Family Trip To Coeur D'Alene

Last weekend we took a family trip to Coeur D'Alene, Idaho to support Conner who was competing in the State Boys Gymnastics Meet.

We left Friday morning about 11:00 a.m., our time. Bryon was the only one from our family that had been to Coeur D'Alene and it had been a while since he had been. I had heard how beautiful it was and was so excited to see new sights. We have a built in DVD player in the van. I was nervous about the kids watching too many movies on the way up and back. They were excellent! I think they only watched one movie on the way up. Sam and Conner did play with their DS's. We didn't even have to stop once for a bathroom brake so that was a bonus! We went up through Dillon, Butte, Missoula and on to Coeur D'Alene. We stopped in Butte, Montana for lunch. We decided we wanted to breakaway from the chains and decided to try to find a local restaurant to have lunch. We found a pasta place on our GPS that sounded good but got there only to find they weren't open. Then we decided to have lunch at Paul Bunyan's. It is a little (and by little I mean our whole family filled the restaurant) sandwich shop. We enjoyed our lunch and then got back in the car to drive the rest of the way. Those that know me, know I don't do a lot of driving but I did offer to drive. I drove from Butte until we stopped for gas in Missoula. We stopped in Missoula, Montana to fill the car up. We ran into another family filling up with gas that is from the same gym we were.

Upon arriving in Coeur D'Alene, we checked into our hotel. We stayed at Days Inn. Several families from the gym were staying at Days Inn. We enjoy staying at the same hotel as most of the team. Days Inn wasn't located on the lake. Actually, I think it is about as far from the lake as you can get in Coeur D'Alene. The desk clerk suggested a place called Tomato Street for dinner. We loved it! It was such a relaxed atmosphere. There was butcher paper on the table. The waitress came by and scribbled her name (writing upside down). The kids thought that was so cool! They could draw while we waited for our dinner. They also provided the each of a packet of pasta and Play-Dough. They could make pasta necklaces or mold creations out of Play-Dough while we waited for our order.

Conner had to be at the meet the next morning by 8:00. Once we got back to our hotel, we basically went to bed. The next morning we hurried to get ready so we could be at the gym by 8:00 a.m. It was just starting to snow as we left the hotel. The gym was located in Hayden, about four miles from our hotel. We ended up in a full blown blizzard by the time we got to the gym. The post below tells all about Conner's meet. After the meet, we drove back to Coeur D'Alene and had lunch at Chili's.

Before we left Rexburg, I had found a grand way to save money. At restaurants.com, I noticed that you could get gift cads for discounted prices. I typed in Coeur D'Alene, several restaurants appeared to choose from. Some of the restaurants had an 18% gratuity added to your final bill which made the gift cards not that great of a deal. However, I found one restaurant that didn't add gratuity. The only stipulation they had was for a $25 gift card you had to spend $35. I was so excited! I ordered this gift card online. It was a $25 for $10. When I was checking out online, I noticed a promo-code that if you entered you could get an additional 70% off. I was stoked! I was going to feed my family a $35 meal for only $13 out of pocket.

After lunch, we decided to drive by the selected restaurant and scope it out for later that night. We typed the address into our GPS. We followed to the GPS to our selected destination. My stomach about sunk when I saw a picture that resembeled the picture online. There was one huge difference: the real place was all boarded up! About the time I am realizing this, Bryon says, "Is that the restaurant all boarded up?" We got a good laugh out of my smokin' good deal!

There is a place in Hayden called Triple Play. They have a ton of different things to do. We decided to go there after lunch and check it out. We ended up going swimming. They have a huge indoor waterpark. There are three waterslides, a kiddie pool and a giant wave pool. We had so much fun! There were two other families from the gym that ended up there the same time we were. Conner thought he was so cool haning out with his friends. I think I cramped his style by making him check in with me. We literally spent all afternoon at the pool.

For dinner, Sam and Conner wanted to go back to Tomato Street. While Bryon and I loved it, we wanted to try something different. One of the lifeguards recommended a pizza place called Mackenzie River. The kids ordered off the kids menu and Bryon and I ordered a pizza to share. It was sooo yummy! It hit the spot.

