Epic Journey 2010, Part 1: Chicago to Idaho Falls

This winter's Epic Journey is a two and a half week road trip from Chicago to Idaho Falls then on to Boise and the little mountain town of McCall to spend Christmas with my family, then back to Idaho Falls for New Year's with Andrea's family. The van is well packed - luggage, food, activities, and three little boys full of anticipation of adventures to come. And one big boy who's ready for a vacation. And of course, one little girl who can't wait to see Grandma's and one big girl who did a fabulous job of getting everything ready for the long haul. We're off!

I guess it's a good sign when everyone is still smiling 18 hours later. The kids have slept cozy in their pajamas and mom and dad took turns getting some rest.  Only seven more hours to go!

Stop number one is Idaho falls and we're all happy to see Grandpa and Grandma. Anya gets a ride.

One of the best things about going to Grandma's house is showing her how cute you are. Anya tries her hardest.

There was some quality snow in Idaho falls, so we used a bit of quality time to construct a snow person.

We had a free day before the next leg of our journey so we decided to take advantage of the local ski hill and get some snowboards under Kenrick and Anthony. They look pretty serious, huh?

The hill was just right for the boys to learn on and they did great. The chair lift was only a double and I needed to go with Anthony to make sure he didn't fall off, so Kenrick had to get on by himself the first time he ever rode one! He did fine, and even got off in one piece at the top! Then he wrecked. Then he got up and wrecked again. Then he pointed his board down the hill and was gone. Anthony perfected the snowboard squat, keeping the distance to the ground at a minimum in preparation for impending disaster.  ("Stand up, Anthony!") He was soon spinning 360's down the hill.

There goes Kenrick!

Both boys got pretty worn out, so we were glad for our Mommy Support Crew in the lodge. Anthony took a break for a while, but was ready to go again for the last couple of runs of the day.

The adventure has begun. Next stop, Boise.