We made our way back this weekend to visit some of our friends, the Christensens. They are having one-heck of a crummy year, so it was time to go and enjoy each other's company. We drove up on Friday evening and by the time we hit Pocatello, the sun was setting and treating us to quite the show. I don't know if you know this, but Idaho has the best sunsets. I forgot how much I missed them! They are incredible! Richie and I could feel our hearts in our throats as we got closer and started seeing all the familiar landmarks and road-signs. It was like we were driving home.
We stayed with our friends Mikel and Megan, who moved out of Rexburg, all of 10 minutes south to Rigby. Rigby is also special because that's where both Richie and I did our student teaching. It was a happy reunion, and after we put the kids to bed, we stayed up way too late chatting. (totally worth it)
The next morning, Paul and Lahni came by to visit before they took their cute, red, VW convertible bug on a ride to see some pretty fall colors. They brought over planes to let the kids fly around, which was a huge hit.
We then packed up lunches and the kids and headed up to an Idaho classic, Mesa Falls. It's a relatively quick drive up highway 20, and always a hit. Of course, we stopped to feed the bread fish on our way up. Then Mikel showed us possibly the most beautiful campsite in creation, Warm River campground. (He knows all the good spots) We lunched under a pavillion, walked on a few trails, watched all the fishermen, and just enjoyed the moment. Excuse me as I wax poetic for a moment, but...I sat under this huge willow tree by the river and watched my kids play. It was mostly quiet except the tree moving back and forth in the wind and I felt God's love so strongly. It was as if the tree was saying, "shhhhh", as it rocked back and forth, me underneath it, and I felt calm and peaceful, September has been such a whirlwind, I feel like I barely hung on. It was quiet and peaceful enough for me to feel God speaking to me, not through any thoughts or words, just feelings. I was so grateful.
And then Gwen fell in the River, (ha!), so we rummaged up some too-small clothes from the car emergency kit and headed on our way.
Mesa Falls doesn't disappoint. Ever. This time it was extra awesome, because it just happened to be some special national parks day and the parking was free. Also, the visitor's center there (which has been closed every single time we've ever gone) was open! They had lots of fun things to check out, but the best was these little adventure backpacks you could check out for free. So our vacation outing suddenly turned into a homeschool day. :) We outfitted the kids with their backpacks, butterfly nets, binoculars, bug jars, bird books, and bingo charts and headed out. They found a really neat, fuzzy, brown and yellow caterpillar, and spotted enough things on our walk that they both got bingo and got to take home a Smokey the Bear book. :)
That night we drove around Rexburg a bit just to be nostalgic and let the little babies sleep some more in the car. We grabbed some pizza, and then Megan and I did a quick wardrobe change, grabbed a slice and headed out the door just in time for the Women's Conference, which was fantastic of course. We drove a bit afterward and talked, just us girls, and it was so needed.
The next day we attended their Rigby ward with them and ran into a few old friends. Lindy is new to nursery, so she wasn't comfortable in such a new setting, but both the kids had fun in their primary classes. Miles had been telling us all day that he was nervous to go to a new class. Gwen tried comforting him with some sweet words, but ultimately, Miles said it was the prayer he said before going in that helped him be brave. *parenting win*
After church, we packed up and headed to Paul and Lahni's for Sunday dinner. What would a weekend trip to Idaho be without Sunday dinner at the Christensens?? As we drove up their rode and their home came into view, I just got so homesick, to be back there in Idaho. Wishing that coming over was our normal routine again instead of it being the end of our quick trip. It felt so right to be there and associate with these awesome people. We ate the standard fare (hot dogs, hamburgers, mac n' cheese, beans, you know the drill) and had fun playing with their toys and finding Bubba the cat. We hugged each other and cried, and then said goodbye.
Idaho even sent us on our way home with another beautiful sunset! Our hearts just ached as we left. None of this means we dislike where we live now. We are quite happy where we are. As we got closer to our exit here in the valley, this feeling hit me hard: We love Idaho and would love to be there, but this is where we need to be right now. It's just that Idaho holds such a dear place in our hearts that I think we might always be a little homesick for it. It made me so sad that as we pointed things out to the kids, (an old apartment, a certain park, a certain event), they didn't really remember much. I don't expect Gwen to; she was only about 18 months when we left. But I thought Miles would recall more than he did. However, I'm confident that those Idaho memories are tucked deep inside of them. They helped form who they are now, and perhaps will call on those instances when they need them.
1 comment:
Beautifully written Rach. But I hope you are never that far away again.
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