Boise Vacation

A few days after graduation, Eric's sister Heidi and her family flew out to Boise to visit, so I took a few days off and we went to visit too. We definitely had a full house, but it was a fun full house. Eric and I hadn't seen Heidi and her Husband Craig or their son Ethan since Eric's 2-week leave from Iraq in April 2011, and we hadn't even met their newest addition Elizabeth, their adorable 8-month old baby girl. Elizabeth was born a few days after we got married, unfortunately leaving them all home-bound in Virginia for our wedding. So it was great to catch up and see everybody. It was also great to see the rest of Eric's family.

We made a lot of fun memories.

Swimming at a Lake

Floating Down the River

In the middle of the river there is this cool zen-like rock garden.

We floated down the river with Eric's family summer 2010, right after we got engaged. That time I helped push Eric in the river. Of course he retaliated and I went in too. And well that led to an adventure all on its own when the raft floated away before we could get back on and had to fight a nasty current to make our way back to the raft. It was scary and I thought we were going to die, it was a dramatic moment for me that is somewhat embarrassing now. Well, being pregnant, I knew that I was at least safe from being pushed in :) All the boys had their fair share of being pushed out of the raft--which is great fun, when it's not you :) Somehow Mark, Eric's dad, escaped. I'm still not sure how.

Ethan came along too, and had a blast throwing flip-flops and water bottles over the raft, again and again, and watching everyone panic.

Afternoon Picnic In McCall

As we were saying our goodbyes, Eric, who was holding an ice cold water bottle, told Ethan (who was only wearing a diaper at the time) that he should give the water bottle a hug too. Well, being the trusting 2-year-old that he is, he hugs it. He hugged it for a second, looked down at it, gave it a weird look, and slowly let go of it, and looked at his now very cold arms and stomach. Oh goodness, the look on his face was priceless! We all laughed really hard. Later, as Eric and I were remembering it, we started laughing all over again. But then it occurred to us how mean it really was. This poor 2-year-old, who doesn't know any better, listens to his uncle that he trusts, and what does he get? A very cold experience with a water bottle. As awful as it is though, it still makes us laugh. Sorry Ethan, Eric really does feel bad!