Warning: VERY long post
Jason wanted to do some type of get-a-way, before the kids went back to school. As we were brainstorming ideas of where to go; we first thought of camping... nah, too much work. Then we thought of going to a little town close by... Mountain Home? What's there to do in Mountain Home? Finally, we decided to go to somewhere close... VERY close... Northeast Boise!
We thought it would be fun to show the kids a part of town, they weren't familiar with. I grew up in the East end of Boise and Jason lived there, when we first met. We were excited to show them around our old "stomping grounds". I LOVED the short, sweet drive! Ahhhhh, my idea of traveling.
Sunday evening, we checked into our hotel. After a quick survey of our facility, we noticed how close we were to the Boise River Greenbelt. We were enticed by it's natural beauty and decided to take a little walk.
Our first stop, was at the river's edge to throw a few rocks and admire all the water skipper bugs. --The aroma of cottonwood trees brought back childhood memories, teenage good times and BSU classes, on the Boise River. I kept saying to the kids, "Can you smell that? That's cottonwood." They probably could have cared less. (Doesn't that sound just like a parent? Giving out random information, that kids don't care about. Showing my age I suppose.)
After little success in skipping rocks on the river, we continued on with our walk down the greenbelt. The further we got from our hotel, the more Abree and Treyson worried. They were just sure we couldn't find our way back. After I reassured them for the umpteenth time, Treyson said to Abree, "Mom used to live here when she was a little girl. She knows EVERYTHING!" (Treyson, now don't you forget that when you're a teenager.)
After walking, enjoying the beauty of the river and reminding the kids to "stay to the right", (so they wouldn't get run over by passing bicyclists...we had 2 close calls), we ended up in Ann Morrison Park. I told the kids stories of my youth; floating the river, feeding ducks and having a friend fall into the duck pond. Treyson got right up to the edge and made me nervous enough that I asked Jason if I could hold his cell phone and keys, just in case he had to dive in after a kid. Thank goodness he didn't have to.
On our way back, Rylee begged to go up on the "red bridge". So we waited, while she and Taylee ran up there quickly to experience the "red bridge".
As we continued back to the hotel, I heard Rylee gasp and say, "Look!" When we looked we saw 4 deer cautiously coming out of the trees and then head down the greenbelt the other way. I couldn't imagine where they had come from. We were in the middle of the city, not close to any mountain or wild meadow. Amazing! Who needs to go camping, to see deer? Not me. We ended the evening, by watching parts of, "Planet Earth", on the Discovery Channel. We had a big day planned for tomorrow...
After enjoying the continental breakfast at our hotel, we headed to the Idaho Botanical Garden. This was a first for Jason and I, but Rylee informed us that she had been there on a school field trip, once before.
We roamed the different gardens; English, Mediation, Rose and others. Then rambled through all sorts of terrain; mountain, dessert and native Idahoan sagebrush.
At one point, Jason and the older 3 kids, hiked up a little trail to the top of a little hill to view a monument and experience the Idaho dessert plants up close and personal. They waved to Abree and I, once they were at the top.We ate our picnic lunch, in the car, and then headed to our next destination... Camel's Back Park.
The kids played on the equipment, hiked the nearby trails and made a new friend along the way. 
Abree met a little girl named Ava. She was so cute and so friendly. She sat down right next to us and started a conversation. Ava- "How old are you?"
Abree- "I'm four."
Ava- "Oh, I just turned 6. That means I'm older than you. Stand up, I want to see how old (tall) you are. Yep, I'm older, because I'm bigger, but we can still be friends, huh?"
Abree- "My brother and sister's are bigger than you."
They went on and on. They discussed family members, favorite colors, favorite toys, favorite Disney princesses, what they were going to dress up as for Halloween and more. They both giggled when they discovered that pink and purple were both of their favorite colors.
Our next stop, Julia Davis Park...
We rented 2 paddle boats for an hour and cruised around the little pond.
We saw some ducks, many geese, 3 turtles and some BIG fish. One of the fish looked like an over-grown goldfish. Is that what happens when you put a goldfish in a pond?As we were headed back, to return the paddle boats, Abree exclaimed, "These aren't much like real boats are they mom? Well, at least they don't look like boats."
Next, we had planned on visiting the Boise Art Museum (or B.A.M. if you're hip) and then possibly the Idaho Historical Museum, but they were both closed on Monday.... and we were there on a Monday. Bummer!
The Boise Public Library was close by. We decided to go there to get out of the heat and check out some books. We were doing our "Smullins Unplugged" week once again, and I knew that we would need extra entertaining enforcements to be successful. Some new books to read would hopefully do the trick.
We dropped off our books in the car, ate dinner in the park, and then headed to Zoo Boise next...
We went to the African exhibits first. We wanted to check out the new arrivals.
The striped hyena and...
the warthogs, or warty pigs, as they like to be called now. (You've got to be p.c. with your animal names now too.)
The giraffe's even came out to say hello. This was the first time I'd ever seen them outside of their little shelter. The lion's could have cared less about us this day, but the zebras were alert and friendly.
A rare glimpse, of a family of wild birds, sitting in their very large nest.After a long, hot day outside, we went back to our hotel to swim and cool off. The pool was deeper than we were used to. It went to 10 feet. The older girls wanted to see if they could touch the bottom. I showed them the diving technique, I had learned in swimming lessons, so long ago. (No we didn't dive off the side. I showed them how to bend at the waist, head down and let their feet follow.) Taylee was way excited about touching the bottom. Soon Rylee had joined the fun. Treyson increased his skills, by swimming the length of the pool back and forth several times. (We had to remind him to take breaks and breath every once in a while. Man, he's come a LONG WAY, since 2 summers ago!) Abree mostly hung out on the steps, bouncing from the pool to the hot tub. Like I said, this pool was deeper than what we were used to. By the 3rd step, she was up to her eyeballs in the water, so she really had to stay on the top 2 for comfort (hers and mine).
