I couldn't have asked for a better day!

This morning Flower and I went to Target to get a birthday card and waste some time before we were to meet the Sturg family, being Jer, Kris, Matt, Jenna and her boy toy Casey. We followed them to Twin Falls and were on the road by 11:00.
This was my view the entire way.
Staring at Kris' backside. :) It's a good place to be. ;)
I actually don't mind the scenery on that drive like some do. I figure everything is beautiful in it's own way and I've enjoyed everywhere we've ever driven.
Miss Thing was asleep by 11:15 and slept for 45 minutes. :) It was much needed!
We went to the Twin Falls Temple Open House. We met their extended family outside the Stake Center.
Isn't Miss Abby just the cutest?!
We started in the Stake Center with a video and went on the guided tour through the temple. It is a really beautiful temple. Far prettier then the Boise temple. I am a sucker for clean, straight lines and the architecture is amazing!






On the inside the wood work, the art, the furniture. It was all so pretty. I loved it. And the celestial room was the whitest, brightest one I've seen. I look forward to doing a session there someday.
After the temple we went to Jerry's parents house. We changed clothes and played. I really enjoyed myself. Sometimes I feel socially retarded and unable to make small talk. Never mind the fact that I don't like it. I had my tools in place(magazines, phone, crossword) just in case I started felling uncomfortable. It didn't happen! I had fun getting to know everyone and was very much treated like family. I should have expected nothing less.
Flower found the toy closet and as soon as she put on the tutu, she was in heaven!
Jerry's brother(Dave) and sister-in-law(Katie) took some of the kids swimming. Flower was invited but didn't have a suit. Katie let her wear one of her kids boxer shorts and a t-shirt and we were set. I was a tiny bit uncomfortable with the thought of having to go by myself. Kris had to stay and cook. I tried to get Matt to go but I knew I needed to go be with Flower! I put my trusty cross-word puzzle book in my bag and was fully prepared to engross myself. I didn't even pull it out. Katie and two of their kids road with me and we followed Dave and the other kids. Katie didn't end up swimming and we talked the whole time. I really enjoyed her. She is quite funny and provided me with several laughs throughout the night. Gotta love that sheet cake! :)



Chloe, their 12 year old daughter took such good care of Flower in the pool!

Their 2 year old daughter Tess was adorable. That girl jumped in the water more times then I could count. Over and over and over! Dave was getting worn out!



Around 4:30 we went back to the parents home for the Birthday celebration. Jerry's dad turned 80!
Kris did the main portion of the meal and it was a delicious chicken dish! I want the recipe. Sooo good! There was just a good combination of food.
After lots more play time and a good water fight, we sang to the birthday boy and had cake.
He's such a cute man!
Kris made the most delish cake I have ever had! I'm not kidding. I don't really like cake very much but I took a bite to taste it. I should have taken a picture! It's lemon/lime with cream cheese frosting and it was from Cooking Light! You would have never known. She sent a ginormous piece home for KG and it took everything in me not to break it open on the way home for some quick energy. Good stuff Kris! I want the recipe for this too! :)
Here's part of the party gang.
Grandpa Sturgill.
Katie.
We discovered that we're both going to be at Lagoon next weekend. Hopefully we will run into them.

Sexy Casey.(Jenna's man)
It was really hard to leave because we were having so much fun but I knew we needed to get out the door because there were a couple of things I wanted to do with Flower before going back to Boise. We finally left at 8:30.
We went to Shoshone Falls. I have never been there and I'm so happy I made time for it. It was beautiful! We stopped at two little water falls on the way.





Can you believe this sunset? Gorgeous. Those colors only lasted a millisecond!






This would have been cute if the dumb lady could hold the camera steady. This was actually the better of three!




After the blurry photo, I decided to give it one more shot and ask another guy. It's not too bad. However, from the look of Flower's discreet middle finger, I'm guessing she's done with strangers taking our picture! :) And that smile which makes it seem she knows exactly what she's going!
We also went on a hike.

We left the falls at 9:30. I really wanted to go back to the temple so that's what we did. It was so nice being there alone with Flower. It was so beautiful and peaceful.
I think this might be my favorite photo of the night. The temple against the backdrop of that gorgeous blue sky is amazing.



Look at that skyline! Tonight provided more colors, at different times of the night, then I think I've ever seen!

I really enjoyed walking the grounds alone with Flower and talking. We sat in the grass and talked about Jesus and temples and what we do there. When we are talking she always asks, "what did you do today?", so we each told each other what we did today. We rolled and played in the grass and just had a nice time being alone together.







We were there for about 40 minutes before we finally headed for the freeway...only to have announced that Flower had to go poop. Two stops later and 45 minutes, she still hadn't gone. To say I was annoyed would be an understatement! We were finally on the road for good at 11:00. She was asleep by 11:15. Not surprised. Are you noticing a pattern from this morning? Except this time she lasted until we got home and then right on into bed. The last hour of the trip was brutal. I get extremely bored. Even driving there this morning was tough. If I don't have someone in the car to talk to I have a hard time staying awake. The dancing helped I like to be a passenger for trips so I can do crossword puzzles or read and talk! At home I am always doing two or three things at a time. If I'm watching tv I'm on the computer or texting. Watching a movie, I'm also texting or reading or any number of things. Never just one thing at a time. When I do just one thing, I tend to fall asleep. Then add night time and the glaring lights and it hypnotizes me. I called two of my late night friends to talk my way home but neither of them answered. I'm thankful I made a cd earlier in the week because singing every word of I Kissed A Girl over and over (at least twenty times) that last 20 minutes, as loud as I could kept me awake. We made it home at 12:30 am.
I just cannot say enough kind words about their family and how at home I felt. I had such a good time and never felt anxiety of being out of place. It was such a relaxing, fun day and I'm so grateful they included Flower and me.

**Note-I was feeling a bit off all day with the camera. For some reason I was a little self conscious when I had it in my hands. Not sure why. I regret not getting more photos at the temple during the day and not getting more at the birthday party. I'm also not super happy with most of the ones I did take. You win some you lose some right?