Welcome to Idaho, William

Knowing what I know about my husband, there are two things I can't believe he knew about me and still decided to date me. 

1. My dis-like of Mexican food... I saw the tears forming when I told him this our second date.

 (I have since redeemed myself on this one and decided Canada has the worst mexican food ever!)

2. My dis-like of Idaho.

Before you boo and hiss at me let me explain. It was 2006, I was on a road trip to Utah and driving through Idaho on our way home. I guess I hadn't quite figured out the whole kilometers vs miles per hour thing. Now obviously I knew there was a difference but in Canada you can go 10 over the speed limit and not get a ticket. In America you cannot. So... one thing lead to another and soon my record breaking time lead me to a speeding ticket (my only one in history!) BUT it wasn't just a ticket.. it was a "reckless driving" charge.  The cop- with a gun on his waist- told me I had two choices. I could show up in court or spend a night in jail. Now, orange is not a color that really looks good on me... I'm more a of yellow fan but not like canary yellow, more of a mustard yellow. Lets face it, the thought of me spending a night in jail is some what comical. Anyway, I asked what would happen if I couldn't be in the court house because I lived in another country. This cop was the rudest person I have ever met!!! but he told me that I would have to hire an attorney to represent me.  My simple speeding ticket turned into a very large expense and I swore that I would never again drive in Idaho and that I hated the whole state. Especially elmer county. 

Fast forward to 2009 and I met Matt. Somehow the topic of the ideal place to live came up and I blurt out, "I HATE Idaho! It smells like cows and wet potatoes and people are jerks there." (insert foot to mouth) His whole family is from there.....ooops! 

I continue to stand my ground and never want to call Idaho home but I have since agreed that not all Idaho residents are jerks (In fact I know many wonderful and non-jerk people who are from there).

 I have now visited Idaho more then I ever thought I would in my entire life. My parents have laughed out loud a few times when I told them where I was going, "Make sure Matt drives... does he know your wanted."

Because we were unable to see family over the holidays and Matt's cousin Clint also had a baby boy (Owen- possibly the cutest baby ever.... besides William of course) We decided to combine baby blessings in Emmett Idaho. I have come to terms with loving Emmett.... but it's mostly for the lovely people there. 

So now I need to pack my entire apartment to accommodate a baby on the road. Believe me when I say I was a stressed out crazy person-I was! BUT I am proud to say that the only thing that I forgot was Williams baby towel. Turns out the large adult ones work just fine for a few nights so it was no big deal. I think I should call Honda and tell them a great commercial idea... " The Honda Civic- even first time moms can hold everything they need for a weekend away with baby." It was tight but we made it.

William is still young enough to comfortably sleep in the car for his naps. He is also old enough to not flip out when he's riding in the car awake (a new feature of his persona) 

Life was good on the road, however a little cramped at times.

We stopped for lunch and sat in the booths to let William lie down next to us and play with his toys. He seemed to enjoy looking at any/every ceiling fan and did not fuss.

He even helped out with the driving.

Always being mindful of his blind-spot... 

I'll have you know that his reckless driving mother taught him that. If you see a baby/man driving responsibly that's my son.

 We arrived at Matthew's parents home in Kennewick Washington friday night to break up the drive. William got to meet his uncle Chad for the first time. While I have no photo evidence of this, it did happen. Chad also took care of Will's nighty bottle feeding. Thanks Chad.

Together we drove the rest of the road to Idaho. It was then we discovered that William doesn't really enjoy having two days stuck in the car.  He still did great but fussed for a few minutes. I don't know why... If you ask me a babies car seat looks pretty lavish. I wish they made cars with reclined seats and head cushions for me. Better yet, tote me around in a detachable one.

After arriving in Emmett we stayed with Grandpa Vickery and Emily, who always graciously let us spend the night.

I laughed so hard when I saw the face William is pulling in this picture. What is that haha he looks "special"...

It was so wonderful seeing everyone and switching up our day-to-day. William slept in his pack-n-play great and didn't seem to miss his crib too badly, I was SO thankful for that! I worked really hard trying to keep his little schedule as close as we could and he seemed to adjust well. I just wish he could happily stay awake longer then 45 minutes. After 15 minutes of nursing and another 10 of spitting up, it doesn't leave much time to cuddle with everyone who wanted to see him.

The blessing went well. I was so worried that William would cry the whole time (it was his nap time) but thankfully he stayed swaddled in his blanket and slept!

and woke right after the blessing.

Matt's mission companion, Travis was even able to make the trip.

His wife and daughter were out of town but we were so happy to have him there.

A classic four generations photo.

Baby Owen and William with their families... minus a few.

Believe it or not this is a VERY SMALL amount of Matthew's family and from the looks of it there was a red tie memo that I was unaware of.

We had a great time seeing everyone! Thanks to all who could make it. William was grateful for the support. He told me as he drove us home.