Road Trip!!

We recently ( ok, it was a while ago now, I'm behind the times...) drove to Idaho to visit Grandma Darlene in her new Coeur d'Alene home and to attend Cousin Jessica's wedding in Moscow. While I think it will be quite some time before I want to make that drive again, I do think it was an absolutely gorgeous drive. So much greenery and open space!!

One thing that always amazes me (not the "Oh what a surprise" amazement, but rather the "I'm so jealous I could spit" amazement) about my grandma is that she can take any house/apartment/temporary living quarters and turn them into the most elegant, pulled together and infinitely gorgeous home. It also helps that she has very similar color and style choices to me. The best part about visiting Grandma's house was, of course, visiting with Grandma. We were only there for a couple days, but we stayed up late visiting and then hung out together all throughout the day. What a treat to be able to catch up and see some of the places she enjoys spending her time.

Tyler LOVED the park right next to her house where he was able to let of some steam:

and then we headed over to the KROC Community Center where Grandma takes water fitness classes that make me envious, plus they have a total fitness center, a rock climbing structure, a kids play area (that Tyler also really enjoyed) and bunch of other things...

Eventually we had to leave Grandma's to head over to see these two fantastic people:

The wedding was beautiful and it was a treat to see a couple who handled the challenges presented by the weather and the resulting change in venue with grace, cheer and cooperation. It makes me think that this couple has "what it takes".

Tyler had a blast at the wedding as one of the caddy's (Luke, the groom, is a Golf Course Management professional --I didn't even know they had a degree for that until I met him)

Until he was given his very own mustache...then he was Rico Suave the professional photographer caddy.

No Joke...My mom gave him her Canon Rebel camera (because he liked that it had the long zoom lens) and he started running around the whole reception snapping pictures of guests. It always amazes me when a)he takes a waaaaay better picture than me and b) the great response he gets from his photography subjects:

He also charmed the wedding photographer who made Tyler's day at the end of the night when he came over to give Ty a business card and tell him, "Call me in a few years when you are old enough to grow a real mustache and I'd love to take your picture then too."

All in all, a great time. I'd love to go back to Idaho and explore some of the smaller towns and communities.