Idaho - day 4 - before the wedding

Saturday morning we headed to Boise State in hopes of getting a glimpse of the infamous blue football field. 

 

 

Unfortunately, the field is only open to visitors during the week.  We were able to sneak a peek from afar. 

 

Next we headed up to Table Rock to check out the scenery and do a little climbing.

 

Quite the adventurers.

 

Emmy and I weren't really dressed appropriately for this outing!

 

Family selfie in the cave.

 

Every time he climbed to a new place he asked me to take his picture.

 

Emmy has to be like Bryce!

 

Looking down on the city from the mountain.

 

The cross is at the summit and it's lit at night and can be seen from the city.

 

There were wildfires burning while we there and the smoke was very heavy in the air each day.

 

The weather was beautiful and about 30 degrees cooler than it has been all week so we found a fun farm to table restaurant called Fork and had lunch outside and watched the sights of a city festival. 

Idaho - Day 3

Emmy and I had a morning of pampering with the wedding party on Friday.  I got a pedicure and a haircut and Emmy got a manicure and pedicure.  She was happy to show off her flowers since she was going to be the flower girl.

 

 

The boys headed off for a man day at the birds of prey museum.  They had a great time.

 

We met back up for a fun lunch downtown at Solid and then it was time to get ready for the rehearsal.  Jason had to fill in for the best man because he wasn't scheduled to get to town until an hour (yes, ONE hour) before the wedding on Saturday.

 

The kids were excited to walk down the aisle together!

 

So cute!

 

The rehearsal dinner was a very interesting experience for us.  It was held at an international market and Ethiopian and Iraqi food was served for dinner.  We were out of our element a bit, but we found our way later with the apple cider toast and dessert!

 

Idaho - Day 2

Thursday was a free day for us to enjoy the city.  We ate breakfast at the hotel and then walked to the Boise Zoo.

 

 

Lots of photo opportunities!

 

Bryce fed a sloth bear through a tube.  The bear eats by vacuuming up its food.  It was fun to watch!

 

What's a zoo without a carousel ride?!

 

The prairie dog exhibit was my favorite.  They had about five of these domes and it was so fun to watch the kids pop up in random places.

 

The butterfly exhibit was lots of fun too.  Bryce had a little visitor land on him.  Emmy did not respond as calmly when one landed on her.  We had to keep her from swatting it and squishing it!

 

The kids wanted their picture taken on every animal statue they found.

 

After the zoo we walked to lunch at the Boise Fry Company.  When in Idaho you must eat potatoes!  First you choose the type of potato you want (about 8 choices) then you choose the style of fries you want.  Then you could add a burger or sandwich as a side.  They also had about 8-10 different dipping sauces and salts.

 

Connected to the restaurant was a donut shop so naturally we had to pick up a few for dessert!

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the hotel watching Little League baseball and swimming in the pool.  I took this picture of the mountains from the pool.  I love that the downtown is surrounded by mountains on one side.  It was also about 105 degrees the first three days we were there!

 

We met up with Rosabeth and Shirley for dinner before heading back to the hotel.

Idaho - Day 1

We headed to the airport last Wednesday morning to make our trek to Idaho!  The kids were super excited to be flying on an airplane.  This was Bryce's third flight and Emmy's second, but she was too young too remember the first.

 

 

Emmy was a great passenger.  Stickers and Swedish fish can make any trip fun!

 

Bryce played baseball on the ipad the whole time.  I'm not even sure he knew he was on a plane, ha!

 

After getting settled at the hotel, we had a little time to swim in the pool before we had to be somewhere.  Jason picked our hotel specifically for the pool.

 

These two are little fish.

 

After the pool, we got cleaned up and headed to my cousin's house to visit.  The kids enjoyed petting their chickens.

 

We made pizzas for dinner and cooked them on the outdoor pizza oven/grill.

 

We left soon after dinner because it was getting late (it was a two hour time difference) and we needed to catch up on some sleep.

nashville

We headed to Nashville last Friday to visit one of Jason's childhood friends and attend a graduation for one of our good friends from home.  The kids did great on the nine hour drive.

 

 

We had a great time visiting with our friends and eating good food.  This was our first trip to a Zaxby's since we don't have these around us.  It was yummy!

 

We attended a birthday party for one of their friends on Saturday night.  Emmy and Gavin enjoyed the bounce house while Bryce slid down the inflatable water slide 100 times.  Yes, he counted each time he went down!

 

This was our first time to meet their newest addition, Dawson!

 

Sunday after church we headed downtown to see our friend Katy graduate from Vanderbilt.

 

While we were waiting for the ceremony to start, the family in front of us noticed that Garth Brooks was there!  I tried to take a few stalker pictures while we waited.

 

But who needs stalker pictures when you can get the real deal!!!!

 

We headed home on Monday from our quick trip, but it was worth it.  We had tons of fun!

 

We're home for a week before we head out to Idaho for our last adventure of the summer.

chincoteague

We had a great time on our trip to Chincoteague.  The experience was a bit different than Marguerite Henry's rendition, but we had a great time.  If we ever go back, we may go a different day to see a different part of the process.  Early in the week, the wild ponies are rounded up on two parts of the island and then one group runs down the beach to be corralled with the other set of ponies.

 

When we first got there, we entered the Wildlife Refuge and drove around until we found important places to stop.  Our first stop was the corrals where all the ponies were.  A vet came and checked all ponies to get them ready for the swim.  Foals that were too small to swim were already taken over to the auction site. 

 

 

Those three foals all nuzzled together were so cute.

 

After seeing the ponies, we went to two of the nature centers inside the refuge.  The kids loved the hands on exhibits.

 

My big kid is always a fan of hands on exhibits!

 

Next up was the lighthouse!

 

Bryce walked up all 175 steps.  Emmy walked a few, but we carried her up and down most of the way.  Hello arm and leg workout!

 

The view from the top!

 

After the lighthouse we went to the Chincoteague Museum where Misty is stuffed and preserved.  Kind of weird, but cool at the same time.

 

They also have Stormy, Misty's foal.  We may have to read that book next!

 

We were up early Wednesday morning to get a good spot for the swim.  The public viewing area isn't all that close to the swim area.  People in boats had the right idea.  Here is a picture once they brought out all the horses to get ready for the swim.

 

The first set of cowboys came through to test the water.  They wait until slack tide to swim the ponies.

 

And they're off.  Can you see them?!

 

They swam ashore to a little island before getting back in the water.

 

Off the island and onto the last leg of the swim.

 

The last of them we could see.  We couldn't see them once they got to land.

 

After the swim, we walked down to Main Street to get a spot to watch the cowboys run the ponies to the auction site. 

 

 

The little foals were my favorite part!

 

It was fun to finally get to see this event after reading the book Misty of Chincoteague that popularized this event so many years ago!