When we got back to the hotel, we noticed one of Conner's coaches and a few families were gathered down in the room where the continental breakfast is served. Bryon and Conner went down to get popcorn and see what was going on. The kids and I soon decided to go down and join everyone else. We had so much fun haning out with the other families. There was a hot game of cards going on. Being a card shark, I jumped at the chance to join in. Bryon and the kids ended up going back to the room about 11:00. I ended up playing cards until about 1:00 a.m.!

Sunday morning we got up and got ready to go. There is a continental breakfast offered at the hotel. About the time we were down trying to grab a bite to eat before hitting he road, so were several other families.


I told Bryon I didn't drive all the way to Coeur D'Alene not to spend some time at the lake. Before leaving on our trip, we were told about a darling children's book called "Mudgy and Millie". It is about a moose and a mouse that play hide-and-seek through Couer D'Alene. A scuplor then scuplted five life size statues of Mudgy and Millie and they can be found around Couer D'Alene. Sunday morning we read the book with our kids. We then went downtown to find the moose and mouse statues. Our children really got into it and we had to find all FIVE statues.


Our little treasure hunt took us right down by the river. It was beautiful there. As you can tell by the picture, it was cold. After our little treasure hunt, we headed for home.

Bryon wasn't feeling well. He thinks he got a little too much water sliding the day before. He drove to Missoula where we stopped for lunch. We ate at Mackenzie River again. I had a salad this time. I didn't enjoy it as much as I did the pizza the night before. I then drove from Missoula. We had decided earlier, to take the scenic route home. We had decided instead of driving through Montana again, we would turn off at Missoula and go home through Salmon. This was a very pretty drive. I hadn't been to Salmon before. I am not sure it added very many additional miles but I feel like it took longer because of the speed limit. On the way home, the kids drank more pop and so consequently we had many more potty stops on the way home. At Leadore, we hit a complete white-out where I couldn't even see the side of the road. It was there, I decided I was done driving and Bryon and switched off again.

It was a great weekend. I was so thankful for the chance we had to get away as a family.

Spring Break

Well Sam wanted to go somewhere "warmer" for Spring Break. It doesn't take much to be warmer than Rexburg, Idaho! I told him while we couldn't afford a trip to the Bahamas or anything, we definitely could go to Burley for the weekend.

On Friday night we hired a sitter for Conner, Logan and Natalie. We took Sam and went with my parents out to Oakley to see "Oliver." It was very well done.

Saturday morning the kids dyed Easter Eggs. Later that day we went to Storybook Park. It is one of the kids favorite places to visit while we were in Burley.

My parents have been called to serve in a Single's Branch in Burley. So Bryon and I took Conner, Logan & Natalie to church in the good old Burley 3rd Ward (the ward I grew up in). Sam stayed behind to go to church with Grandpa & Grandma. It worked out well. Their church starts one hour later than Third Wards. So once we were gone, Sam got to play the Easter Bunny and hid the Easter eggs and put out the Easter baskets. He had a great time. When we all got home from church, we did the Easter Egg Hunt, had dinner and then went for a drive over to Shoshone Falls. The falls are beautiful this time of year. I personally hadn't been there for quite some time. It brought back a lot of memories for me. Growing up, we would go over every Saturday before Easter. We would have a picnic and roll eggs down this gigantic hill. They have walking paths around there too. I was still having problems with my leg but Bryon took the older boys on some short hikes. Because it was Sam's birthday the following day, once we got back to Burley, we had cake and ice cream and Sam got to open his presents from his Grandpa & Grandma Roskelley.

With it being Spring Break and Bryon and the kids didn't have school on Monday, we spent Sunday night in Burley. Then Monday morning, we got up and left for Burley shortly after my parents left for work. What a great time we had in Burley on Spring Break!

Burley 08-12-08 to 08-17-08

My sister, Lori, was in Burley for fair week with her three kids. I was very wishy washy about when exactly I was going to go home. I wanted desperately to go home and get my hands on that darling new nephew of mine. I also wanted to give my children a chance to play with their cousins that they don't see that often. The only hang up is Bryon started his school contract that week and the earliest he could go to Burley was late Friday afternoon. I decided at the last minute to leave Tuesday night and if Bryon could find a ride to Burley he would join us later in the week, if not we would see him Sunday night when we got home.

