Surprise Anniversary Trip

Morgan was gone for about a week before our anniversary. I picked him up from the airport in Boise on Tuesday night, close to midnight. After we got home, he told me to pack a bag, and that we were leaving the next day at 1 pm. Of course my first question was "Who is coming to watch the kids?". Morgan told me that our niece, Tamarah, was going to be here the next morning to stay with them. I had just told him a few weeks ago that we should have her watch our kids next time we go out of town because she would be perfect! The next question I had was "where are we going?!!". At first, Morgan wasn't going to tell me. He said to pack some regular clothes, and swimsuits. Finally I made him just tell me because I wanted to make sure I packed the right stuff! I am a paranoid packer and always way overpack for every trip. We were going to HAWAII. At first I didn't believe him because I had told him do NOT take me on a trip for our anniversary. He always spoils me way too much and I thought this year we could keep it more low-key. And honestly, at first I wasn't very excited because Carter started school two days after we were getting home. I had just been talking to my mom on the way to the airport about how sad I was that I would hardly see him once school started since their school doesn't get out until 4 and I was feeling a little guilty to leave him. But the more I thought about it, the more excited I was to go on a trip with just Morgan and I. And, HELLO HAWAII. I also knew that Tamarah would be such a fun babysitter and take the kids to do fun things while we were gone, which she did. Luckily, I go into project mode every time Morgan goes out of town and I had spent the week organizing the ENTIRE house from top to bottom and had completely cleaned it that day. We packed up that night and then went to sleep. 

The next day, Tamarah drove in from Utah. The kids were so excited she was babysitting! It was a little sad saying goodbye to the kids, but we were only going to be gone for a few days so it wasn't too bad! 

Morgan and I headed to the airport in an Uber, got some food once we got through security, and made it onto the plane. I love going on trips with our kids but MAN it was so nice to not have to worry about anyone else while we were traveling. It was even kind of relaxing traveling to Hawaii! Morgan and I watched four or five episodes of  'Stranger Things' on the planes. We had a layover in Seattle before we got to Maui. It was late when we got there, so we got our rental car and headed to the condo we were staying at. Morgan has been dying to get a Tesla, so I should have known that's what he rented! Those cars are FAST. We had a ton of fun driving it around for a few days there. We stayed at the Whaler Resort on Kannapali Beach, right next to where I had stayed with my family when we went ten years before. It was the perfect spot! There were restaurants and shopping in walking distance. 

We had the best couple of days! We did a helicopter tour which was AMAZING and a little bit scary, ate so much good food, the road to Hana, visited a little surf town called Paia, went to a magic show, went to a luau, hung out at the beach, and relaxed. I loved the laid back vibe of Maui. It was the perfect getaway! I wouldn’t have come home except we missed our kids so much!! I’m dying to get back there with them too.

 

 

Idaho City

We took a family trip to Idaho City for 3 days. I didn't realize how close to Boise you could find a beautiful forest! It only took us an hour to get there from our house. Idaho City is an old mining town where they discovered more gold than in Alaska! It's a tiny little town now, with some of the original buildings still there. We stayed in a little house right on the main road. It was perfect to be able to walk down the street to go grab lunch or dinner, or to just look around. 

We visited a giant thrift/antique/junk shop right around the corner from our house called the Sluice Box. Morgan found some new brass treasures to go on top of his desk, the boys found a few new guys, and I found a baby rattle that was the same one I remember having when I was a baby. 

On Monday, we took the Can Am out and rode through the forest. It was so fun to stop whenever the trail met up with the stream and let the boys get out and play in the water. They even found some gold nuggets! 😉  By the time we got back in to town, all three boys were asleep! Later that night, we took them to the pioneer cemetery. They thought it was pretty cool at first, and then were starting to get freaked out after we had been there for a while. Morgan came out from behind a tree to scare them, but someone else across the cemetery making a noise got Mason so good! Morgan and I couldn't stop laughing all night at his face!

We also toured the Boise Basin Museum, which ended up being way smaller than I thought it would be, but still was interesting to get to see so many old items from the town. 

We watched Holes and Heavyweights with the boys at night and after the kids were asleep, Morgan and I watched a lot of Arrested Development. I don't know how I didn't think that show was very funny when we first started watching it, but we were dying laughing during every episode! 

I loved the slow pace of this trip and being able to spend time together with just our family was so fun!