Sun in the Fun

Heading up to Idaho for the Freakin' Fast Half Marathon.  The course was changed at the last minute (about 1-2 weeks before) so we had to drive farther to get to it . . . . . Horseshoe Bend.  Supposedly it was a better course lacking a gradual hill at mile 10.  Turned out to be a great course with gradual downhill and nice scenery.  

Start included a beautiful sunrise

A little chilly at the start, but that did not last very long.

After the race.  

Pioneer day meant no cross country so Ethan and I ran on the deer fence with Cooper.

Annual 24th of July parade was as hot as ever especially when we were sitting in the sun.

Sunset in July

An afternoon at the Sports Academy pool with a friend is always more fun.

Playing in the splashpad.

These two girls are bff's and they both love love love stuffed animals.  They were begging to go to the local "Locals" store to check out the huge supply of beanie boos.  Oh and they dress like twins sometimes too.  They also confessed to have pretended to be sisters on many occasions.

Waterskiing with our friends the Labrums.

Kelly hadn't been water skiing since we have moved to Logan (I think).

Apparently it's like riding a bike.

Ellie decided she wanted to give face painting a try.

Her friends wanted to give it a try to and so they all painted each others' faces.

Ferocious looking felines wouldn't you say?

One week our whole family got tickets and headed to Cherry Peak concert series to see Philipp Phillipps.  Long story short the traffic was HORRIBLE, we still do not know what happened, the overpriced parking we paid for was filled, and even though we got there at least an hour early we didn't get even close until an hour and a half after the show started so we gave up and went home.  About a week later we had two tickets to see Clint Black, talked Ellie in to going with us and got her a ticket and headed back to Cherry Peak for a nice evening concert.  Ellie is now a fan of Clint Black.  She will occasionally pull up Killing Time and listening to it.

Ellie finally got her chance to paint my face.  She turned me into a fox.  Funny story, later that evening I took Coop up to the deer fence trail for a walk.  I walked by a guy and his son and they gave me the oddest looks.  Later I realized I still had my face painted.  They were probably wondering what the grown woman walking her dog with her face painted as a fox was doing.  

Sunset and storm in the distance.

Midwest Trip

Mid-July we headed to the mid-west to visit our family in Missouri and Illinois.  It was a short trip this time, getting there Saturday night and only staying until Wednesday night, but we packed it in with family and fun.  I love being able to spend time with my brothers, dad and relatives.  I feel like I missed a whole lifetime not growing up knowing them, so I am so happy my kids get to spend time making memories with them and we have this time to get to know each other.  

Love out midwest visits every summer.

Ethan had to stay up with his miles for XC so we were greeted by some awesome midwest heat and humidity on some morning runs.

We drove to the capital of Illinois and visited Lincoln's home as well as the museum and his tomb where he and his family are buried.  It was about a 2 hour drive through lots and lots of corn fields.

Lincoln's home before becoming president. 

We learned that 80% of the home was original and there were strict rules as to where we could step and what we could touch while touring. 

We were warned that a buzzer would go off if we stepped off of the allowed areas in the house, so Ellie was prepared.  Apparently she thought we would not follow the rules.

Ellie enjoyed learning about Lincoln and he has now become one of her favorite presidents.

Visiting the presidential museum

taking a picture with the Lincolns

Ssshhh, important stuff going on in here.

What is the first thing you see in this picture?

Old Capitol building in Springfield

Visiting Lincoln's tomb.

They say that you can rub Lincoln's nose for good luck.

Ethan just likes picking noses

Long drive back to Missouri.  

Is driving and taking selfies against the law in Illinois?

We also decided to visit the St. Louis Arch again.  Last time we visited the arch it the museum was under construction so we visited the museum.  While there Ellie brought one of her LOL dolls and we thought it would be fun to take pictures of her at different places.  You'll notice as you continue reading that we ended up forgetting to continue with the pictures.

Here she is dipping her toes into the Mighty Mississippi

 

Front of the arch museum

Lunch outside of the St. Louis Cardinals Stadium

(no home games during this visit)

Games at Dave & Busters

We think Ethan has caught up to Uncle Nick

On our last day we visited Old St. Charles.

We took some selfies with Davy Crockett.

Apparently somewhere in Kelly's family line on the Krohn side he is related to Davy Crockett. 

These flowers must like humidity.

Long plane rides call for fun selfies

FOOD, food, FOOD

I love food.  

I some times like to try foods that are unique to the places we travel to.  

Here are some of the yummy foods we got to eat during this trip.

The best of course was the family feast when our aunts, uncles and cousins came over to see us all.

Filipino food and other yummy comfort get-together deliciousness

Original St. Louis Style pizza with some unique cheese which I cannot remember the name of.

While in Springfield we tried a local diner.  It was pretty good and it was a stop on Route 66

It's said that the corn dog was first made in Springfield, Illinois, so we stopped for an original Cozy Dog along route 66 as well.

After visiting the arch we drove out of our way to get some frozen custard at Ted Drewes.  

Another route 66 landmark.