Silverwood

For the second day of our reunion trip the entire Hirtle family headed to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho where we went to Silverwood, a theme park that also has a water park attached to it. This was the first time any of our girls have been to anything like this. Our kids were really confused when we ended up driving back into Idaho with only a 20 minute drive when we drove for 8 hours just to get to Washington the day before. "Why didn't we just drive this way yesterday," they were all asking. To start off the day, Joel went to the water park section to drop off all our our towels and swimming gear while a group of us went on a train ride. The ride had an entire fake robbery and show that they put on and my girls loved it. 

After that first ride we went back to the water section of the park to find Joel. He had left to go on a few rides without us and before I could stop them, Kyla and Summer jumped in the water with their aunt Joy and played in the wave pool. They were not too happy when we made them get dressed and then we went to go on some rides. Summer kind of sulked about that the entire time and kept begging to go back to the water. There was one time she was in line waiting for a ride and all of a sudden she just took off running towards the water park. She made it a good long way away and it was not easy to convince her that she had to stay with us and go on some rides first. 

Miriam fell asleep right before we got to the rides so I held her in the front pack while Joel went on several rides with the girls. Brynlee kept saying that she really wanted to go on a big roller coaster but then said she was content to just stay with us and skip the big rides. She went on a little roller coaster and I think that was enough for her. The best part about Silverwood it that the lines were not super long so we were able to get the kids on several rides before lunchtime. We had a big catered family lunch at the park all together and we got in a group picture before we put on swim suits and went and played in that water. By then Miriam was awake so I got to sneak in two fast rides with Summer by my side as we were walking over to the water park. I think she felt much more secure when I was with her and enjoyed those rides.   

The girls all loved the water so very much. Summer was all over the place in the wave pool, that one was her favorite. Miriam also loved the water and splashed and played in the water for hours. We went to the kiddie pool and the lazy river for a little while but the girls liked the wave pool the most. That is my least favorite pool so I wasn't super excited about that but it was still lots of fun. Joel took Brynlee on several of the big water slides with him and they had a blast.

After several hours of swimming we all got out and got dressed. Then we grabbed some french fries for dinner and went and watched a magic show. It was pretty neat. The older girls loved it but Summer had a hard time sitting still for it. After the magic show we all went on the carousel and then took one last ride on the train. The girls were excited for Joel to get to see the robbery and experience the ride. Brynlee was telling him about it all day. 

It was late and we were all tired by the time we got off that ride so we headed home. It was a fun trip and we had a blast. We can't wait to go again someday. 

Reunion and Wedding

     Towards the beginning of June, we took a fun and fast trip up to Washington where we got to watch Mike, Joel nephew get married. We had a mini Hirtle family reunion in order to support Mike and his new wife as they started their life together. All of Joel's siblings came as well as his parents and most of the rest of the family came. We had a really fun time. Luckily our new van was running well in time for the trip so we got to drive it. We had a lot more room to bring things with us and it was nice to travel in. Joel didn't want anyone eating in the van but that rule is hard to enforce on an 8 hour drive. We did pack our lunch and stop for a picnic on the way up there. We left on a Sunday. The original plan was to go to an early sacrament meeting and leave right after but Brynlee had a fever for five days before we left for the trip. She was feeling better the day of the journey but just in case we didn't want to take her to church. Luckily she was feeling fine for the entire trip. We decided to just skip it and head on the road. The ride up was mostly uneventful. We borrowed an ipad from Grandma Verna so each girl got to have an ipad to play on for part of the ride. I made them play games and listen to a book on tape and told them they could not turn the ipad on until 1:00. The girls were literally counting down the minutes until 1 the whole morning. Miriam slept for a good portion of the trip and did great as well.

We got to our hotel room around 4 in the afternoon. We had fun exploring the hotel. We found where the rest of our family was staying and met Caty, Mike's fiance. The girls played games and then we ate pizza together that night. After dinner we went to a local park and the kids played until bedtime. Then we went back to the hotel room and went to bed.  

The hotel we were at had free breakfast and we took advantage of that. They had a nice room with games and stuff and the kids had fun playing in there with all of their cousins. On Monday we spent most of the day at Silverwood theme park. I will write more about our adventures there later. We came home late that night and put the girls to bed.

On Tuesday morning we woke up and took advantage of the pool. We had fun but couldn't swim for very long because we had to get ready to go to a wedding. We headed to the Spokane Temple where the kids hung out with cousins while Joel and I watched Mike and Caty get sealed together in the temple. It was a beautiful thing to watch.

After the sealing we welcomed Mike and Caty out of the temple and walked with them over to the pavilion outside of the temple where we had lunch and a little ring ceremony. There was some dancing, great food, and cake. A great time was had by everyone. 

     After we returned back from the wedding we let the kids go swimming again. Most of the rest of the family was also there so the kids had a great time swimming with their cousins. It was late by the time we got done and the girls were all a little grouchy and over tired. It took them a while to get in bed and fall asleep. It had been a long and fun filled day.

     On Wednesday morning we woke up, ate a nice big breakfast, and then got packed up and ready for our ride back home. The girls were still a little bit grouchy and overtired so we were a little bit nervous about how the trip would go. We also ended up taking a wrong turn and driving for an extra hour. It was a much longer trip and we didn't last as long before handing out the ipads. Luckily Summer took a good nap and Miriam slept for most of the ride.

Everyone started to get super grouchy for a little bit so we stopped for lunch at Burger King and let the kids run around and play on the play place they had. That seemed to calm everyone down. Miriam was getting especially fussy but after she ate some lunch she did much better. We were all grateful to be home and back in our one beds that night. We did discover that I accidentally left my pillow at the hotel. I had asked Joel about it and he said he got it but turns out it really got left on the bed. I was pretty sad about that and I am still searching for another one. 

This was a quick trip but it was super fun.We are so glad we were able to support Mike and Caty as they start their lives together. They are both legally blind but they don't let that stop them from doing the things that they want to do. They are a great example to all of us and we wish them so much joy and happiness in their lives together. We love seeing family and getting to spend time with them.