Another fun evening watching baseball at the stadium with friends and family...as you can see, for us it's as much (or more) about the social interaction as it is about the baseball game! We hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we did the company and the game!~
We had planned to go camping this weekend (July 18-20) with Gary and Melissa until Jeremy was called to work out of town. However, I decided to go anyway since we had already made arrangements for the pets. We had a great time and hopefully he’ll be able to join us next time!
This camping spot was new to me and I was amazed at its beauty! The reservoir was surrounded by mountains and the view from our camp was fantastic. I hope you enjoy the pictures, despite the fact that I broke the unwritten rule not to take pictures (of humans) while camping (in other words, it’s not so glamorous without running water, make-up, etc.)! View at your own risk!
Look closely in the slide show for pictures of a female mallard with her nine ducklings, they were such a treat to watch while we were out on the boat fishing on Saturday evening. Also, the purpose of including the picture of the vehicles is to show that it froze overnight on Friday night! We were definitely in the mountains!~
My nephew and I went to see my Dad ("Grandpa Uncle Ricky") before I had to head home today. His birthday is coming up this week so we had an early birthday visit. I couldn't help but reflect on the fact that while Ethan and I were there, we did all the things that my siblings, cousins and I did at his Mom's (my Grandma Tilly's) house when we were little. We ate sandwiches, played in the dirt, played in the irrigation ditch (but unlike when we were kids, we hosed off afterwards), toured the gardens, looked for wildlife (see the wild rabbit in the pics), climbed trees and ate popsicles. What a great time!~
Here are a few pictures from the annual "Happy Birthday" get-together with Patti, Joan, Jill and Stacey. (We try to get together at least once a year to celebrate all of our birthdays...even though our birthdays are in January, May & June.) Good friends, good times.~
We met up with the rest of the group on Thursday night at the "Days of the Old West" rodeo where we enjoyed classic rodeo events like bull riding, bareback, saddle bronc, team roping, barrells and calf-roping. There's nothing like a good ol' rodeo in the Wood River Valley, the venue is small and there isn't a bad seat in the house!~
Before heading out to the Wood River Valley to spend the holiday weekend with the rest of the group, we made a quick stop at the Warhawk Air Museum. The museum featured an amazing array of aircraft, vehicles, machinery, military instrumentation, uniforms, medals, pictures and various other memorabilia (too many to name or describe) primarily from the World War II era. However, there were other items and memorabilia throughout the museum, too, because "the mission of the museum is to teach and preserve World War II history from the home front to the war front and aviation history from the advent of flight through the space age. The Warhawk Air Museum encourages an educational experience about the technology, culture, and social changes that have occurred in North America since World War II."
While there we were pleasantly surprised to learn that two of the planes in the museum (pictured below) were celebrities in the 2001 movie Pearl Harbor (the movie starring Ben Affleck, among others). One of them (the planes) was also very recently used in the soon-to-be-released movie "Valkyrie" starring Tom Cruise. It is a movie, based on actual events, about a plot to assassinate Hitler during the height of WWII. While the planes couldn't sign autographs it was fun to get our picture taken with such a well-traveled celebrity!
An interesting side note--our brother-in-law Adam, who is in the Coast Guard, was thrilled to see an entire display case dedicated to Coast Guard memorabilia. He was also honored to meet the Veteran who contributed most of the items on display as he happened to be working in the museum that day.~
Wow! What a fabulous time we had at Roaring Springs! There was something for everyone...even the little kids! Because we were in the water so much we didn't even notice the 102 degree heat! It was still that hot when the park closed at 8 pm! Here are a few snapshots!~
While visiting the World Center for Birds of Prey and we had the opportunity to see a lot of amazing birds of prey (we weren't allowed to take pictures of all of them so you'll have to use your imagination). We also learned a lot about other animals and how the state of their environment affects them. The Peregrine Falcon and it's story (of almost nearing extinction) is the reason for the creation of the World Center for Birds of Prey. You'll see a couple of pictures of the Peregrine Falcon they brought out for us. One interesting thing we learned about Peregrine Falcons is that they can travel at speeds up to 200 mph when they are diving to make a kill. That's pretty fast! Here is a link to the website for the Center if you want to learn more! www.peregrinefund.org
We walked to the Quarry View Park (from the State property where the Old Penitentiary was located) to let the kids play and burn off excess energy. They had a great time and enjoyed one another's company (as you can see). We felt very lucky to have "Uncle" Jeremy join us for most of the day, despite the fact that he had a lot going on at work. As you can see in a couple of the photos, in an effort to be with us, he often had to work from his laptop even when we were literally at the playground.~
While touring the grounds at the Old Idaho State Pentitentiary we were treated to the J. Curtis Earl Memorial Exhibit which, although unrelated to the Pen, was located in one of the buildings on the property. The exhibit features one of the nation's largest collections of historic arms and military memorabilia. It includes artifacts dating as far back as 3500 B.C. that were accumulated over some 60 years by the late J. Curtis Earl, a part-time Boise resident who passed away a few months after finalizing the donation. Steve Guerber, the Executive Director of the Idaho State Historical Society, said "the collection represents an opportunity to visually follow the history and evolution of arms over a period of some 5,500 years." The exhibit (which was really more like a small museum) even includes a replica of a military bunker (our nephews and niece are sitting in part of it in one of the pictures). Check out the pictures below!
Later that day...we went to the Old Idaho State Penitentiary to take a self-guided tour. In addition to Adam, Destiny, Terence & Donovan, our nephews, Tristan and Ethan, joined us for the tour as well as our niece, Madison. The pictures were taken in (or outside of) the old buildings, including the maximum security building; the eating hall; death row; the commissary; the barber shop building; and solitary confinement. The Old Idaho State Pen was built by the inmates themselves and housed several well-known criminals over the years before it closed (in the early '70s). It was chilling to be in a place with such a history. Here's a look into our tour...
Day one of our combination stay-cation/vacation began with a ride on the Boise Trolley Tour with my sister Destiny, brother-in-law Adam and my nephews Terence and Donovan. (They arrived in Boise on Monday, June 30, from Coos Bay, Oregon, after having spent time there with Destiny's family of origin...which was preceded by their stay in the Seattle area spending time with Adam's family...which ultimately was preceded by their three-year stay in Guam as Adam was stationed with the Coast Guard there. After their stay "state-side" for a month or so this summer, they are headed to their new post, Puerto Rico, for three more years or so.)
We saw a lot of the historic homes and other buildings/structures in the Warm Springs area as well as downtown Boise. We learned a great deal about the fantastic city of Boise.~
There's a slideshow of snapshots at the bottom of all the postings. Check it out! You might see yourself or someone you know! (If I've included you and you would rather not be on the slideshow just drop me a line.) I change the snapshots every so often so check back soon!
