Family Vacay Day 2

The second day of our vacation began with a trip to the White Elephant store in Spokane. The boys were looking forward to going to the toy & outdoor sporting goods store! It's a family tradition to go there when visiting Spokane...and this was Josh's first time!!! It's unique and fun and we always find good treasures there. I bought some beach toys that we'd use later that day, and Ammon got a water gun, and the boys got some small toys, too.

The boys all got a token to ride the elephant since they all made a purchase. It was funny to watch that old thing jolt them around!

While we were at White Elephant, Grandpa was at a Dr. appointment. We went back to his house after shopping, and cleaned and packed. We did some laundry, washed dishes, swept floors and swept the porch, and packed up the van. After he arrived home from the Dr. (where he had to do some blood tests), we gave him hugs and loves and said our goodbyes. We headed north through the skinny tip of Idaho. We stopped in the tiny town of Athol and at lunch at a park. I had made our meals at home prior to leaving, and the meal plans included a variety of sandwiches. For lunch that day we had egg salad sandwiches. The kids played at the park for a while, and then we continued on. It was a long driving day again. We drove through Sandpoint, which I thought was so cool with its dual bridges that cross the lake!

 

We drove north until we were about 20 miles from the Canadian border, then we turned east onto another highway that took us back into Montana. We drove through Libby, and then a whole lot of nothing, and then Kalispell. It was a pretty drive, but so boring for the boys...there weren't a lot of signs for their sign game, or a lot of traffic for their license plate game, and we had to stop for construction which lengthened the drive, too. At Kalispell, we turned north again and headed to Whitefish, which was our destination for the day. We checked into the Cheap Sleep Motel (the cheapest hotel I could get in the area!), made ham & turkey sandwiches for dinner, and then we went to City Beach on Whitefish Lake. I'd read somewhere that it was a beautiful and FREE beach, and we spent the whole evening there.

It was very pretty, and it wasn't very crowded because it was a Monday evening. We ate our sandwiches, and then didn't wait any longer to get in the water!!

Ammon used his new water gun from White Elephant

and Jonah and Micah used all the sand toys I bought on the beach.

They were very constructive and built this fortress!

 

The lake was so beautiful! It was formed from a melted glacier thousands of years ago, and the color was clear and blue, and the rocks at the bottom of the lake and lining the beach were a variety of colors. Kanyon loved looking at the different rocks!

After driving all day, Josh did a lot of this:

I was content to sit in the cool water and enjoy being surrounded by such beauty!

We relaxed on the beach for hours. It was so enjoyable for all of us. We were happy to be out of the car, and feeling the sun on our bodies, and the sand and water on our toes.

 

After the sand fortress was built, and the wading in the water was done, the boys moved on to other ventures. Micah tried to catch a seagull (it didn't work out), Kanyon played toss the ball with whoever was by him, the twins climbed the unattended lifeguard tower, and Ammon & Josh played frisbee.

And for the first time in our married life, Josh and I walked along the beach, holding hands, at sunset.

 

After the sun went behind the mountain, it got cold really fast (especially since we were partially still wet), so we picked up all our stuff, and went back to the cheap motel. We piled onto the bed to watch a snake-catching and turtle-snapping show on TV, and then it was time for bed. The boys all slept in their sleeping bags on the floor again, and Josh and I slept in the bed. It had been another long day, (with a super fun evening), and we were all tired and ready for some sleep!