I drove up this weekend with my grandma to visit my uncle and his family in Kuna, Idaho. I got off work late on Friday, spent the night at my grandma's (where I went to bed at 10:30 p.m.!) and then we woke up early to hit the road Saturday morning.
A few things about the trip up.
1) My grandma talks a lot. She has always owned up to being gabby, and I must admit that I possess a similar trait. But I'm pretty sure that out of the five hours we drove up there, she was not talking for maybe, half an hour of that. It made the drive go by really fast, and even if I did hear the thong story* for a third time, I didn't mind.
2) We drove my grandma's truck. Honestly, I knew that it was going to be expensive to fill that sucker up, but I don't really trust my car to drive up to Boise anymore, and so I didn't want to offer to take my car, and my grandma doesn't like to drive her blue car. (I know, "blue" is not a type of car. I just have no idea what that thing is...) So I didn't offer to help pay for gas, even though I know that my grandparents do not have a lot of extra cash to be spending on trips and such. What I did do, is offer to pay for our lunch on the way there and on the way back. I sort of expected resistance, as that is what happens when you are around your grandparents, but my grandma happily let me pay and it made me feel like an actual adult instead of a child. It was a cool feeling, to know that she thinks of me on kind of the same level.
3) My grandma also let me drive. This demonstrated that she trusted me, because I know she thinks I drive like a maniac. Not because she has ever been in the car when I'm driving like a maniac, but simply because - ready? - I take less time to get up to her house than it takes her to get to mine. I'm pretty sure that she thinks I drive way too fast, and way too crazy. But she let me get back behind the wheel, and I don't think I scared her once. Or maybe, just once.... but I was just getting used to the brakes.
When we got to Allen's, it was great to see the kids. I love going up there, and I really love those kids. They are so fun and silly and they compliment me like no other! They give me hugs and want to tell me stories and even Tess, who is the youngest, snuggled up next to me as we watched a movie on the couch. Before she did that though, we went off looking for a inexpensive, fun activity. The weather was practically spring-like, so we knew that it had to be outside.
We ended up at a dam somewhere outside of Boise. This led to a lot of "dam" jokes, that made the kids blush and stammer and say, "Daaaad!" They couldn't believe what they were hearing, and I was completely in awe of their young innocence. Was I really like that as a child? I know I was, I used to physically abuse my friends when they said swear words.
Why is it that throwing rocks into a body of water is so therapeutic? I don't know, but we certainly entertained ourselves for several hours.
We stopped on the other side of the dam because after Allen blamed everyone for stepping in poop, he realized that it was him, and so he needed to clean off his shoes before he could make the drive back home. It was getting cold, but it was really pretty. Once we were "de-pooped" we made it back into town.
Afterwards, we did dinner and a movie at home, and I was in bed again by 10:40 p.m.! It was a miracle. We woke up and made it to 9:00 a.m. church, and then Tanner was ordained a teacher - which was the whole excuse for our trip. I can't believe that kid is 14, and even more so, I can't believe how much he has grown even since the last time I saw him! He's almost as tall as me and he is already taller than his mom and grandma.
After church, I tried to get grandma to stick around, but she was anxious to get on the road and back to grandpa. She is always very nervous about the driving conditions, be it traffic, weather, or road conditions, she is ready to have the driving over with before it even begins.
It was a fun, but too quick, trip - and it really feels like I didn't even go. I'm just glad I took pictures as evidence that I did get up there this weekend!
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