Tuesday, September 04, 2007

The Long-Awaited Weekend



Several months ago, my good friend Tonya and I decided it would be great fun for our two families to go camping together. So we looked at our calendars and went online to see what campsites were available at Farragut St. Park in northern Idaho. This seemed like a perfect spot, not only for it's scenic beauty, but also its proximity to Silverwood theme park, which DH and I have never visited - but our older kids have with youth groups. Unfortunately, work obligations kept Tonya's dh Paul from joining us, except for a quick trip to Silverwood, but we had a marvelous time together all weekend. It helped that Kirsten was with one of her best friends, and Brendan was with his girlfriend all the time. :)

We spent Saturday at Silverwood, splitting the families up into smaller groups according to age and intensity of rides, as Tonya and Paul have 4 girls from ages 5-16. So we mostly had three groups of us, keeping in contact with our cell phones - when we could hear them. :)

The roller coasters are the main event on the carnival side with two excellent wood coasters and one way-too-short steel coaster. It's been a l-o-n-g time since I'd ridden a roller coaster and I'd never been on a wood one. All I can say is that I'm glad I didn't wait any longer! What a thrill! Even Kirsten rode Timber Terror three times, leaving Tremors and Corkscrew for her next visit. We all indulged in humongous ice cream cones, mmmmmm.

Boulder Beach is the waterpark at Silverwood, which we didn't visit till late in the afternoon, not realizing it closed three hours before the rest of the park. It's an impressive place all on its own! Even with a limited time, the kids got to experience quite a few of the attractions. We'll know how to plan out our day a little better next time, for there is sure to be a next time!

Sunday was a lazier day - for me and Tonya anyway. Gary took several of the kids, including little Natalie, on a geocaching walk, which ended up being quite a hike up a steep hillside to a view of the bay at Lake Pend Oreille. Natalie didn't complain once, unlike the other hikers, lol! Gary said he has a new hiking buddy. :) While they were gone, Tonya did some reading, Brendan and Bethany worked on their geometry homework, and I did a bit of recharting for Rowyn's NRR. The church I plan to stitch is just a bit too large in scale for the block, so I sat down with graph paper and worked it out. Now I can get started with the stitching!

After lunch we drove over to the swimming beach where the kids could play in the water. We were entertained by a few ducks who kept swimming into the area and Kevin trying to swim out to join them. For some reason they kept their distance. :)

Monday arrived all too soon. Reluctantly, we packed up our trailers and headed back to the Tri-Cities. But I think we just might sneak in another camping weekend together before it gets too chilly!

4 comments:

mainely stitching said...

Oh my gosh, that sounds like so much fun Von!!

Sharon said...

What fun and making great memories!

Mylene said...

What a great weekend with family and friends, Von.

Carol said...

Fantastic! Luck you - you have done some wonderful travelling this summer!