One of my all time favorite things to do when we are in Twin Falls, is to walk on the canyon rim trail.  And from Kevin’s parent’s house, it is a three minute walk, and so my workouts on Thursday and Friday were watching the sun rise over the Snake River Canyon – so beautiful, and it makes four miles just fly by to be in all that beauty.

On Friday morning, Grandpa Dennis took us out to ride the horses. He and two of his friends have three horses, and they are such good horses, that it has become a tradition the past few years to ride them whenever we visit. We always start by feeding them apples, as we need to butter them up.

Then it is time to ride. Arthur started on Doc, Lily on Honcho, and Derek on Ringo. 

The older kids are getting really good at riding the horses. Arthur is still a little small and a bit nervous, and so he asked if I would ride with him to start, but then he decided it made the saddle too crowded, and so he rode by himself.

Kevin also got a chance to ride, which he really enjoyed.

The kids really loved being on those horses, and I am grateful for cool experiences like this, that expand their skills and knowledge of the world.  What a special thing it is to ride a horse.  I even got to hop up and ride again, this time on my own, but I ended up with the horse Derek was riding, who does whatever he wants, no matter what you do, and he was done with walking around, and just wanted to eat the fresh cut grass – ha ha!

One of the other favorite traditions the kids have when they come to Grandma and Grandpa’s house, is to play with the pipeworks. Arthur even knew exactly which thing he wanted to build – the slide.  He poured over the plans and carefully laid out all of the pieces, and then he got his older brother to join him on the building.  They did a great job of working together, which is not always the case, and the slide turned out perfectly.  Good times!

To finish off our last day in Idaho, Arthur had to read a book with Grandma Valerie, which is another wonderful tradition. I am so grateful that my kids have such wonderful and loving grandparents.

Saturday morning came all too early, and before we knew it, we were back on the road and heading home to Texas. For our way home, we decided to go by way of Colorado.  It only added about 40 minutes to our total drive, and it meant that we got to stop in Pueblo for the night to see our dear friends, the Gowens. Natalie was my best friend when we lived in Colorado, and although we have kept in touch, it had been six years since we had seen each other last.  We had the most wonderful time talking, catching up, going on a fun walk through their neighborhood, and staying up late to play games. (We played a cool new game called Splendor, and I won!  Wahoo!)

And while the adults played, our kids had a fabulous time together. Arthur, Max, and James were a bit too small when we moved to really remember each other at all, but Derek and Sam and Lily and Ian were such good friends as kids, that they picked up where they left off. It is crazy to see Ian and Lily all grown up. Time flies too fast!

We left early the next morning and made it to our home in San Antonio right around bedtime.  It was a wonderful, albeit quick trip, but it was packed full of amazing experiences and moments and memories we will not soon forget.