Of course it was late by the time I left Rexburg on Tuesday night. We didn't even get home until 11:00. You would think they kids would have slept most of the way. They hardly slept at all. They didn't fall asleep until Masacre Rocks which just means they are sound asleep by the time we hit Burley and it is hard as ever to get them out of the car and into the house.

Wednesday we went to the parade. The kids had a great time and the temperature was just right for a parade. Wednesday night we all went to "cow cutting". My mom really enjoys this event. Sam & Conner bumped into the two neighbor boys from Rexburg. I think all the kids were so surprised to find each other in Burley. We kept telling them that both their Grandparents live just down the road from each other but I don't think it registered until now. They had a great time playing together.

Thursday afternoon we met up with my mom in the late afternoon in Twin Falls. My mom had some work meetings and was already in Twin Falls. Lori and I wanted to get some school shopping done. I had tried to do a little in Idaho Falls on Tuesday but didn't have much success. We only went for a couple of hours but with eight children seven and under that was about one hour and fifty minutes too long. Sam had gotten up early that morning and went fishing the whole day with my dad and brother-in-law, Mike. He had an awesome time. Thanks dad for taking him. He sure looks forward to it and it is all he talks about for days after. I was able to find quite a few things during our shopping excursion.

Friday my sister, Lori; my mom; my niece, Katie; and I went for pedicures. Alyson had to work. I had never had a pedicure before. I loved the experience. I guarantee it will not be another 33 years before I go again. I already have plans to find out how much the beauty colleges around here charge. Friday night my mom watched Natalie and Logan while my dad, Sam, Conner, and I went to the rodeo.

Saturday morning we got up early and was at the Twin Falls temple by 8:30. It was the last day for the Twin Falls open house. We had tickets for later in the day but decided to try to go before the big rush. We were glad we did. We timed it just right. Our tour was fantastic. I swear my children don't realized how fortunate they are. I look back and I was able to attend two temple open houses growing up. This was also my children's second temple open house. However, Sam has been three other times to be sealed and to witness the sealing of his siblings to Bryon and I. I have been so glad for these open houses so that we can rediscuss some of the things that happened the day we were sealed as a family as well as discuss the special feelings that we feel there. The Twin Falls temple is very beautiful. It reminds me quite a bit of the Rexburg temple. Saturday afternoon, Bryon was able to find a ride and meet me in Burley. Saturday night we went up to the fair, yet again, to look at the exhibits.

Sunday we went to church with my parents, had a delicious dinner and then headed home. My parents have a beautiful yard. One of my favorite things to do while in Burley is to sit on their patio and enjoy their yard. While I was home, we ate almost every meal outside so it was very nice to be able to enjoy their yard.

Thanks mom and dad for such an enjoyable weekend!

Logan Trip & Kennedy Reunion

I have a childhood friend named Terra Anderson that I grew up with. She is now married, has a family and is living in Logan. We have stayed in touch through the years. She offered for me to go down and spend some time with her. It worked out that we were going to be going over to Randolph for a family reunion and I decided to leave a day early so I could spend some time with her. Bryon was going to stay home and work and then drive down to the reunion with his parents and meet up with me in Randolph.

I left the morning of August 7th. It was just me and the kids. We got to Terra's around noon. Terra's kids have grown. She has two girls and a boy. One of her girls was on the road trucking with her dad so we were only able to see two of her kids. She had never met Logan and Natalie. The kids had a great time playing together. Later that afternoon, we went into the Cache Valley Fair. We just walked around the exhibits and ate shaved ice. We walked through the exhibit where each town makes a display with seeds and vegetables. It brough back so many memories of me going to the fair with my parents and grandparents when I was younger. We stopped and got Chinese take-out and a movie before heading home. Chinese take-out totally hit the spot! I had Tiny Spicy Chicken which was one of my favorites while we lived in Logan but you can't get it here. The kids watched a movie and went to bed while Terra and I visited. We talked until almost 2:00 in the morning.

