vacation part 6 - last day in Idaho

On our last full day in Idaho, we did a little independent exploring, from our friends.

When their little guy went down for a morning nap, we headed out to a nearby park. 

Falls Park, Post Falls, Idaho.

Post Falls.

Callan wasn't too thrilled about trying to get a family picture in front of the falls.

After the park, we headed back to Coeur d'Alene for one last wander downtown, and to walk the world's longest floating boardwalk (3,300 feet long).

The views of the lake, from the boardwalk, were pretty spectacular.

We followed the Mudgy & Millie Trail for a bit.

Callan and Mudgy & Millie at the base of Tubbs Hill (the trail head).

Callan and Mudgy & Millie at the library.

Coeur d'Alene sure is a beautiful city to visit.

Lots of shops and restaurants downtown, a beautiful lake and beach, with lots of lakeside activities, tons of parks and family friendly places to explore.

We'd love to find our way back there, one day!

This vacation was just what we needed.

Time away from Oklahoma, making memories with friends, and exploring someplace new and exciting.

We are already thinking about next year's summer vacation!

vacation part 5 - shopping & the park

Well, I guess I should get back to sharing our Idahoan vacation with you.  My parents were here visiting last week, so I didn't spend much time at the computer.  I'll share a few favorite moments from their visi,t at some point, but let's get through our vacation first.  


Picking up where I left off...


The day after the 4th of July brought us girls a treat.

Tiffany and I headed out to a few local thrift stores ALONE.

Shopping without Callan by my side is rare, but shopping with a girlfriend is like finding a diamond in a cereal box.  It just doesn't happen.  So, needless to say, I was thankful for this time.   I'm always in "mom mode", so to let go of that for just a few hours was refreshing.  We left the house around 10 am and were back by 1 pm.  It was a beautiful 3 hours spent browsing 2 fantastic antique/thrift stores.  And I couldn't have asked for better company.  

Once Tiffany and I got back to the house, Travis and Phil headed out to a local shooting range for a little guy time.  The kids went down for naps, so we enjoyed some quiet time.  After the guys got back, we had dinner, and then decided to walk down to the park at the end of the street.  

Q'emlin Park is a beautiful, little park with a beach front, playground, picnic areas, hiking trails, rock climbing, and fishing spots.  

98% sure that these are huckleberries.

I just LOVE towering pine trees.
I'd live in a little cottage nestled in a grove of them, if I could.

This dandelion was, seriously, the size of a grapefruit.

No, I didn't blow it.

But I totally should have.

Little miss being a brave explorer.

Callan, almost always with one something in one hand, and another something in the other.

He makes me smile.so.big.

We enjoyed some time on the swings before heading back up to the house for the night.

Swinging with his pinecone, of course.

His stick was in the stroller, ya know, for safety reasons.

It was an enjoyable, low-key day.

I'd love to wrap up every day exploring a park just like this one.

Good company, beautiful surroundings, a chill in the air.

Darn near perfect.

vacation part 4 - 4th of July

On the 4th of July, we had plans to spend the majority of the day in downtown Coeur d'Alene.

The town is, locally, famous for it's festivities during the day, and fireworks at night.

We had a bit of a slow start that morning, but the kids enjoyed some punching balloons before we headed out the door.  $1 well spent - they played with them, regularly, for the rest of the week.  The grown-ups might have, too.

Tiffany made these adorable cookies for the 4th!  Aren't they just beautiful!  And delicious, too!

We parked several miles from downtown CDA and walked the Centennial Trail into town, with hopes of avoiding parking frustrations among the masses.  It ended up being a lot further of a walk than we all expected, but it was nice to take in the views along the way.

A few houses along the river.  Not too shabby, right?!  I'd take any one of them.

The section of trail around the lake into town is really pretty - trees line the road, lake views, and tons of people enjoying some Idahoan sunshine on the beach.

Once we got to the downtown area, we paused for a few under the shade of a pine.  Callan pointed at the itty-bitty pinecones on the ground (they were rather round-ish), and kept saying "ball?  ball?!"  I gave him two - one for each hand (because that's how he rolls), and he was the happiest kid around.

This is the tail end of the vendors in the park, but the path through the park was lined with heavenly smells and tempting treats.

Speaking of tail ends, we caught the last few minutes of the parade.  After all that walking, it was time for a parade-side cookie break.

We strolled through the shops downtown - Figpickels is one of the coolest toy stores, ever.

Of course, Callan got a new toy.

That is one very cool airplane.

We wandered up the street and found a statue of Mudgy & Millie, one of 5 throughout the downtown area along the Mudgy & Millie Trail.  

We stopped for lunch and then walked further through town to a roadside, walk-up ice cream shop/burger place.  Huckleberry shakes are tha bomb.  We had more than one during our stay.  Clearly, at this point, the little boys had had enough.  Sweet, tuckered out little guys.

While out and about, we happened upon a Farmer's Market setting up in the middle of downtown - what a treat!  Lots of goodies and local produce.  Such a fun atmosphere.

   
We stopped in at an antique store - lots of cool stuff to look at.  I picked up an afghan for $4.50 and 

               Travis got a mug for $1.50.  Ya know, just doing our part to support the local shops.

After all the fun downtown, and the very long, and tired, walk back to the car, naps were had by the kids and sparklers happened after dinner.  Callan got a kick out of them.  I tried letting him hold one, but that was a bit too dangerous.

Once it started to get dark, we hopped in the car to look for an ideal spot to watch the fireworks.  We may have found a less than perfect spot (a random parking lot next to an RV park), but we were able to see the show, nonetheless, and it was still quite impressive, even from a distance.  

It was a fun, tiring, and festive day.
Perfect weather, lots of exploring, and the best of friends by our side.
Many fond 4th of July memories were made.

"Remember that 4th of July that we spent up in Idaho?  That was fun."