Family Fun in McCall

What beats a beautiful mountain resort on an Idaho lake? Being there with my whole family of course!

The last week of July we went out to Idaho for a family get-together in McCall. We would always go there every year growing up, but I hadn't been again since my mission. The only problem with the trip was that is wasn't long enough!

Dan, Ryan and I flew out to Boise together and we had a 3 hour layover in Minneapolis. I had no idea that Minnesota was actually so green and beautiful. A pleasant surprise! We decided to take the train downtown from the airport to check it out. Honestly, not much to see right off the train, but it was fun to get out. And there were some cool buildings.

Downtown Minneapolis

After arriving in Boise we grabbed lunch, Dan met Erin to get their marriage license, and we headed up to McCall. It was late when we arrived, and we'd been up early to get going, so we were pretty exhausted but it was so fun to see everyone that night!

We spent our time there doing the usual: tennis, swimming, puzzles, fishing, and this time we even rented jet skis! Jet skis haven't usually been part of my trip there because we've usually gone in October when it's too cold. The jet skis were probably the highlight of the activities. I was a pretty lame driver to begin, and I was a wimp when Ryan was driving, but then I got used to the rhythm of it all, and by the end, was feeling like a pretty rockin' jet skier. It was a blast!

Thursday morning we went to the Pancake House, as always. You can't leave McCall without one of these cinnamon rolls!

Who doesn't want a cinnamon roll the size of a baby?!

It was really fun to play with Matt and Hilary's kids. Seneca is such a cute little girl, and Jason is so fun now that he has so much to say! I can't lie, I love being the favorite uncle...yes, uncle.

It was also great to have Dan's fiancee, Erin with us in McCall. She's great and I am so happy to have her as a sister in law in a few short weeks!

Ryan caught his very first fish! I was so proud of him. He'd never been fishing before (what a shame!) so I taught him how to cast the pole. He did a great job and brought in a nice fish for us, which we ate on Sunday.

He's a keeper!

There was one more surprise at the end of the trip that was pure luck! Saturday I said to Ryan, too bad Byron and his wife are in Moscow, or it would be fun to see them. Well that night, the whole family was sitting out on the back lawn chatting, when the doorbell rang, and who else was there but Byron himself! He came into town at the last minute and thought he'd stop by to say hi to Mom and Dad, but didn't know any of us were there! Sunday I finally got to meet Byron's wife, Amy. The vacation was a much needed break from the stresses of the business, and we had a wonderful time!