The next day, we spent the morning visiting some more before I had to leave for Randolph. I told Bryon I was going to leave Cache Valley about 3:30 so I could beat the traffic traveling through Logan Canyon for the weekend. Well, I didn't get away as early as I had anticipated. Plus, I stopped in Old Navy in Logan to look for some school clothes for the kids. They were hungry by this time so we stopped at McDonalds to get some food before heading over the canyon.

I forgot to call Bryon before leaving Logan and when I tried traveling through the canyon, I already had lost service. So I wasn't able to touch base with him until I was out of the canyon and by this time he is already expecting me to be at the reunion. Upon entering Garden City, just off of Logan Canyon, my brakes were sounding awful. So when I did talk to Bryon I told him I thought the brakes had gone out on the van. So he was already a nervous wreck about me not being there and then the first thing he heard from me was the brakes were out in the van. Then someone at the reunion told him it was Raspberry Days in Bear Lake, which made him even more nervous. I am not going to lie: the traffic around Bear Lake was awful! I talked to Bryon's uncle about the brakes. He informed me to go slow and they would look at them when I got there. Come to find out the brakes were fine, they had just overheated because I rode them so much through the canyon.

The reunion was held at Bryon's grandparents home which is now a vacation home. Every other year it is the Kennedy Reunion and every other year it is the Kennedy/Hatch reunion. This year it was the Kennedy/Hatch reunion. It was a great reunion. I'll admit I was really dragging my feet about going. However, once I got there I was instantly reminded how fun the reunions are and how much I enjoy spending time with Bryon's extended family. They are all such great people!

Saturday's activities were jam packed with horse riding for the kids, a fishing pond for the kids, crafts for the kids and another craft for the ladies, 3 on 3 basketball, visiting, a duck race, a silent auction, and of course eating way more than we should have. It got a little rainy during the duck races but quickly blew over. Logan's duck came in third place during the duck races. He got a little trophy and a ribbon. That is all we have heard about (that and Terra has all the cars to the movie Cars) nonstop since our trip. That night we had a program of some cowboy poetry by a family member and then a lady came and sang some songs. The weather seemed fine when we went to bed that night in our tent. However, we were awoken about 4:00 to the sights and sounds of thunder, lightening, and rain. It wasn't long before the wind picked up. Bryon's brother and his family were in the tent next to us. We were the only two families braving sleeping in tents. Everyone else had gone home, were in the house or were sleeping in trailers. We heard Bruce get up and drive his car up next to the tent. He had found coolers to put on some of his stakes so they wouldn't pull out of the ground. About the time it started pouring rain and getting really windy that our kids started freaking out a bit. We told them we were perfectly safe in the tent and actually if we got out, we took the risk of our tent blowing away and so we were just going to lay there and ride out the storm. It wasn't long before the "fly" flew off our tent and the wind had pulled most of our stakes out of the ground. The tent started hitting Bryon in the face. Bryon decided we were done "riding" it out and we needed to load up the car as fast as we could and then make a run for the house. He pulled the van back to the tent and I handed him things out of the tent just as fast as I could. I don't think I have ever packed so fast in my whole life! Then I took the kids and we made a run for the house while Bryon and Bruce carried the tent to the garage. By breakfast the storm had totally blown over and the sky was clear blue. We had breakfast, got ready, loaded up and left.

I hadn't been able to do any school clothes shopping and had talked Bryon into making a big loop and going over Monte Cristo through Ogden so I could stop at Mervyn's in Ogden and Layton. I know it was Sunday but I couldn't figure out any other time we would be in Layton that I could go to Mervyns and I did a majority of school clothes shopping there last year. I had never been through Monte Cristo before. The drive through Monte Cristo was beautiful, some of the sights were breathtaking. Later when talking to my mom, she informed me that my Grandpa Pehrson loved driving through Monte Cristo. I could now see why and I felt a little closer to my Grandpa that day. We were able to find a few things at Mervyn's but not as much as I had found the previous year. We stopped for lunch at the Olive Garden and then headed home.