Idaho is a Wonderland

This past weekend was Pioneer Day, the day that the Mormon pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. In all seriousness, am very grateful for my pioneer ancestors, and the things they sacrificed to come to Utah so they could worship as they pleased. I love to hear the stories, and see the pictures of those who crossed the plains so many years ago. I thank and admire them.

I am also grateful because it means I got a three day weekend.

I used this weekend wisely, and went home with two friends from my mission: Corrinn Aune, and Mitchell McBride. When we started out the trip, I admit I thought it was a slightly odd combination of people, but I knew it would be fun. Mitch was planning to come up to Idaho to help work on his grandma's house, and get it fixed up and ready for her return from her mission in a few weeks. Corrinn and I had been talking for several weeks about making a trip to Idaho so she could see "where I'm from" and spend some time with my family. So, we decided to all go up together.

We left Friday morning, and even though we got stuck in traffic (going so slow that Corrinn got out of the car, stood by the Corrinne, Utah sign, Mitch took her picture and she got back in all without holding up traffic) we still made good time, and got there by 1:30pm. We first got some Wendy's (good stuff) and then headed over to Mitch's grandma's house to do some work. We had originally planned to work on Saturday, but since we had time we decided to knock it all out on Friday afternoon. His uncle had told us a few things that needed to be done, and then told us to just do what we could, and not worry about coming Saturday. We ended up getting almost everything done: cleaning paint off of wooden chairs, painting the bathroom, cleaning the tile, and even a few things we weren't asked to do, like fixing the toilet and putting shutters back up (okay, so obviously Mitch did those things...) Who would have thought that cleaning would be so much fun? Well, with this group, it was.

Time flew, and before we knew it we were heading to my house for dinner. Dad had cooked fajitas, and we got home just in time. Most of my family already knew both of my friends, but it was fun to see them all interact. Especially with the dogs! (Which they loved...I think.) Clayton read a "Break-up Letter" from YouTube (he edited it) and had us all in stitches. Then between him, my dad, and Mitch we pretty much couldn't breathe that night. Or most of the weekend. After dinner the men went into the living room for "man talk" and us girls chatted in the kitchen. It was just a chill and fun evening.

Saturday was "Pioneer Day" and even though Clayton and Melissa both had to work, the rest of us still had a really fun day. It started when we went to the parade in St. Anthony, Idaho. We got there pretty early, so I had time to walk Corrinn and Mitch around town and show them where I lived before, and see a few of the "sights" lol...okay, so there aren't too many sights in St. Anthony, but it's a fun and quaint little town, and we had fun walking around. We even ran into Mitch's aunt! Once the parade started we stood most of the time, watching the horses, military men, and floats. It's probably the best parade around the area all year. The weather was perfect, and we had fun!



Then we headed straight from there to Mesa Falls, where Corrinn and Mitch were amazed that Idaho is actually beautiful. Okay, just kidding. But the falls are amazing, and we got some great pictures. Mitch even inspired dad to try a new way of wearing his hat.






































Here's one of Mitch with water all over his face...it must have been hot. Or maybe Corrinn sprayed him in the face with the drinking fountain. Something like that, the memory is a little fuzzy....





We left the falls and headed out to eat lunch. For lunch we brought hot dogs and cookies (the essentials) so we drove out to a campsite and built a fire. The "men" went and got the wood, and started a roaring blaze. Well, it would have been, if they had found more wood. And if it hadn't taken us forever to cut some willows for roasting the hot dogs. Corrinn and I waded across the roaring river to cut some willows on the other side. Okay it was a big ditch, but the rocks were slippery, and there were a few seconds there where it was touch and go! The biggest problem was that the knife was alittle dull...but we got 'er done! Again, we all laughed til our guts hurt and really enjoyed ourselves!






From there we headed out to Big Spring where the water bubbles out from under ground, and trickles out of the mountain. It's beautiful, see?

We put our feet in the water, and realized that it must have been snow about 10 seconds before...it was so cold! So, we had a competetion to see who could hold their foot in the longest. I was winning, so Mitch cheated. Well, I sprinkled a little water on his face (cause he looked warm) and he decided it was war. So he splashed the whole right side of my body! I jumped back to escape and he shouted "I Win!" So I took his hat and soaked it in the river and put it back on his head. Things got ugly after that... okay, not really. But he threatened to throw me in if we ever go back. I'll take a mental note...








We drove home after that, going through Ashton, Idaho where we stopped for ice cream at Dave's Delicatessen. You get tons of ice cream for your buck so we had to stop.

When we got home we changed from shorts and flip flops to jeans and tennis shoes and headed out to the horse pasture. Corrinn and I followed on the four-wheeler, with dad and Mitch in the truck. As we rode she kept saying "I can't believe you live here! This is so beautiful!" Which it is.

Corrinn and Mitch were the first to ride, and after a brief riding lesson, they were off. After one lap around the field Mitch decided he wanted to be a cowboy. Well, I guess he had always wanted to, but now he said he KNEW he wanted to. They both rode well, and even got stubborn Chevy and Disco to gait a little! Dad was impressed cause Corrinn got Disco to ride away from Chevy and be on his own! Maybe we should start calling her the "Horse Whisperer." Oh, and Mitch is working on his cowboy pose. What do you think?

The rest of us took our turns, and while we did that Corrinn and Mitch took their turn on the four-wheeler--going REALLY slow, and then it got too dark to keep going.

Mitch came back with me on the four-wheeler, and I showed him how you're REALLY supposed to drive them. At one point we pulled onto a main road where the speed limit is 40. "You can only go 40 on this road," he said. I can only assume he thought that meant I'd slow down. But, you see, 40 feels a LOT faster on a four-wheeler than in a car. "You want me to go 40?" I asked. "Okay!" So we did. It was hilarious. When we got home I let him drive once around the subdivision, and we parked it for the night. "I'm gonna move to Idaho..." he sang,"...and live here for the rest of my life!" Haha, both he and Corrinn said it was the most fun they'd ever had. Probably not true, but hey, it's Idaho, it rocks!










Mom, Melissa and Corrinn had gotten Subway, so we all had a late supper before heading to bed.
Sunday we went to church, and came home and had a dutch oven dinner. Dad made chicken, and Corrinn helped make the potatoes. She had never seen a red potato that big before. The things these non-Idahoans miss out on! It's incredible haha... there was a little down time during which we talked and played with the puppies.

Dinner was obviously delicious, but the best part was after we ate when we sat around and shared our most embarrassing stories. Mom laughed so hard she was crying as she described the time she wore her mom's wig to school in 5th grade. The rest of us struggled to think of really embarrassing moments, but Mitch had to narrow his down to the "top three" which he shared with us in such detail that we were all gasping for breath through our laughter. It was great. But all too soon the weekend was over, and once again we loaded up the car and drove home.

Driving back to Utah brought even MORE funny moments, if you can imagine, as well as lots of great conversation. By the time we got back to Utah I felt like I was traveling with my two best friends. It was a great weekend, and as Mitch put it "the best road-trip ever" and I am so glad that we got to go! Thanks mom and dad for letting us stay and for showing us the high life in Idaho!