Family Vacation -- Parsons Style

We just got back from Donnelly, ID where we enjoyed a weekend full of family, swimming, fishing, food, and lots of laughter.

It was a much needed vacation right before I head back to work on Wednesday.

We left Boise around 1 on Friday and since we are having such a bad fire season they closed Highway 55 and we had to take the LONG route.


The car was loaded down and we were on our way.

Brian rode with us and we had a nice chat going up.

 It was fun to see parts of Idaho that I have never seen before. Council,ID was booming from all the traffic and reminded me of a little western town you would see in the movies.

Finally around 4ish we made it to Donnelly. When we pulled up Bill and the girls had already gotten there, so it was off to find our bedroom and unpack so we could get the vacation started. Bridger was a trooper and slept from Nampa to McCall, so he was ready to rock and roll once we got there.

Friday night was mexican night, Becky made enchiladas, rice and beans and I made a seven layer bean dip with the help of Audrey and Natalie along with guacamole.

Meanwhile, Grandma played with Bridger and spent time cuddling him.

Such a lucky boy to have his family close by.

I believe Grandpa, Brian and Ben headed down to scope out the beach and decided where they were going to go fishing first.

They unloaded the kayaks and the canoe and headed back to the cabin to have dinner.

That evening Grandma was in charge of homemade ice cream.

With help from Bill, Ben, Audrey and myself taking turns turning the handle I believe in the end there was either 3 or 4 batches of homemade ice cream.

We topped off the night with raspberries, blackberries and huckleberries on our ice cream.

Saturday was the day for the beach.

We walked right out of the cabin through the trees to the beach where we enjoyed the sun, water and lots of pictures.

The day couldn't have been more perfect.

It was sunny, the water was warm and the fish were biting.

 Audrey made some awesome sandcastles, Bridger floated in the water in his tube (and loved it) and

Nat was running around splashing with Ben.

That evening we eat hamburgers, hot dogs, steak and mac and cheese.

We had more ice cream  and finished the night with a board game called, "Ticket to Ride." I LOVVVVVVVVED it!

Bill brought it up and the box said that the game would last about half hour to an hour, by midnight we were still playing it. I still am trying to figure out how anyone could finish the game in that short amount of time.

Sunday came too fast and it was time to pack up and head home.

We enjoyed a wonderful family vacation and we will cherish the memories for a life time.