idaho.

so i'd like to think that since my brother has been on a mission now for over a year and a half, i've gotten pretty good at documenting my vacations through photos. i just got back (literally, like i haven't even been home for 24 hrs yet) from my summer trip to idaho and utah, and i tried my very hardest to take pictures of every single thing we did because i didn't want my brother to miss any of it. so... this is the indaho portion of my trip. on the way up, my mom, connor, and i drove up in gretta (my jetta; yes, she is german, and yes she wears granny panties and lederhosen) we met my dad and my grandparents in utah and finished out the journey with them after staying the night in slc. idaho itself was relaxing and fun, despite a few snags we hit (i.e. mice in our beds... please don't get me started on that nervy b...) but i got to read books (bright shiny morning and helter skelter), paint (yeah, aparently i'd like to be an artist?), nap (which you know is one of my favorite extreme sports), and write. so.... here is my photo journey of idaho.





starting out in the morning. i believe this was taken in flagstaff, our first stop. we stopped at mcdonald's, like we do every time, for breakfast.

can you believe i actually found a place in kanab that sells evian?! and just look at the size of that thing... holy crow. i was a happy girl.

this was taken in our hotel room right before the second part of our journey began.

our second night in idaho we went up to the farm and had a weenie roast and rode quads around and hung out and told stories. this is d.w. learning how to work a quad. it was her first time driving one, and actually, i think riding one as well.

i'm not gonna lie, i'm a little scared of this. she did really well, though, and didn't even crash!

this is the money shot. this is what my brother would have paid to see. mom's hair blowing in the wind b/c she reached thrilling speeds of 12 mph. tracey was nice enough to supervise, but am i the only one noticing her bailing off the back before d.w. even stops?

the best dads in the world will roast a weenie for you. i'd like to say the reason i wasn't able to roast my own weenie is b/c i am lazy, but in all reality, i am actually, uh.... what's the word i am looking for? oh yeah, a fire hazard.

yes, this is me. and yes, there is actually a human on the back with me. this is post ride, so don't worry, we all survived. i drove so slow! i feel bad for chanel... she had to be my riding buddy. she probably thought i was SO lame!

it's dad and c.j.'s turn. they actually saw a moose on their ride. no fair!!

i'm not sure when this was taken... on the way to sonic i think? their sonic has these delicious cheddar bites that ours does not have. that is treachery, if you ask me!

awww... that's my brother and my backseat buddy. this is the view i saw pretty much the whole time. yummy. haha

you see this? even in idaho i can find a way to get some self portraits in there! this is me waiting to go to dinner. nothing fancy, and if you look closely enough, you can see the jubilee that is happening on my chin.

oh, and by "jubilee", i don't mean anything fun, i mean breakout city, population: my face. was not a good time for me.


me and connor on the way to idaho falls. we actually got to go to sizzler! which is exciting for me b/c it is just about my favorite place to eat ever!

good old d.w., holding down the fort in the passenger's seat.

those are the falls, folks. that's what the city is named for. not kidding. they are right in the middle of the town, like in the middle of roads and everything.

mom and dad at the falls.

there's the idaho falls temple through the trees from the falls. it is actually like across the freeway, i am just that good at taking pictures.

idaho falls temple.

how beautiful is that maple tree?! sad as it is to admit, i have never seen red leaves before.



TREE HUGGER!!

this is the rexburg temple. you can see it from my grandparent's backyard. it is beautiful at night.

rexburg temple, horizontal view.

on our way to our favorite rexburg restaraunt, gringo's!!

me and my papa at gringo's. check out the mustache... probly didn't even know it was him, huh? but it is.

it was really wonderful to get to visit idaho and learn more about who my grandparents were and are, and also learn more about who i am and where i come from. anyone who knows me will be able to tell you that family is my favorite thing in the whole world (and evian...). i absolutely love spending time with them... all of them. there is something wonderful about being linked to a group of people through your heritage and experiences. it is an overwhelming feeling of comfort to be around these people, to listen to these people, to learn from these people, to laugh with these people, to cry with these people... it is so amazing to feel that sense of belonging, of knowing that these people have seen you at your worst (see: chin jubilee) and they love you anyway. knowing that these people would stand up for you, defend you, love you no matter what. a group of people that are happy when you are happy, who want you to succeed. my family is so important to me, each and every one of them individually, and i can say that i truly miss them when they are not around, that if they are sad, i am sad with them. if they hurt, i hurt. i would do anything for every single one of them. i love them all so very very much.

dear idaho,

sorry i wasn't nice at first, but you have to understand that finding mice turds in my bed isn't really the way i wanted to kick off my summer vacation. i got over it though, remember? we had fun, right? what with the cheese curds and the bowling alley and those paintings. sans the bats and mice and the lack of EVIAN (shame on you!) ... you're alright. you have beautiful green hills and flowers and green trees (in the summer!) and i'm not even mad about that piece of purple mountains majesty that flew into my eye during my quad ride. (i got it out eventually, with minimal damamge to my eyebill) most importantly, you hold my family and my history and with that, you hold a piece of my heart, always.

love, gabrielle.