Trip to Idaho Falls

 This morning we had beautiful sun dogs, which was fun for the kids to see.

We loaded up early and headed out for doctor's appointments in Idaho Falls - normally about a 3 hour drive.  It took a bit longer today because the roads weren't great.  Not bad though.  When we headed out, it was 20 below at our house.

We drove over Teton Pass, which was in better condition than we expected.  I wish you could see all the squiggles in the snow at the top of the pass from the skiers, but the picture didn't pick them up very well.  It was really pretty.

 Lots of snow up there, but I've seen it be much more by this time of year in other years.

 When we got to Idaho Falls, we headed to lunch at our favorite spot - Johnny Carino's.  Yum.  Except that I've been really sick this week - came down with a cold which started with a nightmare of a night Sunday-Monday.  I think I had a higher fever than I've had in ages.  (This also explains my blogging absense - I barely got out of bed Monday, and was in recovery mode Tuesday, still not up to much, so there just wasn't any news to share).

Anyway, see this delicious food?  I could hardly taste it, and had a hard time swallowing due to the very sore throat.  Still, it was good.  I just ate my favorite part - the Chicken Parmesan and skipped the spaghetti.  I never remember to tell them to not bring it.  Since I was on my super-low-carb-diet, I'm not a big fan of pasta.

The allergy boy had a big plate of tomatoes, a clementine, sweet potato and beet chips, and some vienna sausages.  (And later, a banana and cereal in the car).

 We stopped at Toys R Us to pick up diapers I had great coupons for, and the two year old found this mask and came around the corner wearing it.  I wish I could remember exactly what he said, because it was so funny, but it was something to the effect of, "I found my head."

We did our doctor visits, ran to Barnes and Noble for Starbucks drinks (it was cold there too), did a little shopping and headed home.  We considered visiting the museum there, but realized it would be very late when we got home if we went.  As it was, we weren't home until around 10 anyway.

We grabbed a quick bite to eat at McDonalds in Jackson Hole, and sat where the boys could watch a video about Yellowstone.  When we had to leave, the five year old was worried about missing "my favorite movie" - ha - which he had never seen before.  I didn't think to take a picture of the dinner until the allergic 2 year old had scarfed all his good food.  He had a feast - I ran into Albertsons which is right near McDonalds - and grabbed him red and green grapes, blackberries, fresh mushrooms, and Spam.  I hate giving him canned meats so often, but they are a couple of the only things he can have, and they travel well.

 As a way to entertain the hooligans on dark drives home, I carry a pack of glow light sticks in the diaper bag.  I get them at the dollar store, and this pack had three lights - a perfect number for our crew.  I wish you could see in this picture how closely the five year old was studying this light.  Then pretty soon, he says, "These are not for me.  These are for little tiny kids."  He was not impressed with how short the light sticks were.  I guess next time I'll get the necklace sized ones.  I bet he'd like those better.  Still, it occupied quite a bit of driving time, so it was worth it.

As you can see, it got colder by the time we were about home.  And wouldn't you know it, the five year old had to stop *twice* to pee on the side of the road.  Sorry people, there just isn't any other option between here and there.  Keep in mind that the 30 below zero does not account for wind chill, and it was windy - so probably felt like 45-50 below.  Brrrr.  I was less than impressed with my "gallant" husband's attempts to appear sound asleep during BOTH pit stops.  Next time, he should probably refrain from talking to the remaining kids in the car if he wants to be believed...

Also today we visited briefly with our 23 year old son who is stationed overseas with the Air Force.  He was pretty excited.  He's been doing college classes online and just received an invitation to join the Golden Key Honors Society for the college he's attending online.  He received the honor for being in the top 15% of his class.  He has a 3.96 GPA.  Woohoo! Very excited for him!!  Good Job!