Per Perkins Perhe: Enjoying an Idaho Winter Carnival

,,, and its Monday morning and I thought this rainbow dot was a lot of fun.

Other fun was making up this picture of me and Jane Austen.

This picture was one I took about 12 years ago, before the folks across the street replaced their 100 year old picket fence with PVC fence. I love the view of our house through this space, and was wishing that the space with the house was closer making the house part larger.

This is what I was able to do with enlarging the area. Now I am wondering if I could actually make a painting of this fantasy scene.

Dad and I also went to lunch with Marshall Brough in Salt Lake that day and we had a nice long visit.

Afterward we stopped by DI, and I saw this car on my way in. I thought that it looked pretty fun.

On Tuesday I went junking in Salt Lake again. And then went to watch these fine youngsters while their Folks went to the last ever Sundance Film Festival to be held in Utah. Dad, of course, was doing Stake Presidency stuff.

Cam and Parks and their Mimi.

Our little lady.

and the builder.

I thought this was a fun photo that Ashley took of one of her squash plants that she had been growing in the house. When she saw the blossom, she knew she had to put it outside for it to be pollenated, and how accommodating is this little bee who came by in January.

Dad finished reading the Book of Mormon in Finnish for the 11th time. Yeah Dad.

After work on Thursday Dad came by and picked me up so we could go out to eat for his birthday. We always like K's Kitchen and it's always fun to see Rui's Dad Phil.

Dad thought this was fun, to see where Finland is relative to the North.

Also on Thursday, our Eva and her besty, Avery headed to the Dominican Republic where they are going to teach English to small children.

The fun thing is that she met up with her Dad on the way in an airport where she had a layover, as he was returning home from a work conference.

By the next day she was already meeting the children.

What a great adventure. As it turns out the company that managed her trip to the Dominican Republic is the same company that made arrangements for Emily to teach English to children in Russia after she graduated.

Dad and I spent the day driving to Idaho on Friday so that we could spend the weekend at the Mitko's house.

We even got to meet Alex's girlfriend.

and here Kai takes out the empty pizza boxes after dinner.

And here I put him on a forest trail, so it looks like he's back on the Appalachian Trail, having received some Trail Magic, which is what they call it when the locals bring the hikers unsolicited food.

On Saturday morning Dad and I did some junking around Boise and then met Darwin and Debbie Rassmussen for lunch at Cafe Rio. He is currently working on putting together a book with the combined accounts of several different missionaries of highlights and spiritual experiences on their missions in Finland. Debbie and Darwin had a quicky romance just like Dad and me, except they did in in 6 days.

Then we headed back to Britts and we all drove up to McCall where we were renting a cabin during their Winter Festival.

That night we went out for Sushi!

The birthday girl prefers noodles.

Papa and Britty

But there was yum for everyone.

Ah to have big brothers who love you!!

Then the next morning it was out to breakfast at a place where Britt had made reservations 6 weeks ago, when we change our normal week after Christmas in Idaho plans to this plan. Mike and Britt et al have attended this festival on many occasions, since it always falls over Ground Hog Day, which is Charley's birthday.

Brittany got a pickled bloody Mary.

Pretty fun, and she loved it. I'm think I should add pickle juice to V8!

We walked around town on both Saturday and Sunday and looked at the snow sculptures which are a big part of the Winter Festival there. This year's theme was Sharley, who is the Payette Lake Monster. Here she is shown in a Sphinx style.

She's at the coffee shop in a very large Coffee Cup.

This one was done by the Junior High Art Club and won best amateur sculpture.

This one is a little hard to see, but she is boxed up and is be sent to Hawaii. I don't think she'll last too long there, in fact all of them were beginning to melt, and they had just been placed on Friday. The Best of show Sharley was so far gone, that her middle humps had crashed to the ground.

On Sunday we went into town again, and the kids and Britt ice skated and did bumper cars. Here are Alex and Kai.

Alex

Charley and her Dad watching the fun.

Charley with her big brothers.

The boys and their Mom.

The low point

Bumper cars were fun too.

Dad and I played a few different games with our favorite Game Meister on Saturday, then on Sunday the whole family got involved in playing UNO. Britt says games are Charley's love language.

Cute picture of the birthday girl and Kai down by the frozen lake.

Here are Dad and I in front of the lake.

Loved this interesting vase in one of the art galleries.

And how cool are these spikes. They are 4 and 5 feet long, though they had mini ones too.

Britt with Charley and Kai.

Such a cute picture.

Kai noticed the stickers on this car for the Appalachian Trail, which he did last year, and the Pacific Crest Trail that he's doing this year. We even watched a movie about a woman who does the Pacific Crest Trail.

Dad even got a birthday cake, since he didn't get one on Thursday, and we all sang to him.

I thought this old ski poster sign, a repro for the local ski resort was fun. It was in the cabin.

We noticed this furniture store in town there, and wondered if it's owned by relatives of Bri, as this is her Mom's maiden name, and she grew up in Idaho.