Sandpoint, Idaho

Big things have been happening on the Skinner-homefront lately. We are thrilled to announce that we've moved in to our new home here in Washington!!! No more hotels!!! YEAH!!

Um, I'm kinda' excited about that. One month living out of our luggage was tough. The kids enjoyed getting out of the hotel too, as you can see here as they made "carpet angels" at the new place:

Never ones to stay still for too long, we made plans to visit some friends of ours this past weekend from our Cincinnati days - Leesa and Dan. Unfortunately, Dan couldn't make it as he was in Arizona helping to fight the wildfires there. It was NOT an unremarkable weekend, which I admit is pretty cryptic. Let's just say that I'm glad Maru (one of Leesa and Dan's cats) is recovering from his foray into wild mushrooms. Amazingly, Ian played a small role in Maru's receiving prompt treatment.

Anyways - in spite of her concern for one of her pets, Leesa was a gracious hostess and showed us around the thriving metrocity of Sandpoint. Population, 8,400. The town is much larger than I'd have guessed based solely on it's population, and it has a fair bit to offer in way of restaurants, cafes, and other entertainment opportunities. We made our way from the Farmer's Market to the beach, where the kids played for a bit on the playground. Catherine and Leesa let me wander around with my camera for a bit, which is how I found this gal:

Apparently this small Statue of Liberty isn't always wearing approved personal floatation devices and goggles - so I guess I got lucky on this one. Later that day, Leesa took us out for a short drive into the mountains so we could hike to a waterfall. This pretty valley was just one of the sights along the way.

We eventually walked our way to Snow Creek Falls - which due to the epic snowfall this winter was amazing!!! There were no easy vantage points to photograph the falls. Mostly because the churning/falling water was kicking up so much mist and spray that all available surfaces were slick; which would have soaked my camera and potentially ruined it. So I used the kids' camera for this one below (it's waterproof!).

Have a great day everybody!

Marc