver and Kellan with Carrie, Neil and Carolyn

We had a great visit with Neil and Carolyn as well.  We don't get to see them nearly as much as we would like, but we are so glad that we get to see them when we do.

As we headed over the pass toward Coeur d'Alene, a rain storm moved in.

We were pleasantly surprised that we had a room with a lake view.  We had reserved a room with a restricted view, since they rooms were quite pricey. I expected to be looking at the parking lot.  Instead, we had a view of the lake with a few building obstructions in the way.  We loved it!

We could see the lake as well as the staff frantically moving a party from outside to inside.

The windows were fantastic.  They slid open like french doors, which gave a very open and airy feel.  Plus, there were super comfortable loungers with ottoman that we turned toward the window to enjoy the fresh air and view when the boys were going to sleep.

Since it was raining outside, we sprinted across the street for dinner at Bonsai Bistro.

Kellan had enough visiting today to drive him to double fist his drinks.  Apple Juice and Water, whew, it's been tough.

We had an awesome family style dinner.  It is fun that our kids are willing to try new things.  When in doubt, they'll always go for asian noodles and pot stickers.

Bonsai Bistro had an awesome koi pond.  The people next to us gave us fish food to feed the koi, but it came with one request, to feed the turtles because they were the woman's favorite.  We have no idea how they got the fish food, but we were thankful that they gave theirs to our boys.  We think that they also enjoyed watching the boys have fun with it and feed the fish and turtles with care.

Kellan feeding the turtle, very deliberately and carefully.

By the time we were done with dinner, the rain had stopped and the clouds were clearing.

It was a perfect opportunity to take some classic tourist photos in front of the Coeur d'Alene resort.

I have been wanting to bring Keith here for vacation since I've known him.  I'm so glad that I was able to bring Keith and our two boys.  I remember watching this resort being build when I was a kid.  I remember my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles talking about this big resort being built right on the lake.  At the time, Coeur d'Alene wasn't the vacation destination that it is today.  It was so fun to be here as a guest of the hotel and experience a tiny bit of vacation in a city that has always felt like a family destination to me. You know, yours truly was born here in Coeur d'Alene, ID. and I spent much of my youth here.  It's like home away from home to me.

We sauntered down to the lake so that the boys could put their toes in the water.

BRRR... It's COLD!

Mommy wanted to go for a walk on the boardwalk.

The boys wanted to go swimming in the pool.

The boys won.  They had been true angels on this trip and I knew how much they were looking forward to the pool.

It was a good thing that we did go to the pool.  Not only did it close about an hour after we got there, but we also were informed that the Coeur d'Alene Resort also had an outdoor pool that we put on our agenda for the next day.  Who knew?! Not I.

Our Oliver is like a fish.  He loves to swim and he prefers to be underwater as opposed to above the water.  Give the kids some goggles and you'll be lucky to see him surface.

Kellan is still enjoying the sidelines of the pool.  We think that next year he will grow his gills as well.  Until then, I'll eat him up and take tons of photos of those blue eyes above the water.

Yet another fantastic day on our 12 Day Road Trip and we are only a quarter of the way through our vacation.  We have done so much, yet we have so much more to do.

12 Day Road Trip: Day 2: Big Sky Country

Sunday morning, we woke up bright and early, reloaded the car and saddled in to ride across Big Sky Country.  Kellan's eye was still swollen shut, even though we were hopping for a steroid induced miracle.  Swollen or not, he was all smiles.

Oliver may have had a rodeo smorgasbord midnight carnival hangover.  

He assumed this position before we hit the freeway.

Just over the Wyoming / Montana state line, Kellan declared, "I've got to Go Po.....otty!"

With no rest stops in sight, we declared this a great time to contribute to the greenery of Montana's roadways.

Good Morning, Montana!

Rodeo smorgasbord and midnight carnival proved to be a great success as Oliver continued to provide us with interesting sleeping positions.

Even Kellan got in on this action.

