Sun Valley Lodge

Ben had a Rotary conference in Sun Valley for a couple days and decided to take the family along. The kids had a week left in school so it was more of a May trip than a summer vacation.  (They only missed one day of school.) So on Friday morning we loaded up and headed on our way. As we started to drive into the valley, Josh really perked up.  He was impressed with the trees and mountains.

We stayed at the Sun Valley Lodge condos for three days and two nights. We got there right in time for Ben's first meeting, so the rest of us made our way into the condo with our luggage (in the rain) and prepared a nice lunch. The condo was really homey and had several bedrooms and lots of family space. We could hear a river/stream in the backyard, and of course birds chirping. The kids were ready for naps after lunch - this was my kind of vacation.

When the rain stopped, the kids woke up, and Ben got out of meetings, we all ventured out for a stroll. The Sun Valley Lodge area is gorgeous!

This was the kids' favorite landmark: the swans. They even had a nice little "house" on the edge of the pond.

The kids' have a "hotel tradition" of eating popcorn after we go swimming. I love that on this trip we were able to spend lots of time just hanging out and playing together. We even played some board games. 

Any time Josh disappeared for a minute while we were busy, it was to run off to a bedroom to sneak into a bed that wasn't his.  (He sleeps in a crib.)  We all thought it was hilarious. He does it at home now too.  It may be about time for a big boy bed. 

On the second day I took the kids for a walk on the pathways around our condo. There were lots of streams to cross.

Nicole and Greg.

And here is my favorite picture of the year so far: 

It might end up framed on our wall. This is what our children really look like. 

(Why does Josh have bare feet in the picture? I have no idea. He had shoes on when we started and finished...) 

The kids spent most of our walk chasing "flufflies," like this one that Jonathan finally caught. 

 Our section of condos was called Cottonwood so I assume that's what the fluffies were.  They often looked like snowflakes falling.  We stayed on the top two floors to the right, on the back side. 

We decided to have a picnic on the balcony.  The kids kept trading places to get out of the shade and out of the sun. I thought both were completely perfect. 

And Joshie Bug kept trying to get me to take a bite out of his apple. Um, no thanks. 

Later that afternoon we went ice skating! (I know Ben has been reading this blog, wondering when I was going to get around to the ice skating pictures because they were the best part. They will get their own blog post.) The kids had never skated before and it was a blast. The swimming pool at the lodge was super nice too and we swam there both days, but we kept our camera safe in the fancy lockers and didn't get any pictures. It was outdoor, heated, and kid-friendly. 

We stayed in Sun Valley one more night and enjoyed a lazy morning before we packed up and headed home. It was a really nice, relaxing weekend. I definitely did not need a vacation from this vacation. I'm pretty sure we'll be back someday.