We all decided to leave on a Thursday right after work and spend the night in Boise. Spencer, Spencer K, Caitlin, Alison and I piled into our trusted old Chevy Cobalt. It was a tight squeeze for the people who sat in the back. It didn't help that we were leaving about rush hour and had to sit in traffic for an hour and a half. Once we got over the Utah border things started to pick up. We had to stop about halfway to Boise because all of our legs were dying. We stopped in Twin Falls for a chicken sandwich at Chick-Fil-A. We finally pulled into the Detton grandparent's place around 11:00 pm. As we pulled up, Alan, LeeAnn and Boyd were unpacking their car. It looked like they had just arrived as well. We didn't chat for very long before we all decided to get right to bed.
The next morning, I helped Grandma Detton get breakfast together. Everyone showered and were packed up ready to take off to Mattawa around 11:30 am. While we were waiting to get all the bags strapped on top of the Chevy Tahoe, I explored the house. They had a beautiful back yard that was nicely groomed as well as a pool. This looked like the ultimate get together place. Aunt Janelle lived four houses down. We went down to check out her place as well. They lived in a beautiful neighborhood. It reminded me of my parent's neighborhood. I would definitely like to spend a whole weekend in Boise.
Once everything was strapped on tight, we all loaded in the Tahoe. We had one to many people so Alan brought down the Harley so they could switch off riding it. Spencer started off on it. I had a weird feeling so I didn't join him on it. I made him wear a helmet though... he wasn't too happy with me but rather have him alive then dead. Boise was about half way point to Mattawa. We only had about six hours more to go. We stopped at the halfway point in Oregon so Alan and LeeAnn could take a turn on the Harley. I have never been through Oregon or Washington before and was blown away by how many trees there were. It was really green. I would love to live in Oregon if there weren't as many weird people that lived there.
I fell asleep for a bit and when I woke up, we were just entering Mattawa. We turned down a dirt road heading to Grandpa and Grandma Jenne's place when Boyd said, "Get ready for the smell." I didn't understand what that meant. I saw that we were approaching the dairy farm but didn't think anything of it. Then, out of no where, it hit. The smell of stinky cow poop mixed with rotting onions. Literally this is the worst smell I have ever smelt. We all started gagging. His grandparent's live right around the corner from that stinky place and was so nervous that we were going to smell it all weekend.... Thankfully it was only when the wind picked up, which was like three different times.
Right before we pulled in, we passed rows and rows of portapotties. Spencer's uncle Tim owns his own portapotty business. His business just started to take off the last few years and is upgrading from his double wide to an actual home. They are living with the Jenne grandparents while their house is being built on the same lot.
As we got there, dinner was ready. Aunt Lorraine, Lindsey, Haley and Ashley made us a mexican soup dish. It was pretty good. Right after we ate, we had to get on the road again to get to Lainey's bridal shower in Yakima. It was an hour and fifteen minutes away. Talk about being sick of the car!! Luckily it was only us girls in the Tahoe so we were able to get comfortable. Once we got to Yakima, it was perfect outside. The shower was in Aunt Elaine's front yard. There were a lot of people there. Our car left a little early because we were ready to get home and get to bed. On our way back we got a little turned around. We missed our turn back to the house and got lost in the dark. There are no lights down the farm roads so we were really turned around. Finally after about thirty minutes we found our way. By the time we got back to Mattawa it was 11:00 pm. We were all wiped. Uncle Don brought over his trailer for us to stay in since Grandma and Grandpa's double wide only had three bedrooms.
The next morning we woke up and ate breakfast. Us girls went out and set up a table under one of the bigger trees to do our crafts on. The boys were put to work knocking down two big trees to make room for the new house. It got really hot, really quick. The wind started to pick up and we all instantly ran for cover before awful smell crept back.
Lindsey and Drew offered to take some of us out on their boat to go wakeboarding on the Columbia River. It was perfect for it. Spencer and Boyd didn't bring their swimming suits so they borrowed some old ones from Drew. The picture below was the outfit my husband was wearing... yes it was ridiculous but we did get a few people looking his direction like are you really wearing that? It was really hilarious. The water was a brisk 53 degrees... yeah needless to say I stayed in the boat. Drew, Boyd and the Spencer's were the only ones that got in. This was Spence's first time wakeboarding on an actual wakeboarding boat. He did awesome! Drew was the best by far. He was throwing back flips, twists, and clearing the wake at the same time... it was crazy! Boyd hasn't ever been able to stand up to wake board. We spent about 45 minutes trying to teach him before he was too cold and tired to keep trying. He was super close! We had a really good time out on the boat.
When we got back, we helped make dinner. Then we sat down and talked for hours. It was really good listening to the different stories from Alan and Tim's childhood. They are the same person. When they were standing next to one another someone pointed out to them that they were pretty much the same person and Tim's response was "I'm not as dorky as he is". It made us all laugh. Grandma and Grandpa Jenne had a difficult time hearing everyone. At one point Grandpa got so frustrated that he went to bed because he couldn't handle it. I felt bad for him. They were both so happy to have all of us there though. It was good to be around family.
We stayed the night in Boise at Grandma and Grandpa Detton's again. We got there around 11:00 pm. Grandma and Grandpa were both asleep already. We quietly piled in and went right to sleep. I woke up around 3:00 am feeling sick to my stomach. I think I had a little too much asparagus. We also slept with the window open so my nose was stuffed because of allergies. As I tried to fall back asleep, I could feel my throat starting to tighten. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. I had never had an allergic reaction like this before so I wasn't sure what to do. I woke up Spencer and started crying... When I went to the bathroom, my face was swollen like the movie Hitch. It was so scary. I didn't know what to do, on top of my allergic reaction I was having a panic attack. I told Spencer if I can't breathe better in 20 minutes, then we were going to go to the emergency room. I asked him to give me a blessing. After a few more minutes, I was able to calm myself down and my throat started to open up again. I was able to fall asleep. Thankfully!!!
The next morning was Memorial Day. It was interesting to see the contrast between Alan's family and LeeAnn's family. Caitlin and Alison were joking around that we get to see the two ends of the spectrum. Staying in a double wide one night and sleeping in a huge house the next. Once we ate breakfast, Janelle gathered us all bicycles. We wanted to do something before we got into the car again so went for a ride along the river. We had thirteen of us in our bike gang. The trail was packed full of people riding bikes and walking. It was really relaxing to enjoy nature; it was so perfect outside. It was therapeutic for me. I told Spencer I want to get us beach cruisers so we can ride along the Provo River.
It was really nice to finally get to see Spencer's grandparents' places. I can start to understand why there are such differences between the two families. It was really nice seeing both grandparents. I hope that Grandma and Grandpa Jenne last for a little while longer... I would hate to never see them again.
