Wednesday evening of our trip, we moved over to stay with Kevin’s parents.  They had sadly spent the day at the funeral for Kevin’s Uncle Hue, and so once we got settled, it was good for them to get to sit and hang out.  Our kids quickly made themselves at home, and we had to force them to stop playing with all the cool games and toys and go to bed. One of my favorite parts of being at their house now (well, ever since it has existed), is how close they are to the Snake River Canyon Rim trail. It is a couple minutes walk, and you are there, and so on Thursday morning, Kevin and I got out together and walked four miles along the canyon, and wow – the views!

Another one of my favorite things about their house is their proximity to the temple – literally across the street, and you can’t beat the view from their backyard.

While I was hanging out in the backyard and enjoying the view, Arthur was showing me all of his great pool noodle lightsaber moves.  It reminded me so much of Derek at his age.

Earlier in the day, we actually got to attend the temple to do baptisms with Kevin’s parents and Lily and Derek.  It was the most wonderful thing to finally be back in the temple after over a year. And getting to do baptisms with just the six of us was such an amazing experience. (For any of you who don’t know about our beliefs about proxy baptisms, go here to learn more.  It is a really special thing we do for our ancestors who never had the opportunity for baptism while they were living.)

That night, for old times sake, we had to go to the Twin Falls Municipal Band Concert in the city park.  For years, Kevin’s little brother, Randy, played in the band. We had a great time eating popcorn and cookies and listening to the band.

I had to leave them all early, because I was taking portraits of my nephew, Adam, and his fiancé, Cindy. We were able to get gorgeous shots of them in the perfect lighting down at the river, on the canyon rim, and at the temple, where they were getting married the next morning.

We finished around 9:45 pm, just in time for sunset. It was gorgeous!

The next morning, I was out on the canyon rim trail again, this time by myself.  I tried going the opposite direction, but I decided that way took me through too many houses, so I turned around and went back the other way. Much better choice.

I got back in time to get ready for Adam and Cindy’s wedding. Covid restrictions had just loosened up enough that they could have more than just 16 people there, and so Kevin and I were able to go, which was so wonderful. We loved being there for Adam, but the best part was getting to be back in the temple – and two days in a row, no less. They were so glowingly happy.

After lunch, Kevin and Dennis took Derek golfing at Highway 93, and he was in heaven being with his dad and grandpa.  And he did really well.  I love that they got to have that special time together, and I hope it becomes a tradition.

I spent most of the day getting to talk and laugh with Kevin’s mom, Valerie, while I edited all the wedding pictures from the night before. And after dinner, we headed over to my mom’s, where they had the wedding reception. It was a low-key reception (I mean, there were goats and chickens very nearby – ha ha!), and was very nice. My favorite part was getting to see people, like Camille Cox, who both Kevin and I adore. Or Arlene Thompson, who has been a friend of my mom’s for almost thirty years. I also got to hang out with my sister, Cheryl.

Cheryl, Scott, and my niece Michelle and I left early, because I was taking Michelle’s senior portraits. It was so crazy hot outside, and we were all melting, but the pictures turned out great. She loved her pictures, and so did I :). I love taking senior portraits!  They are so much fun!

And I had to sneak some pictures of the waterfalls, both big and tiny.

Saturday morning was my last morning workout on the canyon rim, and it was wonderful.  It is such a special place, and I even got to see a few base jumpers jump off of the bridge. Nice!

We also took some time on Saturday to go to a new mini golf course in Twin, and it was so much fun!  The course was deigned with different features of the Magic Valley, like Balance Rock, the Perrine Bridge and Snake River, as well as Shoshone Falls.  It was crazy hot, but we had a blast.

And Lily got a hole-in-one at the ball return, and so Evil Kenivile’s rocket went off and sprayed smoke and lit up.  So awesome!!

That night, I was back out taking pictures. Because of Adam’s wedding, all of Heather’s kids were home, and so I did their family portraits. I even got a few with the grandparents in them, which was very fun.

And I finished off the night and my photo adventures by taking Senior Portraits of my nephew, Caleb. I had to laugh that he was totally content to just wear the same shirt for all the pictures, unlike Michelle the night before, who had seven outfits.  The differences between boys and girls – ha ha!  He is such a great kid, and I loved getting to take his portraits.

Sunday was Father’s Day, but that is for Part 3 of our adventure.