Idaho with Leah

My cousin Mark's daughter was getting married in Idaho and my mom really wanted to go up for the reception. I have felt support and love from this great family of ours for years and I wanted to be there too. My Aunt Linda and Uncle Farrell (Mark's parents; Linda and my mom are sisters) have always had open arms for me and I don't get to see them enough anyway, so I made arrangements to go with my mom and dad and I decided to take Leah with me.

Leah is such a good kid and I wanted to have her all to myself for a few days. Sometimes it's tricky to figure out how to give one-on-one time to each kid and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. I'm not sure how excited she was about being with just me and my parents, but she isn't a complainer and she always finds something good in every situation. So I took advantage of the opportunity and scooped her up and we were on our way.

I can't even tell you how much I loved sharing a hotel room with that kid...just her and me.

When we first checked in, she set right to work setting up the room and making it feel like home.

We spent a lot of time at Aunt Linda's and Uncle Farrell's just being cozy with family. They are amazing hosts. They have a way of making everyone feel so comfortable and welcome and their entire family pitches in. My cousin Tim lives about an hour from Linda and Farrell, but their other kids, Mark, Robyn, and Holly and their families all live super close and I'm pretty sure they see each other on a daily basis.

Robyn runs an amazing farm and fruitstand, so she took us for a tour of her land and we made a stop at the fruitstand to ride around in the Kabota's for a bit.

My Aunt Nancy taking Leah for a ride

We all helped set up for the reception a little bit, but most of the work had already been done by Linda and Farrell's troop. I was a little jealous of the way their family operated. It's like all of their little families were integrated into one - nephews were helping out aunts and uncles on the farm, aunts would call nieces and schedule a time to go pick stuff up together from somewhere, my uncle went to his sister's house and picked up her boys to come over and help move some tables, the brothers and sisters talked about where all the kids would be sleeping that night. They have a network for anything and everything they need right there.

The reception was beautiful.

 I thought it was so sweet how these boys were trying to make the tables look just right. Collin on the left is Tim's son and Porter on the right is Holly's son.

Linda and Farrell have a great yard and during the reception we connected with family and did a little playing on the side.

My cousin Tim with his sons Kade and Kollin

My Aunt Nancy playing frisbee with Leah and one of my cousin's daughters

My Aunt Linda's family is pretty heavy on the boys, so Leah got to hang with lots of boys during our weekend away. I thought it would be cute if they held Leah across them. Look at Kollin's hand underneath her - he's just not quite sure where to put it. So funny!

 

Leah playing football with Holly's son Hudson

My cousin Robyn and my mom

My Aunt Linda and Robyn

Porter and Kollin

Like all time spent with family, we weren't ready to leave when it was time to go, but we tried to soak up those good people the best we could. I love the way my aunts, uncles and cousins made Leah feel extra special...something I hope I remember for the people in my life. It's amazing what a few words of confidence and love can do for a spirit. The way they treated my girl made me love them even more.

When it was time to go, Leah made sure her stuffed animals were comfortable in the car

and we headed back home to celebrate Leah's birthday the next day. I'm not sure if Leah felt the same way I did about our time together, but I loved having only her by my side for a whole weekend.