Trip to the Bruneau Sand Dunes

While we were chatting with Mary's folks on Saturday or Sunday they inquired about the Bruneau Sand Dunes that are "advertised" on the highway. They are about 20 minutes away or so and we hadn't been there yet, so we decided to head out there on Monday (Memorial Day). Apparently this is quite the Sand Dune, as far as sand dunes go. One of the dunes out there is the "tallest single-structured sand dune in North America", which is pretty cool. I didn't have too high of expectations, but it definitely exceeded those. It has a smallish lake right next to the dunes and a good number of camping spots. We (Me, Sarah, Nathan, Nanu, Bumpa and Sneakers) headed out there Monday morning. It was raining a little as we arrived but it turned out great. We had a little lunch/snack by the lake and then turned to conquering one of the dunes. Here are some fun pictures:

Here we are on the way... piled into Nanu and Bumpa's car, unfortuntaely Sneakers chickened out and didn't get in the picture.
Here we are eating lunch at the park by the lake
Nanu was on Sneakers patrol and taking care of him while we enjoyed the hike.
A great close-up of Sarah with Nathan and I way up the dune in the background. It was sometime around the time this pic was taken that Sarah decided that she did want to make the trip to the top.

I think we're on the top here. Sarah was really worried the whole time about "falling off", but she still insisted on carrying her graham cracker the whole way and seemed to be more comfortable as we went along.
Here we are at the top. We forgot our sleds but it was a perfect day for sledding down the dunes because it had just rained so it was packed down a little and not as sinky.
Nathan playing at the bottom with me looking on
A great pic (if I do say so myself) of Bumpa walking up the dunes with Sarah and Nathan.


Nathan running down the dunes on the descent.

We got some adorable pics of this little guy (more below). Somehow we didn't get his squinty-eyed-goofy-smile-"Cheeeeeeese"- face.
Bumpa and Sarah hiking up the dune

Here's some of those aforementioned adorable pics of Nathan.

This was a great time and I'm so glad that Nanu and Bumpa suggested that we do this. We will definitely enjoy some future day trips and maybe some overnight trips out to the dunes. Apparently it's roasting hot out there in the summer and the sand is unbearably hot so it's more a late spring/early summer and late summer/early fall thing, but we'll enjoy it! It was perfect weather as the rain was gone so the sand was cool and damp and packed down, which made for easy hiking and it was great to just take our shoes off at the bottom and walk in pure sand all the way to the top. I've never been to a sand dune before, so this was my first experience... and I really enjoyed it!

Nanu, Bumpa, & Sneaker's Visit!

Mary's folks came to visit us this last weekend. We had so much fun with them and they had so much fun with the kids. They were also a big help and enjoyed spending time in the crazy weather we had over the weekend. I was much better at getting pictures with them, probably because I was home with them instead of at work. So here are some pictures:

Bumpa (Mary's dad) holding little Jane and trying to soothe her.
Bumpa looks like the kids have worn him out... though he seemed amazingly tireless in spending time with them and doing things at their every whim. The kids had so much fun with him.

Nanu (Mary's mom) reading a book to Sarah while Bumpa holds little Jane in the background. The kids enjoyed their time with Nanu and she was wonderful with them as well.
While Nathan napped and after the kids went to bed, we played some bocce while the Nanu and Bumpa were here. A very fun leisurely game that anyone and everyone can play.
Mary's lookin' awfully good for having had a baby 4 weeks ago... don't ya think?