Back in Boise

Rather than continuing with a minute by minute detailing of the second week of our Idaho trip--I'll spare you by hitting the highlights instead.  I know, you're so sad.  I promise you won't miss out on anything, though, okay?

We spent much of our time hanging out with family in Boise.




The Sacred 4 Generation Picture:
Grandma Joan, Nanabanana, Seth, Hopers,
and Noodle

 We had a Sunday Brunch at Uncle John and Aunt Toni's house in Boise.  We really enjoyed getting to know them.  Seth hadn't seen them since he was a kid.  (They are the ones who loaned us the mountain cabin.)

Uncle John, Seth, Aunt Toni

We recieved a visit from Lu the Parrot who entertained us at Grandma's house with her chatter, giggles and songs. 

On Friday the 28th, we celebrated Hopers' birthday a little early by going to a fun place called Planet Kid.  We decided we needed one of these giant indoor playgrounds at our house.



We had Hopers' birthday lunch at Tucano's Brazilian Grill.   It was a great restaurant, by the way.  I recommend it to anyone visiting Boise (or wherever else you might find one.)  They brought out her cake and asked her to stand on the chair and play the tambourine while they sang happy birthday to her.  Hopers was surprisingly shy about all this attention.



On Monday the 31st, we decided to visit the Capitol Building.  Being state capitol residents ourselves, we felt it was only proper to see what the capitol of Idaho looks like.  Strangely, we couldn't get anyone else to come with us.  Seth and I shrugged our shoulders and stuffed the kids into the car.

The capitol was very.... capitol-ly.  Translation: boring.  They didn't really have much of a historical exhibit or cater much to public visits.  Now I know why nobody would come with us.

The architecture was quite lovely though.  Everything was solid marble, from floor to ceiling.

The dome had recently been renovated.



They also recently "found" this elevator behind a wall in 1997.  How in the world does an elevator go missing??



On February 1st, the day before our departure, we climbed Table Rock. To us Floridians, it was a mountain. To Boise, it's a hill that sits north of downtown at the feet of the actual mountains.  All of Boise is exposed to view from up there, especially since trees are sparse in the area.



At the top of Table Rock is a cross that is illuminated every night.  From down in the city, it looks as if a glowing cross is floating in the dark sky.




We constantly had to tell Hopers, "Stop running!  Stay away from the edge!"  She seemed determined to fall and get back to Boise the quick way.




Hopers took this picture of Seth and Me.  She's pretty artistic with a camera for an almost 5-year-old.