Vacation within a vacation

While we were in Utah, Eric had a week off of work, so we decided to live it up! We were going to spend a few days with my Uncle Steve and Aunt Carol at Island Park, but they had to cancel last minute, so we were up to our own devices. We had already booked a motel in Idaho Falls, so we decided to still head up there and then see where the road took us. Luckily, we have really great friends who have really great parents and they offered us their cabin by Greys River, about 45 mins. out of Alpine, WY. It made for a WAY better vacation than anything we would have come up with. But first, Idaho Falls...

Our zoo pass was reciprical with Idaho Falls Zoo, so we decided that it was a must do. Who can pass up free? The zoo was really small and really smelly at times, but it had some neat animals that we don't have at our local zoo.

The monkeys were by far the best (and the stinkiest!). They had several different kinds that were close enough to see and they were quite entertaining. We stayed at one window for a long time watching a baby monkey pull, pester, and jump on all the other monkeys. Kind of reminded us of Ian!

The kids really enjoyed brushing and petting the goats.

The "nest" ended up being one of the most entertaining things there. I'm not exactly sure why, but the kids loved it. They spent a lot of time playing in it.

I even got to "hatch" them. Good times!

After the zoo we met up with my Uncle Brent and Aunt Hevenlee at their house for dessert. Brewster, Jade, and their spouses came also. They had way more dessert than my poor little post-IHOP belly could handle, but I did my best! It may have been what prompted my Aunt to ask if anyone in the family was expecting.... We had a really nice visit and I'm so glad we were able to go.

On the way to Alpine from Idaho Falls we were told that we had to stop for the traditional square ice cream. Whoever thought to buy a square ice cream scoop was a genius. It's amazing how the shape can up the price so much, but the kids thought it was really cool.

The Scherbel's cabin was perfect! It was exactly what I wanted for a vacation. Running water and electricity with no one else around. Awww.... Kassie's parents were wonderful. They drove the hour and a half from their house to haul up four wheelers for us and let us in, then went back home to wait until they had to drive all the way back up to bring everything back home. They even provided towels, bedding, and all sorts of other camping accessories for us. Packing and unpacking is bad enough when you have the fun in the middle. They did it all for us without any of the perks. Great people!

We decided we wanted to roast hot dogs and marshmallows the first night, so we told Ashlyn to get to rubbing sticks - we needed a fire. She immediately obeyed and worked very diligently at her task.

Thankfully Isaac came along with some matches!

The mountains were so green and beautiful.

One of my favorite things to do in the mountains is build forts. Luckily the kids liked the idea and after some hard work and some compromises on my part (why can't they see my vision?!?), we had the best fort ever.

But by FAR, the kid's favorite thing to do was ride the four wheelers. They had a perfect field by the cabin where the boys rode and rode and rode.

They thought they were pretty big stuff.

I thought they looked like pretty small stuff on those big four wheelers!

One morning we went out exploring, Eric and I driving, with two kids each. We had a lot of fun spotting all the deer and wildlife, but were super excited when we spotted a moose.

Some of the roads were a little tricky, but we all came out alive!

We would stop and hike every now and again. There was a trail we really wanted to hike up, but this creek went right over it. There had been record snowfall, so there was a lot of water running swift and high. We never took a picture of the river, but it had no bank in most places. This little creek was running quite swiftly and was deeper than it looks. I wasn't about to cross it.

Trail or no trail, we were all loving the outdoors. We played around the creek for awhile until we found a fairly fresh bear track, then decided we should move along. That happened the night before, too, only that time it was a mountain lion track and our four wheelers were further away. I picked up a big stick for our walk down...

I thought Ian and Ashlyn would get tired of riding after a short while, but we were gone for over three hours and never heard a single complaint. I think Ian could have gone another three hours. He loved it! Eric showed him which button to push to shift and he became the official shifter. He got it right every time. We thought it was pretty impressive.

When Ian wasn't on a four wheeler, we'd find him in the garage on the tractor - if he could get in. Regardless of his poor broken heart, we kept the garage closed most of the time!

When we weren't enjoying the beautiful countryside, we read books, watched movies, played games, ate, and just loved being together. Thanks again, Scherbels, for making it all happen. We had a WONDERFUL time!