The REAL end.

Goodbyes can be so hard!

Thankfully....we had already made plans to see everyone in just a few months at Bella's baptism (which is now just NEXT week, see how time flies??!!)

 After we pulled out of the cabin drive and headed onto the freeway, I looked back at the girls and Aube was quiet sobbing. Then it turned into a bit of a wail, with "I miss Grammy sooooooooo much!"
Poor sweetie, I know the feeling. I remember crying so hard when I had to leave Las Vegas and my grandma and grandpa Jones. So hard when your little to understand! It broke my heart a little bit to see Aubree so upset.

We drove into Spokane to return our rental car and catch our flight.
The rental had been very loved on....as you can tell by the fingerprints. We made sure to check out every setting!

Waiting for flights is always the hardest part...especially for a 2 year old who just wants to run all over and do whatever he wants. But we didn't have long to wait.....

....and the payphone kept him busy.

Please insert twenty-five cents....

Almost home! My travelling companions sure are cute.

Truly a trip we will never forget....mixed with happiness at being together as a family and sadness in saying goodbye to Grandma Dorothy and her home. So grateful for the memories we have of her and the memories we made on this trip! 

The End. Kinda.

On the 4th of July, we did a little bit of sight seeing in the area. One place we stopped off at (after getting another huckleberry shake, yum) was a grassy area behind the Wallace Chamber of Commerce. It had a bunch of old mining equipment out on display for kids to look at and even play on.

Papa helping Jax sound the alarm.

It was a very HAPPY day. No other way to really describe it. We really enjoyed one another's company.

Watching the stream/river/watersource. 

He loves his daddy (even more than he loves to be picked up...which is saying A LOT).

After visiting Wallace, where we thought we would find more 4th festivities but the town was pretty empty, we headed in the opposite direction on I90, to check out an old Mission.

Not 100% sure I was allowed to take pictures inside of it...so I'll only post one, ha, but it was too beautiful inside not to show! Everything was hand-carved and so intricate, the picture doesn't do it justice. 

We traipsed around the grounds, checking out an old cemetery and some other replicas of old buildings. 

Jax and his Uncle Topher (who is a SENIOR this year....ummm, what?!) So thankful for the time the kiddos got to spend with him, he's quite a nice fella.

The original mission was put together using these things (MommaLove knows MUCH more about it than I do, this is why you blog SOONER, so you don't forget the little details and why you took the picture!). I thought it was so cool that there weren't any nails.

We stayed at the Mission till it closed, then headed back to Kellogg to eat some dinner and catch the fireworks. The temperature dropped a few degrees and we were CHILLY!

Papa and Daddy walked over to the fireworks stand and got a few sparklers.

Jaxson snuggled with Grammy.

We "shared" some curly fries....or maybe I ate most of them, who knows.

Sparklers make me happy. 

They also make Bella happy....being the only type of firework she likes, since they are QUIET.

Jaxson snuggled with Daddy (the boy gets around...).

Mommy snuggled with Bella and prepared to clamp my hands over her ears for the big boom show.

So....maybe we could have gotten a bit closer, ha! But it was still a pretty show Ü and really, being there together as a family was the best part of the whole night!

Sunday funday.

On the Sunday of our trip, we got up nice 'n early and headed to church.

With all 19 of us there, we filled up a good portion of the chapel.

It just so happened to be fast & testimony meeting, so we were priveleged to hear from James' dad & mom. Hearing a parent's testimony is one of the very best things you can hear in church, IMO.

My cuties, all dressed up.

So, I've said before the place we stayed at was awesome. Perfect for our family.

Our cabin, the Villa, was .....quaint. A one bedroom, one bathroom and a small kitchen....just enough room. I just have to share the decor, tho.

Tiger print.

Seriously....the entire place was carpeted in and decorated in tiger print.

Hilarious.

Sunday afternoon we spent some time at a local park.

With the weather as beautiful as it was, we would have been silly not to spend as much time outside as possible.

I think this was the first time my kids had seen a merry-go-round. It was practically vintage! Good memories of getting nice and nauseous, as it spun round and round.

After a  yummy dinner {Sati Babi, a Kirchmann fave} we played a game of kickball.
Boys against girls...

The girls took the lead...and whipped the boys!

Hahah...okay...the boys won. Whatever.

Lots of "fair play" going on....that's for sure.

And the boys were SO humble about their win.

Psh.

On the girls team...we were great examples of Teamwork.

Run faster, mama!

I can't remember the last time I played kickball.

But even with the defeat, it was a blast and we laughed, what else could you ask for?



