Disney isn't the only magical place around...

We headed to coeur d'alene Idaho for a short but sweet vacation. We went that way mainly to visit the amusement park, Silverwood. My friend told me about how wonderful it is, even going onto say that she likes it better than Disneyland. Well for a 1/4 price of Disney, we decided to give it a try.

We started our trip out by stopping at the tiny little temple in the Tri-cities area. It was small, but very gorgeous. We didn't stay long because temps were close to 100 that day.

 When we arrived at Silverwood, I knew right away I would love it. There's lots of people yet you have room to breathe, and it's so clean and well maintained. They have rules that keep it family friendly...no immodest clothing such as thongs....and no walking around in swimsuits. They wouldn't even allow Scarlett on the rides without putting her shorts over her swimwear. I loved that they stuck to their rules. They were nice about it, but you knew they intended to keep the park classy and family friendly.

They also have a water park there and the lifeguards totally impressed me. I sat and watched them to see how well they did their job and they were constantly swooping the area, not once getting lazy. Totally took their jobs seriously. I felt safe, and if you know me, I never feel safe with my kids around water.

We spent 12 hours at Silverwood and would have loved to have stayed longer. It has an old town appeal that most amusement parks do not have. The kids were in heaven.

 We also did some other fun stuff. We took the kids to see some motorcycle races. Yes, we went redneck and it was fun, especially to see the boys reactions.

We also took in the movie Brave. I have to say it made me cry a couple times. One of the best Disney films I have ever seen.

We also went swimming in the hotel pool every day. That was a main highlight for our kids. I wish I had more pictures, but our camera was not very reliable.

The last day of our trip we decided to let Grace get her ears pierced. She did it with no tears, and has talked about how "pretty" they are ever since.

There was lots of arguing and picking between the kids, but one thing I have found is that only the good memories stick around and the bad ones just kind of melt into the floor.

I love getting away with these wonderful people.