road trip 2008 (part 2)...idaho & sactown!

our nine hour trip from susanville went pretty well...until the last two hours when paige proceeded to cry non-stop. we actually sang itsy-bitsy spider for about twenty minutes to try and calm her down. it worked- but only when we sang that song. who can sing that song- or any song- for two hours? also, this was my final day of being sick and it ended with a bang. i will spare you the details- but it was the worst day of my stomach flu and it was not pretty. shannon was a great nurse when i got there and thankfully i woke up the next morning feeling like a new person!

paige loved idaho!auntie shannon is so wonderful with paige...she helped feed her and bath her and play with her. it was just too fun! she is always buying paige great books and of course welcomed us with a new one when we arrived! shannon is a wonderful hostess and an amazing cook...we had some yummy food and i went home with two new recipes that i will eventually post on my everdayVALENTINE blog.

uncle kevin and paige are pretty tight too...

paige loved hanging out with uncle kevin and juggy...and juggy was very sweet to paige. hoggy was not interested in paige what-so-ever. every time one of the dogs walked into the room paige would stop whatever she was doing and just stare at them.

shannon and kevin were awesome tour guides...they took us around nampa, boise and caldwell. we also went to this cool coffee shop called Rembrandts Coffee House in eagle (a fancy upscale area) where we sat and talked for like 4 hours. and no trip to boise would be complete without a special stop at the Cabelas super store...aaron could have been in there forever if we had let him. paige got a pink camo sippy cup for her road trip souvenir.

one of the highlights of our tour was this amazing Anne Frank Memorial...it features a statue (see below) to honor her life and story...as well as famous quotes by humanitarians and human rights activists. it is set outside in the middle of this great area of parks and trails and museums in downtown boise. it is beautiful and educational and it made me grateful for my heritage and the freedoms and rights we have in this country today. i really loved it. if you are ever there you should check it out!

paige found the whole thing fascinating as well!

saying good bye...so sad. we wish we all lived closer and could visit more!

juggy wanted in on the picture...and paige agreed.

the drive between idaho and californai is BEAUTIFUL...northeast california and southeast oregon...along 395...i hope we can get up there for a camping trip some time. there are a ton of lakes and small towns- i snapped a bunch of pictures through the window because we did not want to stop and wake paige up. it made a long trip very enjoyable and we will be back for sure!

one of our pit stops! she makes us laugh constantly!

this shoe tree was our last stop before susanville- we stayed there one more night before heading to sacramento. it was sad to leave susanville and to say goodbye to aaron's parents again...they treated us to breakfast at the black bear diner...yummy...and we were on the road again.

our last leg of the trip was in sacramento...our state capitol...very fun. we looked for arnold but no luck. i guess nobody works at the capitol on sundays...it was a ghost town. on saturday we went to the train museum, walked around old town, stayed at the holiday inn (it was really nice and in walking distance of everything) and had a lovely sushi dinner. on sunday we walked around the capitol grounds before heading home to fresno. the capitol grounds are beautiful...the flowers, trees and building itself are really nice- i had not remembered it from my 4th grade field trip. also there is a california fire fighters memorial on the capitol grounds that aaron's mom told us to check out....very cool (you can always rely on teachers for this kind of good information)! sadly, the camera died right as we got there and we could only snap one shot of the memorial. oh well.

yeah for sactown!

it was the perfect ending to an amazing trip!

road trip 2008 (part 1)...easter & the "ville"!

last month we went on a road trip to susanville (the "ville") & idaho to visit family and get some vacation time. it was a beautiful drive, a wonderful time with family and an exciting adventure. paige was a great traveler and we even got to spend easter with family. here are just a few highlights...we also got to watch all three godfather movies (i had never seen them)...also a highlight of the trip. another highlight was having the stomach flu for the first five days of our trip...i loved being curled up on the couch with no appetite and an upset tummy. it also made the drive to susanville particularly special considering that feather river canyon has a ton of curvy roads...i was so sure i was pregnant and experiencing morning sickness that i took 3 pregnancy tests...but i was just sick. thankfully paige and aaron did not get it.

easter was great and included decorating easter eggs and paige's first easter egg hunt!

it is as if she already knows we are crazy!

she was tired and kind of out of it...not really sure what to think.

oh i just love my new toys now that i can eat them...thanks easter bunny!

daddy was a good sport...easter egg hunting is not his thing...but he played along for the sake of paige!

i love my girl! i never knew i could love her as much as i do...but i am just crazy about this little, wonderful person that i get to love and raise and know!

our little easter bunny!

easter ended with plenty of peeps, candy and new toys & clothes for paige...along with a wonderful feast prepared by grandma paula. we also got to go easter egg hunting with the french family...we always love seeing them when we are in susanville.

just hanging around granddad and grandma's house...

i loved sleeping on grandma's shoulder...and riding around in my new toy...the bug mobile!

saying goodbye...and heading up to idaho!

paige loves grandma paula.
...and of course she loves her granddad as well!our stop in wagon tire...yes that is the name of a town...population 5 or something. we drove up highway 395 to idaho and it was breathtaking. there were miles of beautiful lakes and different sized mountains. some had snow...some had green moss...some were more like the desert. there were tons of small towns scattered along the drive and we even got to drive through oregon where the speed limit dropped by like 15 miles (yuck).

paige would wake up...talk...go back to sleep...wake up...and then cry...we would feed her, change her stretch and then do it all over again for another couple of hours. it was about 9 hours to boise and she did great until the last few hours when she screamed her head off!