We’re very lucky that Jordan’s family has a cabin located in Northern Idaho. It’s a great getaway as it feels like you’re in the middle of nowhere even though you really aren’t that far from civilization! In March the girls and I escaped for a long girls (and cousins) weekend! We met my mom and sister and her boys there for some R & R and family time. Due to COVID we’ve all been more cautious and have minimized get togethers over the last year. It was very nice to have some time away that felt “normal”.

Before going to the cabin the girls and I stopped for a night to spend time with Jordan’s parents (they got vaccinated – yay!). One step closer to returning to normal life. It was great to see them as it had been about 4 months and the girls were definitely excited to see grandma and grandpa! Before leaving both Syd & Nik had packed “gifts” for grandma and grandpa. I wasn’t part of the gifts and was very curious to see what they had brought! It always is great to see how excited the girls are when they see any of their grandparents – we are very lucky! I think grandma & grandpa were just as excited to see the girls and especially how much Ry had changed (crawling and mobile now)!

While at his parents we went hiking at English Point. It offers some great, mostly flat, trails that are perfect with kids. You can also take bikes and horses on several of the trails too. I took Ry in the carrier, but we’ve hiked here in the past with the stroller and the kids on bikes. It was a bit muddy as they’d had a lot of snow that had been melting quickly, but the sun was out and there were plenty of smiles by all! Plus grandma brought trail mix, so snack breaks are always a win when hiking with kids!

While March in North Idaho can mean either snow or sun, we lucked out with great warm, sunny weather and spent a lot of time walking to the beach, watching the kids ride bikes and relaxing outside. We had a belated birthday celebration for my mom and all the kiddos were excited to give her gifts and handmade cards. We made pizzas and took turns cooking meals. We spent the evenings enjoying some wine, uninterrupted conversations and working on a puzzle after the kiddos went to bed. Definitely some much needed girl time!

It was not without some chaos as well… I mean what could we expect with 5 kids 6 & under!! Ry was on a different nap schedule than my sister’s youngest so it seemed that we were often rotating naps with one kid always asleep and where to put them so it was semi-quiet! It was also 24/7 entertainment and fun with cousins while the kiddos were awake (aka more stimulation than any of our kids had in a year)! So, yes, there were some meltdowns and tears, but that’s life with kids whether traveling or sticking close to home. However, the memories we made and watching the girls with their cousins far outweighed the challenging times and those memories will be cherished forever!

Nik also started to ride her pedal bike. She was mostly getting push starts and having some help balancing, but by the time we left could ride most of the street without stopping! Within a week of returning home she was zooming around on her bike like she’d been riding it for months! Grandma helped her the last day and must have given her some special bike riding tips! 😉 Overall a great weekend!