Osoyoos, Canada ~ Day 6

We woke up today and leisurely got ready.  It's nice not to be rushing out the door to catch a plan.  My Dad drove us to Coeur D'Alene to pick up our rental car.  Since they weren't opened yesterday and we almost drove 3 hours to find out they were closed for Iron Man, we asked if they would give us the mini van instead of the intermediate car and they happily agreed.  Sweet!  Thank God since Noah was off the chain this morning and I was ready to put him in the trunk.

But were were quickly off and adjusted our path since we all went south 45 minutes.  We took a little different route through Washington. We loved all the farm land and the mustard seed land.  Isn't that the coolest?  We first saw them in Prince Edward Island and there is no mistaking that bright yellow.

Emily wanted to get out and roll around in it.  She loves mustard.

There are parts of Washington that look kind of like Arizona, flat and kind of desert looking.

This was the Coolee Dam.  Come to find out, Dakri's Grandpa worked there for years.

Then, 5 minutes later, we are in total forest.

Then, we are in desert again and then endless apple orchards.

I noticed the antennae and thought it was bizarre that there was an antennae on the car.  I asked the kids if they knew what it was for.  Emily said, "wifi?"  Um, no.  Then, she knew it was a radio signal.  Oh vay, these kids today.

It was a 4 hour drive, but we had a few stops at Subway in Davenport and then we stopped in Omak to go to Walmart and grab a few things before we got into Canada and paid double the prices.  The border crossing was a breeze, less than 5 minutes.  Our hotel is Osoyoos, which is 5 minutes across the border is totally awesome.  It's nothing fancy, but it's big and has a fold out sofa and balcony that overlooks the lake.  It's very pretty.  

We couldn't wait to get our suits on and get in the water.  It was hot today!

But first, the kids wanted to go to the waterslide, which is indoors.  And it is FAST!

Then, we went in the lake.  The water was pretty warm and so nice.  

They have all these rafts and toys that you can play with for free.

Then, we just ordered pizza and salads and stayed at the hotel.  It was nice not to go out.  Now the kids are back at the water slide.  

Tomorrow, we have another 4 1/2 hour drive to the ferry.
Looking forward to more beautiful Canada scenery and to see our sweet Kelley family.

Idaho, Day 5

It was a gorgeous day today in Idaho.  We took a short boat ride to the beach and played for a bit.

The kids love the swingset there.  Emily loves any swingset with bars.

The boys were telling secrets.

The water was still chilly, but it felt good.

David swam some laps.

A plane flew over...

We built sandcastles and chilled.

We got back and had some lunch and one of the neighbor girls came over.  She's 11 also and named Olivia.  The kids caught tadpoles off the dock.

While Dad recouped.

Then, we took the jet skis and then the raft.  

The kids just love it.

The problem is I'm bouncing around in the speed boat as much as they are, so sometimes, the pictures aren't so great.  But, they are still funny.

Noah preferred to stay on the boat.

Then, a big wave came and this happened.  

Luckily, they weren't scared.  I've warned them every time that if they ever flip, don't worry, we  circle around and come back for them.  They did fine and thought it was hysterical.

Then, we came home and Suzy had a feast ready for us....
rib eyes, corn, baked beans, baked potatoes, salad, oh my gosh, it was so good.

To work off some of the dinner, we took a walk tonight.  Oh, I never mentioned the desserts, cherry pie with fresh cherries that David picked, chocolate cake, strawberry shortcake.  And breakfast every  morning too....french toast, blueberry pancakes, a pound of bacon every morning for the boys.  

We need to go on more than one walk, that's for sure!  But, I loved how the sun looked coming through the trees.

My Dad has this thing that he piles a new rock on his piles when he walks down his path.  So, the kids started doing that and making their own pile.  One is an Emily pile.  There is a Noah pile and a Galeana pile.

And Ben is contact to spin webs all day.

Oh, we adverted a major issue today.  We were supposed to get our rental car at 11:30.  That was smack dab in the middle of the day, so we thought maybe we could modify it and get it at 9 when they open.  Now, the rental car place is 45 minutes away.  So, not around the corner.  I try to call them and I keep getting sent to the 800 number.  So, I go online to modify it and it says, this location is closed due to Iron Man competition.  What?  Nobody told me that.  No phone call, no email, no text.  Thanks a lot Budget Rental Car.  So, after 30 minutes on the phone today to a several different employees, I finally confirmed that the location is closed today and we can't get our car.  Do you know how ticked I would've been if my Dad and David wasted 2 hours of our vacation day to go get a car they couldn't get?  LIVID!!!!  So, we are getting it first thing in the morning and heading out for Canada from the car rental place.  Oh, and Budget is so generous, they are giving us a credit of 22 cents.  How nice!  I won't book with them again that's for sure. 

We drive half way to Vancouver tomorrow and are staying the night in Osoyoos, British Colombia!

Idaho, Day 4

Emily keeps asking my why I keep taking sunset photos....um, because they look like this!  This was last nights sunset. So pretty


We have little jack rabbits at home, they have huge bunnies here.  This little guy was wandering around the yard.  He was fast.

David took out the green kayak and went for a row this morning.  On his way back, Emily wanted to head out there in the orange kayak and meet him.  She was handling it so well that David thought it was me from a distance.  That's my girl!

Then, my Dad and the boys took the canoe to meet them.  

And while I was on the dock, I saw this bee swoop in and he ate this dragonfly.  I had no idea they did that.  Poor dragonfly.  I would've tried to stop the bee, but it all happened too quickly.

Here they all are in the middle of the lake.

Then, the 5 of us took out the paddle boat.  There was a time when that was the only toy my Dad and Suzy had.  My Aunt Rosie and I had some great times in that boat.  If you look, I'm on the left and I'm taking a selfie of the 5 of us.

And here's that selfie.  :)

It's 1/4 mile to the other end of the river and it took us maybe 30 minutes, but we got there.

I told the kids it doesn't count unless they touch the rocks on the other side, so they did.  

And this is my Dad's house from across the lake.  It's the white dot smack dab in the middle.

We finally made it back.  My legs will feel that tomorrow.

Then, some clouds came in and it got a little cool and by cool, I mean maybe 70.  So, we decided to build a fire in the middle of the day. Why not?  Fires are one of Noah's favorite things.

Then, we made smores!

Then, it warmed up and we played in the water and just hung out all day.

Here's Emily doing some tricks on the trampoline.

And here's Noah's tricks.  :)

And we took out jet skis.

There are these super cute baby birds in the bird house.  I got too close and the Mama came by and almost took me out!  She's serious!

Emily tried to swing, but the neighbor had on her sprinklers and Emily was getting a little wet.  

Suzy made us another fantastic dinner.  Seriously, great meals.  We've had tri tip, roast, chicken and tomorrow is rib eyes.  David is in heaven.  

Then, we went for a boat ride on the pontoon boat. 

It didn't feel cold, but as soon as you got on the water it got cold.  

We were all bundled up.  David even used the boat cover.

It was another great day.  Tomorrow is our warmest day yet.  Looking forward to more time on the water!