Idaho: Days Two Through Four

The Michael Franti show did not disappoint!  Ashagre had a blast running around with his friends from Ethiopia, and Elsa danced her heart out with Grandma Robin.  AND...The kids got to SHAKE MICHAEL FRANTI'S HAND!  I think Elsa is in love and any other concert she may attend in the future will be nothing but a disappointment.


I did not cry, but I did have one of those sublime this is why I wanted to be a mommy moments when Ashagre, after hearing the one song he was waiting to hear, The Sound of Sunshine, looked at me and said, "Mommy, I'm tired.  Let's snuggle."  The two of us curled up on one end of the blanket we had been sitting on, he buried his head in my chest and fell fast asleep - just like the first night we slept together at the guesthouse in Ethiopia.

Can you see the joy in my mom's face?  She LOVES having the kids around.

Ashagre had SO MUCH fun with his friends Alex and Melkam.

My mom danced with Elsa all night long.  I don't
know how she wasn't sore the next morning.

Enjoying the moment - snuggling with my boy while enjoying
the sounds of Franti.

We spent the next day with the Manning clan, including their three Ethiopian kiddos.  Ashagre got to sleep over in the boys' room and I enjoyed listening to his giggles of delight as they woke up together and started their day with a little goofiness.  The Mannings were fabulous hosts with a lovely breakfast on the porch, a walk to the neighborhood park, and then an afternoon out on Lake Pend Oreille on their boat.  Elsa and Ashagre tried tubing for the first time and all us parents got a much needed hour or so to catch up and compare notes as the kids swam off the back of the boat and had wars with noodles.  The kids also attended an arts and crafts fair with my parents where they painted, make cars out of scraps, and got their faces painted.

The wonderful Manning threesome.

All painted up and ready for the boat.

Trying out the tube.  They didn't realize that it would be sent out
behind the boat and opted to watch their friends do it first before
they gave it a try.

Alex and Ashagre took the first turn.  Alex was really supportive
of Ashagre and made sure to let us know when Ashagre got scared
and was ready to come in.

Waiting for their turn.

Elsa and Melkam are ready for some speed.

Ashagre was feeling braver on the second turn and he and Elsa had a blast.

After the afternoon on the lake we cruised up Schweitzer Mountain to my family's condo.  It was late and we had had a long day, so we pretty much went straight to bed, but the next morning we enjoyed the fresh mountain air, bright sunshine, and the smell of the pine forest as we took a ride on the chairlift to the top of the mountain and went on a short hike along the ridge.  The kids loved the chairlift and weren't even remotely scared.

The obligatory mom and dad requested photo with plenty of attitude.

Elsa showing off her hiking dirty after taking a
digger on the hiking trail.

Catching grasshoppers and katydids. 

Almost done with the hot hike back up.

This afternoon we made it bak to grandma and grandpa's big blue house and we're enjoying a little down time - if you define down time as a screeching Elsa throwing herself on you so you tickle her until she can't stand it any longer.