Long Time No Post!

I know, I know, it has been FOREVER since I posted and, as Trudy said, you're sick of looking at Trenton's butt!! =) Well, I was in Idaho visiting my family from June 2nd - June 14th while Landon worked on a hard summer school class and went to Junior High camp. I hate being home alone while he's gone, so it was the perfect time to go. I am just now feeling back to normal with a clean house and laundry done, so I took a break for an update. Here are the highlights from our time together:

Caitlyn graduated from Lake City Highschool while I was there!! She has decided to go to University of Idaho in the fall and start the six year architecture program, which means she'll have her masters when she's done! My baby sister, I can't believe it!

For my birthday celebration, we had dinner at my aunt and uncle's house. They just moved out to a "cabin" near Lake Coeur d'Alene and have an amazing view from their deck. Here are the kids (including Anne who we already count as family).

And then my precious boys hugging mommy
It is so amazingly beautiful there, I could talk about it for pages . . . but I won't. Let's just say that besides family, this is the other reason I could live in Idaho! While I'm on the subject, here is my parent's gorgeous backyard.

Trenton loved going outside to see the fish in the koi pond and always wanted to feed them!

Here is the view from the park we went to just five minutes from my parent's house. Trenton got to run around the man-made lake and play on the playground while the adults played bocce ball. It was one of the few clear nights we had without rain. Not that I minded, since I'm a native Arizonan who sometimes forgets what rain looks like ;-)

One afternoon, while the others were all busy in other pursuits, my mom and I took the boys to an indoor water park. I guess these are normal when you have to worry about such a thing as snow!

Trenton and Sawyer both loved it!

At first, we just held Sawyer and sat on the edge while Trenton played. Then slowly Mimi let him get his feet wet, and then she sat him in the water in his clothes, and finally she stripped him to his shorts and let him crawl around. It was so cute to see him enjoy the water too.


Two days in a row, we made the "trek" to Spokane, which is 45 minutes at the MOST, but to these small town folk, it might as well be another state . . . wait a minute . . . ;-) The first day, we went to Cat Tales, which is a smaller version of Out of Africa if you've ever been there. They don't have shows because they're more focused on their Zoological Training Center instead of bringing in tourists.

The big cats pretty much just sat in their cages, but it was amazing to be so close to them, unlike the zoo where there's one tiger laying down in the back half covered in brush! Here's my favorite, the white tiger.

This sign was posted all over the park:

And they meant it too! Trenton, as usual, was running all around and this mountain lion (see below) started stalking him behind the chain link fence!

All of us stopped to stare as this mountain lion kept pacing back and forth following Trenton. And then we found a safer place for him =)

Our second day in Spokane, my mom, my sister, and I took the boys to a kids' museum. They change the hands-on activities multiple times a year so you can go repeatedly and never get bored. The entire museum wasn't very big, so we could let Trenton roam free from one acitivty to the next. It was a nice break for him since he could touch everything without getting in trouble!

There was also a separate area for younger kids, so Sawyer got to be out of the stroller and roam free as well. I will definitely bring them back here when we visit again; it was so entertaining.

Besides going places, we also spent a lot of time at home just talking and being together. At one of the parties with the whole extended family, someone gave Sawyer a lemon and I took a video of it. I used to do the same thing with Trenton, and somehow it's still funny!!

Our last full day, Friday, was jam packed. It was the only day with no chance of rain while we were there. My dad had hoped to get us out on the boat all week, but we at least got a few hours in right at the end. My brother Aaron was the only one brave (or crazy) enough to get in the freezing water and wakeboard. The rest of us hung out on the beach or went along for a windy ride.

That night we celebrated Father's Day with my dad by going to church, a mexican restaurant for dinner, and then downtown to see "Car d'Alene." It's an old car show on wheels. Instead of walking around to view cars, the city blocks off most of downtown and for three hours the cars drive around like an endless parade!

Trenton kept saying, trucks, trucks, vroom vroom. He was in little boy heaven.

All in all, it was the typical Kemp family vacation - lots of good food, crazy card games, late nights, dumb jokes, endless pictures, and plenty of family time.

It was hard to leave and say goodbye, but we were excited to see Landon who got home from camp just a few hours after we did! Here's an adorable video of Sawyer welcoming daddy home: