a trip of a lifetime

talk about a trip of a lifetime.....my husband and all five of our kids met out in washington state to visit our oldest son.  we hiked mt. kit carson--absolutely beautiful views!  we swam--in gorgeous lake coeur d'alene with a stunning rocky shoreline.  we shopped--coeur d'alene!!  what a beautiful part of the country.  the kids humored me by spending an afternoon at manito park visiting the perennial gardens, the gaiser conservatory, the rose garden, and the duncan garden and just walking the grounds of the park.  we had gorgeous weather and lots of sunshine. the highlight of the trip--and if anyone is heading that way, please check out the treetops adventure course at farragut state park.  we had more fun with that challenge some 40' above ground, and laughed through the whole thing!  i love having nature all around me and my husband and kids are no different.  what a most special trip.  life sometimes happens quickly or can be filled with stressful things.  we have to stop the crazy for a moment to realize that there are incredibly important people to visit, nature to see, ideas to contemplate, and concepts to discuss.  we did it all in washington.  local plant shop called "the plant farm" had just about anything anyone could want for their indoor garden--i could've stayed there all day. and then how can i leave it to the end to mention the coffee houses--two a day, every day, all LOCAL.  we decided when we got there that we weren't going to do anything or buy anything from anywhere that was a national chain.  we loved all the super quaint coffee shops with cappuccinos, lattes, iced coffees, pastries, croissants, and more.  what an indulgent trip--the glitter on our donuts (hello sugar) was the icing on the cake.  xx