Trip to Idaho

Before the summer ended we took a family trip to Idaho.  It was the first time we'd been back since we moved away several years ago.  First we visited some friends in the Boise area.  One of the things we did with them was go to Kids Day at a hot air balloon launch.  They were giving tethered rides to the children.   

 

 

 

T was cold and I think the noise of the burners was at first a bit frightening for him.  M was sleepy (we had to get the kids up and leave by 6:30 am) and unsure about the whole thing.

 

 

 

But it was a beautiful, still morning.  The balloons with their bright bold colors were so fun to watch.

 

 

 

Here is K on her ride.

 

 

 

And T on his.  How casually the balloon operator sat on the edge of the basket.

 

 

 

We had a wonderful couple of days with our friends and we were sad to say goodbye.  We then drove to the Twin Falls area and spent a few hours with the salt of the earth, one of the dearest ladies in Idaho.

 

 

 

 Over the next couple days we visited other friends, K and T swam and swam in the hotel pool, and we also visited the county fair.  It was fun to go there with our kids and experience a small town fair again. We saw some old aquaintances, including former students. 

As we walked along, I heard my name being called and a young man came bounding up.  It was one of my wiry tiny first graders, and he is now seventeen.  With plans to join the Marines.  He was in the class I taught the year K was born, and I had brought her in before the end of the year so they could all see her and hold her.  He was floored at how she has grown up.  Of course, as we stood there talking, I was thinking the same thing about him.  It was nice to catch up with him and find out how some of my other former students are doing.

 

On to exploring other areas of the fairgrounds.  TFCF works hard at creating a good Ag Building and the kids enjoyed taking a break and playing in the seeds and kernals box.

 

 

 

As we walked to the 4-H animal barns, a passing girl stopped K and T and asked them if they wanted to pet her alpaca.

 

 

T with a giant mystery farm vehicle.

 

 

We let the kids choose a couple of rides and K was excited to see a hot air balloon themed one.

 

 

T, meanwhile, had kind of a sad time on one of his rides.  He enjoyed his first ride, but then chose an airplane ride next and was bitterly disappointed that his plane was the only one that did not go up and down.  He was not told that it was up to him to use the controls in front of him to make it rise and lower, and he was afraid something bad would happen if he touched them.  So he sat there, stoically sad while going round and round.  We all felt bad for him. 

 

Before heading back to the hotel after tiring ourselves out at the fair, we made a quick stop at the school where B and I used to teach.  There was a big thunderstorm blowing in so we could only stay a short time, but the kids enjoyed the playground for a few moments.

 

 

 

 

It was nice to see that everything is still all there.  It is a place of many happy memories.

 

It was a lovely trip, over too soon.  Now we were ready to start a new school year.