Father-Sons Backpacking Trip

Travis' dad and the sons (minus Tyler who was away for school) all went on a backpacking trip to the Palisades this year. Richard turned 60 a few days after the trip which is so impressive to be backpacking. His sons think the world of him and love taking him in the outdoors. They hiked into the first lake the first night and then to the second lake and to waterfalls the next day. I'm glad they got to get away and have some guy time. Thanks for being such a fun and amazing dad Chardo!


P.S. I can't wait until Travis and I are older and our kids can take us backpacking. :)

The 4 Cocks

Trenton, Trevor, Travis, and Richard

Hiking in

                          Dinner Time

The Fire

                                                                                    Good Morning Sunshine!

Trevor and Chardo

                                              Camp

                                                                                                        Seeking waterfalls

Hiking with a view

The amazing view from the waterfall

Travis and his Pops

Northern Idaho

Over the 4th of July weekend, we headed way up north by Bonner's Ferry along the Canadian border. It was fun for us because this was a part of Idaho that we haven't ever explored and it was breathtaking. It was green and lush EVERYWHERE. We camped at a private campground in a canyon where two rivers converged that was perfect for families with great campsites, a swimming area, and a playground. We spent the days hiking to some beautiful waterfalls and went on some amazing drives. 

Makenna "texting". Seriously? She's turning into a little tween.

Spokane

After Coeur d' Alene, we headed to stay with Travis' older brother, Trevor and his family in Spokane. They are the best hosts ever. Really, we just made ourselves at home. We stayed with them for a week and then even extended our stay two days because we were having so much fun together. They spoiled us the entire time. The kids all had a blast playing nonstop. We took them to Riverfront Park which had fun rides for the kids (thanks to Stacy for sharing her free passes). This was the first time Makenna and Hadley had really gone on rides and they loved it so much that we ended up going twice. We spent the rest of the week doing fun summer things like running around at the splash pad, playing at the park, going to the movies, barbecuing, Stacy and I did some shopping, the guys got a few bike rides in, the adults got to go out to dinner while Maddy watched the kids, and we went camping over the 4th of July.

RIVERFRONT PARK

Travis was such a good sport to go on the rides with the kids. He was especially thrilled about going on the tilt-a-whirl 4 times in a row. (I wish I would have gotten a picture of how great he was feeling by the fourth time.) The kids' favorites were the Tilt-a-Whirl and the Dragon Coaster.

4TH OF JULY

It is against the law to light fireworks in Spokane. How absurd is that? So we bought fireworks in Idaho and lit them very quickly in Spokane. I love that you can tell how much the kids loved the sound of fireworks.

MOVIE TIME!

MY 31ST BIRTHDAY

This picture perfectly captures Uncle Trevor trying so hard to get Hadley to not be shy to him. It only took 2 weeks for her to warm up to him. 

Heyburn State Park

Our next stop was camping in Heyburn State Park, which is located along Lake Coeur d' Alene. We hadn't been there before and were excited to explore the area. And it didn't disappoint. The park was beautiful and there was plenty to do. We stayed there for 3 days and spent our time bike riding, hiking, swimming, and camping.

 My favorite part of this 10-mile ride was this amazing bridge. The entire trail is an old railroad track. It was fun to ride across this bridge and the view was amazing. I'm glad I have a strong man to pull these two kids up it.

All loaded down for our next stop.