Way to go, I-da-ho!

{Clarks comments in brick red}
Remember how Clark and I went to Utah six weeks ago and are only now starting to blog about it?  It's been that kind of a transition getting back into the groove of normal life.  I got sick the first day back at school and only recently (3 weeks later) am feeling better.  School has been decently crazy with absurd class sizes and a Spanish Honors Society induction ceremony to put together (It was the first time that Amy has ever put together a cultish initiation ceremony with candles, hoods and chanting, so it took some work).  I was released from being primary chorister (sniff, sniff) (she means sob, sob) and am trying to get in the swing of my new calling as visiting teaching coordinator.  And my house has generally been a mess for the last month, though I did finally hang pictures on the walls.

So in better late than never form, here is the first phase of our trip to Utah, or in this case, Idaho.

The first weekend in Utah we headed up to Idaho to spend the weekend with my brother Phil, sister-in-law Jerai and adorable nephew, Boyd.  We met up in Rexburg and I had fun showing Clark my old apartment, the temple and campus.  We at lunch at one of my favorite sandwich shops and even got to see the apartment my parents lived in when I was born.  It was all very nostalgic and made me grateful for the great friends and experiences I had in that great little town.

This is back view of the third-floor apartment where my parents lived when they were first married.  Remember this is Rexburg, not Brooklyn.

That evening we all headed over to Jackson, Wyoming for the fair.  Clark was tickled pink that Phil was willing to loan him an appropriate "get up."  Personally, I think Clark gone cowboy is super hot. I don't.  But I do look better as a cowboy than an indian.  Or a construction worker.  Or any other Village People character.  Actually, I might make a pretty hot cop.    We spent some time looking at the animals and even paid 50 cents each to see a ginormous pig.  Boyd loved feeding the goats and we all enjoyed being under a tent.  Did I mention that it was freezing cold, wet and rainy?  Well, it was and we were very unprepared.

During a break in fair activities we headed over to Mormon Row where my Grandpa and Grandma Moulton both grew up.  This is one of the most photographed barns in the country and it happens to be the barn my Great-grandpa Moulton built.  I love this part of the country with its stunning views of the Tetons.  Those are mountains, not cars.

The house where my grandpa grew up.

Clark and Boyd exploring.

Phil, Boyd and Amy

Boyd could have spent hours and hours looking for these little ground squirrels.  They were all over the place!

One of the best things about this trip was that Boyd didn't cry every time he looked at Clark.  In fact, they got along quite well!  Look how much fun they are having!

I love this pic.

The big ticket event of the fair was the rodeo.

We bundled up the best we could and only had to endure a little more rain.

I love the expression on Boyd's face here.

The boys couldn't resist showing off their manliness by knocking down some bottles.  We couldn't.  I mean, we couldn't resist and we couldn't knock down some bottles.

8 balls and $10 later, we walked away without any money or prizes and not a single broken bottle... :)

The next days were beautiful, warm (not hot and muggy), sunny days.  We got to spend time with Grandma, see Phil's business/shop and go for a nice bike ride.  Mostly we enjoyed spending face-to-face time with Phil, Jerai and Boyd instead of our usual video-chatting.

From Driggs, we headed down to Bear Lake for the Monson Family Reunion but not without stopping in Swan Valley for square ice cream cones!  More on Bear Lake to come soon.  Square ice creams are kind of cool.  They taste just like round ice creams.  Amy talked about how great square ice cream is for the whole drive and that made me think that this was going to be the best ice cream ever made.  It was pretty normal ice cream, which is still pretty good.