Our next stop was to visit Brad’s side of the family in Idaho after a quick visit and lunch with his Uncle Glendon, Aunt LeNay, and Cousin Michelle, in North Ogden.

Burley, Idaho

On a Saturday, which was Brittney’s actual birthday, we enjoyed a barbecue at Brad’s sister Becky’s house in Burley, Idaho with Becky and family, Victor and Virginia, Brad’s youngest sister Kim and her son Will (visiting from Preston Idaho), and Brad’s oldest sister Vicki’s daughter Alyssa (visiting for weekend from Boise area). We tried to keep Brad company while he barbecued the meat until it got too darn hot so we took the party inside. After lunch Becky’s husband and boys took us on a little tour of the ‘farm’ and we got to meet their pet cow, who was very friendly.

Buhl, Idaho

The day before the barbecue we stayed with Victor and Virginia in Buhl, and helped them get ready for an open-house they were having Saturday morning (they are selling their house because it has become too much for them to take car of). On our way back to Buhl, after the BBQ at Becky’s, we picked up a Red Velvet ice cream cake from Cold Stone, for Brittney but didn’t realize the doors would all be locked at Victors’ (they never lock their doors but the Realtor locked it after the open-house), so we stayed and visited with some friends of Victor while our cake re-hardened in the friend’s freezer. Finally we all made it back to Buhl, ate dinner, sang “Happy Birthday”, had ice cream cake, and watched Brittney open her gifts (It’s difficult to believe that we have a daughter who is 29 years old!). Brittney and Sean left the next day after church, and after I took pictures of everyone in the back yard knowing that that was probably the last time we would ever get to see the house and property again (kind of a sad). Sunday evening we had a nice dinner with Brad’s brother Blake, wife Josie, and son Sam (who live in Twin Falls but had been out of town) and then left early the next morning to pick up Merinda who had just finished the Spring semester at BYU-I.

Filer, Idaho

Sunday afternoon, after Brittney and Sean left for Utah, Brad and I drove to Filer Idaho to visit with Cindy who was staying with her son Wyatt, and daughter-in-law Andrea, and helping with their new baby Ellie Jo (who was just the cutest little thing I have ever seen!). Cindy now has three granddaughters, however, Ammon and Charity are expecting a boy this Winter. Anyway, it was wonderful to see Wyatt, who I haven’t seen since he was in elementary school, meet his wife Andrea, hold precious little Ellie Jo, see Cindy again of course, and visit with Wyatt & Andrea in their darling house. Unfortunately, our visit was cut way too short, but Brad and I look forward to seeing more of them now that they live so close to Brad’s family.

Rexburg, Idaho

Before picking up Merinda, we visited our good friend Diane, who I knew from nursing school. It was so nice catching up with her, and even though life’s been rough, and she is super busy (working full time at the hospital, biking, and serving as relief society pres. in her ward) it was good to see that she’s hanging in there, and still strong in her Faith! After visiting Diane, we met and visited with Merinda’s good college friend’s Dallin, Caitlin, Josh, Jason, and Matt, who have been so kind to her the past few semesters. We then took Merinda, Gideon (Merinda’s best friend at college), and the Manwaring cousins also attending BYU-I, out to eat. The next morning we finished helping Merinda pack up, picked up some steam buns and onigiri to try from Gideon & Merinda’s business Bun on the Run (Gideon was so nice to give them to us free!), stopped at Merinda’s favorite drink place Crush to get boba drinks, and headed North.