Boise

Shad and I ventured to Meridian to visit my family while Jeff was at Scout Camp.  We were there June 18-25.  I decided to try driving at night while Shad slept rather than driving during the day.  It would've worked out really well if I'd left when I planned, 3 hours earlier than when I left.  Instead I didn't leave till about 9:30-10pm on Monday, putting me in Boise around 3am Tuesday morning... I was exhausted, but thanks to Tangled on my iPod and Dr. Pepper, I made it just fine and didn't have to worry about Shad waking up bored and whiny.  My mom and Nate put out a little treat, note, and flowers from the yard to welcome me when I got there... :)

As usual, our week at home was pretty chill.  My dad put up the tramp just for Shad, and scrubbed it with dish soap and water so his feet wouldn't get black.  How sweet and loving is that!?  He also climbed up in the attic to look for any toys they still had stored away somewhere.  My parents were pretty excited to have Shad in town!

Shad loves animals, and didn't take long to warm up to Bo.  He especially liked feeding him...

My dad is so good with babies.  He just has a way about him.  Shad is so good at just chilling and calming down with my dad...

They also had fun playing...

 

Tuesday was a cooler day.  We surprisingly spent a lot of the day in long pants and jackets.   

Wednesday my mom and I ran some errands and I found a few fun things for Shad at the Other Mother's consignment store, including this trike-style toy, which he loved, but hasn't quite figured out yet:

That afternoon Shad played on the tramp with both Tanner and I.  He really loved the tramp.  I'd be sitting on the couch or something and he'd grab my hand to get me to come with him.  He'd lead me up to the door, outside, and straight to the tramp.  

Tanner and I also rode bikes a little around the neighborhood with Shad that evening.  I really wished my bike trailer would've fit in my car but we made it work...

Thursday morning I took Bo for a jog Bo took me for a run on a big 5 miles circle near my house in Meridian.  I can't believe how much has changed since I left home.  I only lived there for 3 years before going to college in Utah, and now that everything I knew has completely changed, it almost doesn't feel like home.  I guess that's why I still claim Colorado...  

It was much warmer this day, so Shad had a lot of fun playing in the sprinklers with Bo and Dad...

"Safe!"

That afternoon Kylie came over to visit for a few minutes in between her clients.  It was nice to catch up, and hear about what is going on in her life, with her family, her new boyfriend, etc.  

That evening Nate, Brooke, Tanner, and I rode bikes to get snow cones over by Fred Meyer... I love summer.

 Friday I went out to breakfast at Kneaders with Chrissy.  It was the perfect environment to sit and chat for awhile.  I really wish I had a chance to catch up with Kylie and Chrissy more often.  I loved hearing more about her life and Jon's business.  

Shad played on (and under) the tramp some more...

 

 

I'm not sure why we all parked on my bed here, especially since Nate was about to take a shower and I was trying to cut Shad's fingernails... but here we are... a bunch of goofs. 

That afternoon we took Shad to the splash pad at Settler's Park.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 After the splash pad we walked over to watch Nate and Dad finish their horse shoe game... I never actually heard who won, but Nate was pretty proud of his double ringer:

 

That night we made a fire and roasted hot dogs and brawts, and had smores. 

Bath time!

  

Saturday we drove out to Nampa to see Nate and Brooke's new apartment that they'll live in after they get married.  It was really nice, and conveniently located close to where Nate takes classes at CWI.  Brooke will just have a longer commute to work...

Afterwards we drove out to a new, huge Fred Meyer that just opened to check it out.  It was like a Walmart. Crazy.

That evening Nate, Tanner, Brooke, Bo, and I went over to Settler's Park to play frisbee.  It is such a huge, nice park.  It is always busy, yet you can almost always find a section to play in.  

 

We had fun taking these sweet silhouette pictures:

That night Brooke and I made another fire cause we wanted Smores... Nate only joined us when between juggling Shad and getting all the food out there we failed to keep the fire going so he came to help... (Yes I know how to make and keep a fire going... We just weren't paying attention to it...)

I felt like an awesome mom, with my kid out sitting on the cold grass in his pajamas, chomping on a marshmallow at 10:30 at night...

Sunday we went to my parent's ward for church.  Shad did ok, but I wished we had his quiet book or something to help keep him entertained.   After church I took some pictures for Tanner for his mission papers.  He's just waiting on paperwork from his doctor and dentist and then he can submit them!  I couldn't be more happy and proud of him for making this decision to serve a mission.

Sunday evening we played at the park a little more, and then enjoyed a Runyan Sunday tradition of ice cream. 

I decided to try and brave driving Monday during the day rather than leaving Sunday night.  It worked out alright, but I still think I prefer driving at night with Shad, especially during the summer.  It was really hot and he woke up and started fussing about an hour before Ogden.  Luckily my grandparents live in north Ogden so we were able to stop there and use the bathroom and run around for a few minutes, even though they weren't there. 

We made it to Lehi in time to enjoy the new traditional annual Christofferson BBQ at Joan's.  it's so fun that Jeff has so much of his extended family close enough to do barbeques and retreats here and there.  

Thank you Mom and Dad for watching Shad so much so I could play, and for all the buttermilk pancakes and other fun treats.  We had a blast and hope that a summer visit can become a yearly tradition!

Stay tuned for a post about Jeff's High Adventure Scout Camp with our ward... If he took any pictures that is... ;)