Kevin, Gretchen & Madelyn: A weekend in Boise

Disclaimer, I wanted to get the family pictures back before I posted this blog. We have had a trip to Boise planned for about 2 months now and we were really excited to get over there! Kevin had to go out of town for some training and wasn't going to get back until around 6pm that Friday night we were planning to leave. I was anxious to get on the road because my sister Courtney and niece, Summer, had flown to Boise from Phoenix for the weekend as well and I couldn't wait to see them. When I got off work I called Kevin and he was still about 3 hours from home which meant it would be late when he got home and we wouldn't be able to leave for Boise that night. Well Kevin put the pedal to the medal and got home about 9pm, we threw our bags in the car and headed to Boise! On the way there we came upon a wreck; some people had hit an animal, and there was debris all over the road. We slowed down but ended up hitting some hard plastic pieces. We didn't think much of it and kept driving. Luckily we made it to my dad's without any problems, but the next morning we pretty much had a flat tire. We were being watched over for sure!! It was a late night but we finally got there about 2am!

Saturday we had a busy day planned! We did a little shopping and then more family started to arrive so we headed back to the house to get ready for a BBQ. We had family pictures, which unfortunately I don't have any to post on here yet, but the ones I have seen turned out great! That evening we attended my little brother's Eagle Court of Honor. I am so proud of the young man he has become. I can't believe he is growing up so fast.

Sunday was my sister Abby's mission farewell. She is going to serve in the Fresno, CA mission for the next 18 months. She was so nervous for her talk but she did an amazing job. The spirit was so strong and I learned so much from her. I have set a goal to write her a short email each week. It was exciting to read her first week of emails and I can already see that she has changed. The Lord is so wonderful to us!

After church we had a luncheon for Abby and the cake pictured below for dessert. Austin was so excited to eat some cake and wanted a piece of the sun. He was carrying his cake to go and sit down when my dad's German Shepherd dog, Duke, stole the piece of cake right off of his plate and ran outside. Poor Austin thought he was in trouble but Duke was the one in trouble. Thankfully Austin got another piece of the sun to eat. It was pretty funny in the end.

Austin, Brody and Summer playing on the swings

Austin and Summer are best buds and were attached at the hip. They are adorable!

All in all we had a pretty great weekend. We wish you all the luck Abby and know you will be an amazing missionary! We love you and we'll see in 18 months!!

Picture overload...BEWARE!!!