Home of the Maniacs

No, not our house, that would be Orofino, Idaho, home of the Maniacs (the high school mascot--a little politically incorrect, given that they got the name because the state mental hospital is there in town), and also home to Grammy and Grandpa Chapman and the Konkolville Motel.

We spent two days driving (there and back) and four days visiting them last week and it was wonderful. We also got to visit with uncle Jason, which was great, the kids loved swimming with him. You know it's a good vacation when even the 13 hour drive there is bizarrely fun with 4 kids. Of course, the 11 hour drive back home was alright, but not quite as fun (I guess an hour+ stop at Borders in Boise is what makes all the difference).

Anyway, our time there was wonderful. We went swimming every day, went for gorgeous drives, slept in, played games, and converted our tiny old kitchen table into a computer desk, thanks to Grandpa's woodworking talents. The motel is totally fun. Especially the part about the three oldest sleeping in Grammy and Grandpa's second bedroom and Justin and I and Aspen across the courtyard in our own room. My kids may have woken up between 6:30 and 7, but we woke up when Aspen woke up--7:30 or 8 or even 9. :) (Thank you for that not so little gift, Mom and Dad.)

Ilana, the helper, really got into the idea of "customers." She was spotted going into the courtyard as a group finished their steak dinner (a motel specialty--grill your own) and offering to clear their plates. Grandpa also caught her refilling the basket with little packages of butter one morning during breakfast--shocking! She looked sheepish, thinking somehow that she was in trouble (kids are so weird sometimes) and then explained that, "you CAN'T run out of butter, Grandpa."

Let me just take a moment more to explain some things about the pictures above. In the first we're standing on a big stump as we took a drive through the mountains. Forester is ready for swimming the moment we get back to the motel. In the second, you can see that Ronan, as were all the kids, is fascinated with the fountain and pond--hoping to see the cool goldfish that call it home (well, sometimes, apparently they keep dying...have to sort that out still).

We just had a great time, and we're thinking we'll try and spend Christmas there this year. I wonder what we can build then? :)