One Week Break: 4th of July

Our 4th of July was quite eventful!

JP and Ash (my brother and sis-in-law) are house-sitting a gorgeous home for the month of July. As one does whenever one is house-sitting, they threw a party. Not anything crazy; just family celebrating America's birthday. The house has an excellent view of the valley and we were all looking forward to watching the different firework shows from the back patio.

We played yard games, ate great kabobs, and really just enjoyed each other's company. Most of my family left before the actual fireworks (we are all getting so old...wait, I'm the oldest...), so Ash, JP, Rob, and I were the only true 4th of July troopers.

For those of you who don't know JP, he LOVES the FIRE in fireworks. It doesn't matter what the firework looks like, sounds like, or even if it works correctly - JP can't wait to light it. This 4th's fireworks were no exception! Just so that everyone is clear: every single firework we...correction, JP...lit was very legal and therefore, rather boring. Idaho, while beautiful, lush, and green in the mountains, also has high dessert (aka, Boise) that is prone to fires during the summer, so we were responsible 4th of July-ers.

Happy 4th of July!

Anyways, we...correction, JP...had lit and we had all watched four, maybe five, fireworks, when Rob asked, "Where's Chloe?". Chloe is the golden retriever that belongs to the people who own the gorgeous mansion in Eagle. Chloe, we discovered, HATES fireworks.

Instantly, we all began calling, "Chlooooooooeeeeeeeeeee! Chlooooooooeeeeeeeeeee!". Those of us who could whistle, did (I cannot, so I did not). "Chlooooooooeeeeeeeeeee!"

No Chloe.

For the next hour and a half, while the valley fireworks were exploding joyfully overhead, we searched for Chloe: we drove through the sprawling subdivision with our windows down ("Chlooooooooeeeeeeeeeee!"), we drove down service/irrigation roads ("Chlooooooooeeeeeeeeeee! Come here, girl!"), we shined flashlights into every nook, crevice, and cranny on the property.

Still, no Chloe.

Finally, after all the fireworks had stopped raining down on the Treasure Valley, we decided that the best plan of attack was for Ash and JP to visit the Idaho Humane Society the next day. Rob and I hugged them goodbye and left for the 45 minute trek back to Nampa. On our way out of the subdivision, we continued to peer in every yard, under every tree, all the while calling "Chlooooooooeeeeeeeeeee!"

By the time we got home, we got the following text from Ash, "Chloe came back!"

We still have a bag of fireworks - guess we'll just have to save them for next year!

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Hope everyone had a great (and maybe not quite as eventful) 4th of July! We wish we could have been up at Indian Lake with so many of you, but we are looking forward to seeing everyone in August!

-F