On Wednesday Shane, Juliette and I left Isaac with his grandparents and drove over to Boulder Beach for our annual water park pilgrimage. First, though, some early morning laps on the slide with Buddy.
Juliette rolled out of bed a little late and reunited with Isaac like she hadn’t seen him in weeks.
Some storm ditch body rolls to round out the morning cardio…
And then off we went, sans toddler!
We’ve got our strategy down pat now and hit the most popular slides right when the park opens, before the lines get too long. The four-person tube rides are my favorite, when I can sit across from Shane and witness the look of WHOA on his face as we reach the major drop-off at Ricochet Rapids, then look over and watch Juliette yell DADDYYYYYY as we plummet into the abyss, as if he can save her from the momentary terror. In those moments, it’s like we’re all kids together.
Once we’d done the slide circuit a couple of times, we hopped in the lazy river. Shane and I tubed, but Juliette always opts to swim alongside us, so she can dive under the waterfalls and tickle our toes.
We walked over to Rollercoaster Alley after lunch and watched Shane take a quick spin on the Stunt Devil, which Juliette and I have no interest in subjecting ourselves to, though we love seeing the giddy, slightly glazed look in Shane’s eyes when he gets off the ride.
We were much happier to pack ourselves into a car on the Scrambler, where there are no upside-down shenanigans. Shane took a squishing once the ride picked up full speed and Juliette and I couldn’t help ourselves from sliding in his direction. He would groan dramatically every time we really leaned in and then all of us would laugh like crazy.
A quick stop for a frozen lemonade, and then back to the Beach!
Juliette and I opted also to pass on Velocity Peak, but Shane couldn’t resist the lure of a 50 mph slide. We watched.
A handful of runs on Riptide Racer…
One last loop (or six) on the lazy river…
And then we booked it back to my parents and Isaac, who’d had a slightly less thrilling but still very fun day together, perusing the wildlife at the town Cabela’s. Viva Boulder Beach!
Thursday started with a walk along the Centennial Trail to Falls Park, before it got too hot.
Shane had to work that day, so I took the kids to McEuen Park in the afternoon for some splash-padding and picnicking.
One last good soaking after lunch…
And then we walked up the street in search of an ice cream shop and dry clothes (found the dry clothes at the bottom of my tote bag).
I didn’t think Isaac could/should handle his own full ice cream cone, but sister continues to be an excellent sharer.
I mean, how do you say no to this?!
My parents offered to hang with the kids that evening so that Shane and I could grab a wine flight at Arbor Crest Vineyards near Spokane. What a treat. We talked without being interrupted and then ordered another round and talked some more and I reveled in turning off my inner mom mode for just a couple of hours.
Viva date night!
On Friday we had reservations to visit Seven Star Alpaca Farm outside CÅ“ur d’Alene. This farm was started by a couple with a passion for animals and for nature it was such a pleasure to peek inside the life they’ve built with their alpacas and horses and goats and chickens.
BABY GOATS! What’s better than baby goats?!
Alpacas are a close second. These guys were awfully sweet. We got to stand on the sidelines as they were ushered from pen to pasture and then Juliette was tapped to herd a particularly stubborn alpaca from his cozy corner out into the open fields.
If it wasn’t so dang hot that day, we might have lingered longer, but still, we got our animal fix.
We cooled off with iced tea and lunch at Cracker Barrel and whiled away some time in their comfy porch rockers.
And then popsicles and backyard hanging, because that’s where the real magic happens.
I had one last item on my Idaho to-do list and Juliette gladly joined me for a Friday evening walk around Tubbs Hill. We blared the Hamilton soundtrack as we cruised toward CÅ“ur d’Alene.
This place gets me every time! Never disappoints.
It was still warm at 7pm, so we took a short detour down to the water and stripped off our socks and shoes for a mini-dip in the lake. We kicked ourselves for not having our swimsuits!
We finished the rest of the loop in record time. Juliette taught me a Go Noodle song about a funky llama in between our catch-ups on more serious matters, like school and friends and our latest favorite Isaac mannerisms.
Saturday was go-day and though we wanted to get an early start, we also felt that letting Isaac run a dozen laps around the park and then tuck into a big bowl of yogurt would make for a happier trip.
And as far as 5-hour car rides with a toddler go, it was a pretty happy trip.
I should disclaim, the kiddos were happy…gosh, I got the blues bad on our drive home. What a slow, sweet week with my people. I wanted more. More time to see my parents love on my kids, more time to watch Isaac and Juliette giggle as they rolled around on the grass, more time to snuggle with Isaac at bedtime and to linger at the park until he was good and done on the slide. I knew most of summer stretched out in front of us, but I could already feel it slipping through my fingers and while I knew there was a lesson in here about being present and thankful in the current moment, I couldn’t help but want to slow this season way, way down. It’s just so damn good.
