Well, our trip to Northern Idaho and Silverwood theme park was a few weeks ago now so we'll see how much I can remember! We started our trip off by driving up to Lewiston super early on Wednesday the 9th. I think we left around 6:30am because everyone (except me) wanted to wake up early so we could get there sooner and have more time at my brother's house. We arrived in town about lunch time. First we stopped by the office so Curtis could drop off a work computer and we said hello to Stillman. Then we went to the McDonald's drive thru and took our food to a park. Afterwards we went to the house where Michelle and the kids were waiting. After unpacking and relaxing for awhile some of us decided to go play some frisbee disc golf at the same park where we ate. It was a lot of fun and I played the best game of my life, ending with a score of -2! I have to admit I enjoy playing disc golf a lot more than real golf. It's easier for me.
After golf we headed to the store to pick up some groceries for making dinner which was tacos. Tamara and Chris's family were there when we got back to the house. That evening most the adults watched the original Pete's Dragon, which Curtis had never seen before. However, he slept through half the movie so we'll have to watch it again. The kids played video games downstairs and then later took turns sitting in the hot tub. I was planning on doing the hot tub but got too tired from waking up so early. The oldest kids slept outside in Stillman's RV while we slept on Alex's bed. The girls squeezed in on Bridger and Keaton's bunk bed. Wish we could have spent more time there but the next day was our traveling day up North. Stillman and Tamara's families left later than we did because they had to get their RV's ready, etc. And we were splitting up where we were going to stay anyway. Our family originally was going to stay with them but we decided we didn't want to camp while trying to go to Silverwood. We booked a hotel in Spokane Valley but the weekend before we got a call from my dad saying that we could stay with them at their time share condo in Coeur d Alene since Scott's family had a change of plans and weren't going on the trip anymore.
Since we already made plans to see our Aunt Vicki (Curtis's mom's sister) in Spokane we drove their first to have lunch with her and her new husband. Her first husband and his first wife and both passed away in recent years. They weren't planning to get remarried but things don't always turn out the way you plan. We thought we were going to go out to eat with them but it turned out that they cooked us some lasagna, garlic bread and cookies. It was better than doing a restaurant because it gave us more time to visit. We were there for about 2 1/2 hours.
We met Dad and Laverne at the condo and got settled in while the men went to the store to get some food. Some of us played Uno while waiting. We cooked Chinese food at the condo that evening.
After our late dinner I went to the pool with the 4 younger kids. That pool was too cold for me at only 75 degrees! I managed to get in up to my neck but only stayed in about a minute before I was done. The kids lasted longer. It surprised me that Alice stayed in longer too. If only they would have had a hot tub!
The next morning was Silverwood day 1! The nice thing about them not opening until 11am is that we got to sleep in. Thank goodness! But it took us about an hour to drive there from the condo so we had to leave around 10am. We got a picture together at the front and then Nikki and Garrett took off to do their own thing together. We took the girls on the tilt a whirl ride and then most of us met back at the train to do the train ride. I love the train ride because it's so scenic and it last for almost 30 min. They had a show while on the train but they had to change it because of covid so not quite as good as before but we still enjoyed it. It went from having a train robbery to looking for sasquatch (Big Foot). Curtis and I spent most of the day doing rides with our girls. We were content with letting the big kids run around and do what they wanted. All of us met up for a pizza lunch at the magic show. The show was very entertaining! As luck would have it, by the time the park was closing it was raining. Feeling de ja vu here because that's what happened the last time we came to Silverwood about 8 years ago or so. I think we all went straight to bed when we got back to the condo. We were exhausted!
Silverwood day 2 started at the same time but today they were open later. I got wet on some rides the first day after the girls begged me to take them on the bumper boats and the log ride. 68 degree weather and cloudy is not my idea of getting wet weather. I was cold! So I decided I the only wet ride I was willing to do today was the log ride. They have another ride that you get soaked on. I opted out of course and watched. Dad and Laverne took some time taking our girls around on rides today so that Curtis and I could ride bigger rides with the older kids. Some rides would cause headaches and some rides our stomachs got a little queezy on but we survived. Everyone once again got together for an all you can eat BBQ lunch in Silverwood. At one point we lost Charlotte but thankfully found her sitting at a different picnic area. She didn't even realize she was lost. She just sat down and started eating her food. Stillman and Tamara's families still wanted to do Boulder Beach, which is the swimming park at Silverwood. Our family decided it was too cold. Although later Jack wished he had brought his swim suit so he could go with Jayden. We even tried finding him a swim suit and flip flops at the Boulder Beach shop but they didn't have a suit his size. I really didn't want to buy him another suit anyway because I already bought him a new one this spring. We had lots of fun riding rides, stopping for ice cream, and souvenir shopping.
Well, we rode lots of rides, ate lots of food, bought souvenirs, and had a blast! Sunday was the long drive home. We caravanned with mom and dad most of the way home. We were also able to listen to our ward's sacrament meeting because it was still being broadcast. Technology is great sometimes! We stopped at Subway on the way home to eat lunch. We stopped a couple more times for breaks before we made it home.
It was a great trip and wonderful way to start off our summer vacation!