We all ended up in the hot tub. What a nice way to soothe our tired feet and muscles.
Rylee had an idea about going into the sauna. I told her they weren't that much fun...hot and humid. She really wanted to experience it. She had heard that they could "open up your pores". (She's getting so teenager-ish.) So Rylee, Taylee and I went to "open our pores" and breath hot air for a few minutes, while the others finished their swimming.
After quick showers and pajamas, we played "Cranium", until we were all too tired to think.
Next day, we enjoyed the continental breakfast for the last time, and headed off to the Western Idaho State Fair...
"Kachunga", the alligator show, was so entertaining and fun to watch. A little girl from the audience was volunteered to come inside the gate and get up close and personal with the 8 foot alligator. The 2 trainer men, Dave and Gil, teased and played with her. She was very brave and a very good sport. I felt uncomfortable for her. She pet the alligator, sat on it and also held a baby alligator. I asked my kids if any of them would have liked to be in her place. NO WAY! Abree told me that it would be "too dangerous" for her. Kachunga, or Dave the gator wrangler, was quite impressive. He wrestled the alligator, put his hand inside of it's mouth, sat on it, and used a long wooden stick to guide and control it.
We each chose 1 ride to enjoy. Rylee and Taylee chose "Sky Rider" (a.k.a. Kamikaze). Taylee said it wasn't really THAT scary, but it was ok. Rylee looked exhausted and worn out. I think she thought it was pretty scary... oh, I mean exciting.
Abree chose one of the 3 ferris wheels, so I rode on it with her. When we got on the ride, I could see Jason and the other kids by the stroller. Soon I noticed that they were gone. I wondered if they went to the restroom, went on another ride, or ...I don't know what? I couldn't figure out where they had gone. I was concerned that they had left the stroller unattended. It had our money, in the backpack, still on the stroller. Later, after Abree and I had gotten off the ride, I found out that one of the "carnies" had let them on the ride for free. It was the beginning of the day and it was fairly slow, so I guess he felt like being generous or stimulating interest in the ride... or maybe he needed more people to balance out the wheel??? Do they have to do that? For whatever reason, it was nice. Treyson talked to me about it later, "You said that we would only get one ride, but we all got 2! Well... I guess you and Abree only got one." At that point I stopped him and asked him to just be grateful and keep it to himself.
Jason and Treyson rode the "Zillarator" a little roller coaster. The Expo building was next on our list. We voted for "People's Choice" in one of the sections. We loved looking at all the hand crafted, painted, drawn and contructed things and said once again, "We should enter something in the fair next year." Jason and I came to the decision of making it one of our New Year's family goals. Hopefully we won't be saying the same thing next year.
Next we went to see all the animals. One of our favorites is the tiny, baby chicks that are in the incubator. We love to see the hatching in progress.
We also talked to the pigs, sheep and goats. We were there at dinner time and the pigs were going crazy! They were squeeling and stepping up on the gates. It made Abree and Treyson quite nervous. --Treyson is always worried about animals escaping and getting out of their cages and coming to get him. He is especially worried about cows. I'm not exactly sure why, but cows seem scarier to him than even the HUGE draft horses we saw.
We watched a 4-H livestock auction for a little while. It was interesting to Jason and I, but BORING to the kids.
Jason and Rylee took off to go see the live free concert, while the other kids and I went to the hypnotist and then to the magician. They were both ok. The magician was VERY cheesey.
At one point in the show, he invited Treyson to help him with the guillotime act. The magician said that he was going to cut off the lady volunteer's hand. Treyson's job was to kneel on the ground, with his hands out and head down, to catch the falling chopped hand. Treyson was a good sport. He did as instructed. The magician pulled out a fake rubber hand (without Treyson seeing) and dropped it into his hands below. Treyson jumped up, jerked his hands away and yelpped in surprise. The magician had chose the right person to react. Then he showed him it was fake and asked him if he wanted to do it again. Treyson shook his head NO. --Jason and I were proud of Treyson being willing to go up and not freaking out too much when the hand dropped. Giving enough of a reaction, but not over-reacting. He also received a DVD of magic tricks as a thank-you gift. Treyson's excited to watch it.
Rylee and Jason had come back from the concert early. Rylee got a HUGE bloody nose that took some time to get stopped. They even had the fair medical personelle involved. Rylee was wanting to go back to the crowded concert. Jason opted to get out and find us at the magic show.
Next, it was time for the much anticipated "treats".
Is it a potato or is it ice cream? You decide.Abree and I shared an icecream potato and so did Treyson and Taylee. Jason and Rylee opted for the "Tortato", a potato that had been specially "drilled", then fried in oil. It was like eating fresh, hot potato chips. Definitely fair food...greasy yum.
We finished our evening by watching an unusual artist. This artist uses spray paint for his paintings. He's not the usual "tagger", but creates skyscapes and pictures with layers and layers of spray paint. He is quick and very entertaining to watch. To "set" or dry the layers of paint, he takes a lighter and a can of spray paint and lights it on fire. To make harder lines he uses posterboard and cardstock to create templates. We watched him for over an hour... it was that facinating. While we were watching him paint, the local news interviewed him. We saw local celebrity, Scott Dorvall, do the weather on remote. It was so cool.
Close to 11:00pm, we finally headed home.
What a nice few days to spend with our familly. We packed it full and created lots of good memories. You don't need to go far to enjoy spending time together. :o)
Mamma C. are you homesick for Boise yet???