Believe it or not, this road trip was strategically planned with high action followed by long drives.  This turned out to be a magical masterpiece.

The drive through Montana was great.  Keith and I commented on how we had forgotten how pretty western Montana was and how nice it was to drive along the river.  The river eventually led us to Missoula, our resting stop for the night.  After checking into our hotel, we headed out to Jeannette's house.

Yes, Jeannette is a new name to the blog, but not to the Garner family.  Jeannette and her family have been family friends with us Garners for decades.  Yes, decades.  When I was young, she was my idol.  Seriously.  She had all of the best toys; barbies, barbie accessories, barbie houses, barbie cars and the toys that sealed the deal... the Annie House and Strawberry Shortcake house complete with all of the character dolls.  In the second grade, she introduced me to Michael Jackson and the Thriller video.  Several years later, it was George Michael's blue jean butt as he swayed to Faith across the big screen TV as she was making a music video compilation on VHS for the school dance.  (I was still in about the 4th grade.  She was SO cool.)  On top of it, for many years I was the recipient of her hand me down clothes.  I never saw those Barbies, Strawberry Shortcakes or Annie's ever come my way, but she was still the coolest chic around.

Then, there was my brother Jerry and her brother Jack, who were BBF's before there was such a thing as BFF's.  I suppose back in the 80's they were probably just Dudes or Rad Rockers, or whatever.  

Fast forward a few decades and life came full circle as my brother Jerry started dating Jeannette.

At Jeannette's house, we got to visited with her and Jerry as well as the Trans Am GTA.

Jerry has had this car since ... practically the dawn of time.

I will always remember when he was stationed at Bremerton, WA in the Navy and he would drive home for the weekends.  I was still in high school at the time, but when I was willing to tolerate his noogies and jabs at looking like a boy with my short hair, we would hang out.  Big brothers can be such pests.  (Honestly, I always thought that he was cool dude too and I was always thrilled when he would ask me to hang out... but you can't actually admit that to your brother.)

It is funny what different memories people have from times in their lives.  Jerry reminisced about how we were in this car at a stop light in Spokane and in an effort to show off as we took off fast, the drivers seat broke, he fell back and it was so embarrassing.  He also remembers a lengthy conversation between us about why it's important to have a clean car.  After a memory jogb, I was right there with him.

For me, I remember learning how to be a proper co-pilot who wraps drive-thru burgers just right so that the pilot can drive and eat without making a mess.  Plus, I remember being stuck in a statue position as he left to go into the gas station while I was in the car with a motion sensor car alarm.

Either way, it was fun to talk about those days and check out the car that he has put so much work into restoring.

As Kellan was eyeing the car, Uncle Jerry said that he could get in and check it out.

This may have made his day.

VAROOM!

Would you really mess with this guy?  No, I didn't think so.

We paused for some quick photos before the sun went down.

Uncle Jerry with his nephews, Oliver and Kellan.

Carrie, Jerry and the Trans Am GTA.

As the sun went down, Kellan found a quiet place in the corner of the yard with a fantastic hammock.

The sun wasn't the only thing going down, so was Kellan's eye swelling. 

Quick Quick.. lets take a photo before it's completely dark.

Jerry and Jeannette.

It was so fun  to see these two together.  It was very obvious how happy they are together and it was so great to visit and catch up.  Maybe Jeannette will convince Jerry to come to Colorado for a visit (hint, hint, wink, wink).

As we glanced at our watches and were shocked that it was 9:45 PM (and not completely dark) and Kellan was being offered pickle juice (he approached us and said, "Mommy, do I like pickle juice?")  we decided that it was time to call it a night and head out.

Thanks to Jerry and Jeannette for a perfect ending to Day 2 of the 12 Day Road Trip.  We loved spending a relaxing evening with you in your great backyard.  We hope to see you again soon.

For the record, Kellan now claims that he loves pickle juice.  We're not quite sure what to make of that.

Plus, Jerry and Jeanette are still pretty cool, even after all of these decades.