How do you entertain children during down time on a vacation?

Easy!
You take one Tia Kari {plus} some Pinterest and other ideas and it {equals} happy happy kids.

But you gotta have the Tia Kari part {sorry, we love her too much, you can't have her}.

Tia came up with SO many cool things for the kids to do....

They collected bugs!

They went on a Nature Scavenger hunt.

Look! It's moss!

Played some Simon Says and Red Light, Green Light.

Tia also came up with making kaleidoscopes, painting pillow cases, and making lanterns from bottles of water and glo-sticks! Seriously, the girl is a genius.

The set up of our "cabins" made it easy for the kiddos to run from one house to another.

This picture is taken standing by Grammy and Papa's door....behind this too cute fence to the right was our cabin, and the one to the left was Lisa and Kari's cabin.
Each cabin had a grill, patio furniture to enjoy eating outside, a kitchen and a hot tub....which we didn't use until the last 2 nights {man were we missing out!}

We rented these cabins thru Kellogg Vacation Homes.

Great little homes, great price, beautiful scenery. Bliss.

Dres is the baby of the kid crew...

Such a cutie....wishing he could play outside with the big kids!

Since we knew we'd be doing alot of driving back and forth, we rented a car at the airport in Spokane....and Ford Taurus Limited. Sa-weetest car {new car smell, yum!}.

Unfortunately the bike racks from Saturday's trip put a good sized dent in the trunk area.

Since I'm awesome {and remember everything I've pinned on Pinterest} I suggested using a plunger to get the dent out, instead of buying a $30 dent kit. And did it work? Heck yeah! And they were even able to return the plunger! Bam!

The menu was picked out with special care....so we were lucky enough to have great food every night. One of the nights, Alexis fried up her famous fried chicken. SO GOOD! 



Riding the Hiawatha

I would say the best day of our trip was Saturday.

Each day was special in its own little way, of course, but this day was just....extra best.

I've mentioned a few times, James did his research before this trip.

{Mr. Research, shall we call him}

He found this fantastic activity: Riding the Hiawatha

A bike trail that starts at the border of Idaho and Montana.

We were able to rent bikes, tag-a-longs and burley trailers.

Attached them to our rental cars and then drove a few more minutes to the trailhead.

The kids {and adults} were so excited.
We each got our own helmets....so fashion forward.

MommaLove and Me....
A little out of order {methinks this is after we reached the bottom of the trail, waiting for our shuttle back up to the top}

But she and I were able to spend some fun time together on the trail....keeping up the rear Ü.

She's my favorite.

Think we had enough bikes?

I love this picture.

Mr. Research

Jaxson was in heaven....he kept saying "Ready? GO!"

Makes me think I may have to actually get a bike this fall, so we can go riding when the weather cools down.

Papa had Bella hooked to his bike. He was a trooper....Bella hasn't quite mastered bike riding {thanks, mommy and daddy} and was a tad {a lot} wobbly.

Topher took Aube {per her request}.

Sweet little Dresden. 

To start the trail....you go thru a mile+ long tunnel.
It's dark, cold, drizzly and damp....and AWESOME.

{on the way back, the bus drops you and your bikes off on the other side of this tunnel and you have to ride the mile back to get to your car....notsoawesome}

We all had little flashlights on our bikes so we could see a few feet in front of us.

This is where watching scary movies {hello...The Descent, bah!} was not a good idea!

But all 19 made it out safely on the other side!

Look at this fantastic group of people....

All of the Kirchmann side in one place!

The trail was all downhill....so it wasn't too bad of a ride.

The "comfort" seats we rented for the bikes were not so comfortable. Ouch.

Throughout the ride, it was hard not to think about the beauty of this earth

{and have hymns such as For the Beauty of the Earth run thru your head}

This was truly a majestic place.

We even saw snow in the distance!

We crossed many bridges on the trail.

And several historical markers and places to read about the history of the trail, which once was a railroad.

And only a little mud-flinging.
Sweet Aleigh didn't want the mudflapcover thingy down....

Mother and daughter.

This sign was a welcome sight. I enjoyed every mile of the ride...but man! 15 miles is crazy-long.

Thanks to a shuttle service, we didn't have to ride the bikes UPhill.

They dropped us off on the other side of the 1.7mile tunnel...getting back on those bikes was just a tad brutal for the bum. And the tunnel seemed SO much longer the second time around.

I wasn't the last one!!
{well...until he passed me}

Mr Fix-it

Stats:

15 miles of trail

9 tunnels

7 trestle bridges

19 awesome, road-weary family members

19 muddy bums