Sorry this is so late. Getting back into the swing of real life seems to be a challenge this time around for some reason. We had a wonderful time visiting my dad and step-mom in Sandpoint over the past week; with the added bonus of catching up with a childhood friend, my half-brothers, and finally meeting my baby nephew, Chase. A week was far from long enough and none of us wanted to leave.
Our drive up was rather uneventful and went by quickly. We made the drive in about 12 hours, which is pretty good considering all the stops we had to take so Rob could burn some energy and I could visit the restroom...again. We were greeted with open arms as usual and Kathy, my step-mom, didn't waste any time spoiling Robby as soon as she could with new clothes and toys waiting for him. We ate dinner and talked for a bit and then crashed out early.
Sunday was my dad's only day off, so we made the most out of it, but didn't go anywhere. Kathy made a wonderful pancake breakfast for us and then the boys headed outside to find something to burn. We are a family of pyros! Two burn piles and one almost burnt woodshed later, the boys finally made their way back inside. The afternoon was spent chatting and napping (by Rob and I) and then my brother, Matthew (yes, it gets confusing), his fiance, Sara, and their baby, Chase, came over for dinner. It was great seeing my brother after so long and finally meeting the two new additions to the family. Sara is the sweetest girl and I'm excited to someday call her my sister-in-law. And Chase - I grew quite attached to him during the week! What a cutie! The boys played Wii while I held Chase (oh darn) for the rest of the evening.
Monday, all we did was go on a photowalk in the woods and veg, so I'll skip to Tuesday. Tuesday morning, Matt, Rob, and I headed to Coeur d'Alene (my birth place, about an hour away) to do some window shopping and to meet up with my childhood friend, Della. How sweet it was to see her again after seven years! We treated her and her son, Malachi, out to lunch and chatted. She has recently made a profession of faith (praise the Lord!), so we all went to the Christian book store so I could price a bible for myself and to try and find her a better one (little did she know, we went back and bought one for her as a surprise). At that point, Rob and I needed a nap, so we said "goodbye" and headed back to Sandpoint.
Wednesday, we were invited to breakfast at Della's house for a traditional Papa Bob (her dad) breakfast. Unfortunately, the lunch we treated her to the day prior gave her food poisoning and she had to reschedule. Since we were back in Coeur d'Alene anyway, we decided to do some window shopping and eat lunch. The weather was rainy and cold, so we didn't do much else and decided to just head back to Sandpoint. Later, when Dad got off work, we all (Matt, Rob, me, Dad, Kathy, Sara, and Chase) headed back to Coeur d'Alene to eat dinner at Red Robin, my dad and step-mom's new favorite. There we met up with my other brother, Jeramy. I didn't even recognize him as he was walking up behind us! It's been too long. We had a great dinner and visit with everyone, laughing and poking fun at Kathy's blondness (love ya, Kathy).
Thursday evening, we all went out to visit Kathy's mom, who I haven't seen since I was about 13 or 14 years old. She finally got to meet Matt and Robby, who immediately attached himself to her without hesitation. Soon, Matthew, Sara, and Chase joined us and we had a nice family dinner together, laughing, talking, and reminiscing. Dad introduced Robby to great-grandma's piano, so we were "serenaded" by my tone-deaf son. It was a good evening and I was sad to leave.
Friday was nuts. Back to Coeur d'Alene to meet up with Della so she could lead us to her house near Hauser Lake for breakfast. It was wonderful to be able to see my Papa Bob and Mama Pat again! When I was growing up, they were like a second family to me. Malachi and Rob played as we "adults" chatted and caught up some more. We then took a walk down by the lake and then had to say our goodbyes. I didn't want to leave at all. On the way back through Coeur d'Alene, Matt dropped me off at Shari's to meet up with Kathy, Sara, and Chase to eat lunch and then do a "girl's day out". I must not be very girly, because I spent a lot of time herding them out of stores instead of window shopping myself. I bought a few clothes for Robby and an outfit for Chase and then we headed back to Sandpoint to drop Sara off, only to find a huge line of traffic blocking the entrance to town because of construction. Luckily, Kathy knew a round-about way, so we got into town, only to find a long line of cars trying to get out of town. We decided it would be best to just hang out with Sara and Chase for a bit and wait for traffic to die down. I got to feed and hold Chase one more time and then we headed home. While we were gone, Dad, Matt, and Robby went out on an adventure of their own, heading up a mountain to check out the view and scout for deer. Sadly, Matt got to spend more time with my dad than I did, but I'm glad he had a good time. I really wish I got to see him more.
Saturday, we got up early, but later than we had planned (stupid cell phone alarm). We said a quick goodbye to my dad, who had to go to work. We packed up all our bags and belongings, let Robby eat some breakfast and play a bit, said our sad goodbyes to Kathy, and were on the road. I wanted to bawl, but amazingly I kept composure. I so did NOT want to leave! We stopped in Coeur d'Alene to eat breakfast, but the thick fog that morning slowed us down from getting out of town quickly afterwords. We ended up stopping in Post Falls for gas and then we were on our way. The trip home was absolutely horrid. Robby did NOT want to be in his seat at all and made it well-known all the way home. We stopped as much as we could and let him romp around, but it didn't make any difference. He still cried and screamed and struggled. The last five hours were a nightmare, but about an hour out from Twin, he fell asleep and it was peaceful the rest of the way. It was about a 13 hour drive home and we got in about 9:30pm. All of us completely drained, we just crashed, happy to be in our own beds again. We couldn't bring ourselves to make Rob get back in his seat the next morning, so Matt ended up going to church by himself. I'm thankful we made that decision because Sunday was rough for the little man.
So, there's our trip north. It was wonderful and I got to see a lot of people I hadn't seen in years. The weather wasn't great and I didn't take as many pictures as I wanted to (I spent a lot of time sleeping), but it was still good. Also, I dropped the ball when it came to sharing the gospel. I had a chance to at one point, but sinfully, I just changed the subject, something I'm now regretting immensely (please be praying for me). Now, it's back to life-as-usual. It's been a challenge getting Robby re-adjusted back to the normal routine for some reason and he's definitely been showing his true, sinful colors lately, but we're working through it. I'll hopefully get some pictures posted at one point or another, as I'm waiting for some that Kathy took while we were there. Thank you for your prayers for safe travel while we were away. I am quite bummed to know that this will be our last roadtrip anywhere for a long time. :(
