Mama Goes to Boise, Part 2

Saturday morning was the big event, the balloon launch! They launched over 50 balloons! So pretty and fun (and a little chilly, even though the "hot mama" (aka, me, who generally stays on the warmer side) was jacket-less in this picture!

 


 
 Balloon launch was early, so when it ended we went to breakfast, strolled around the farmer's market, then visited the capitol. (We were rocking our "Boise or Bust" tees, thanks to Ginny's sis (and Ginny for bringing them!).

  

 

Meanwhile, back at home...
Nick took the kids to the zoo (remember, I'm not a zoo fan, double points for Nick!).
They fed the "Lorakeets," got massive colored beverages,

 

and even found some "real life" pokemon! (I love their silly faces, just don't know where they get them from ;))

 Saturday night we stayed in and had a drunk chicken (thank you, Hunter!), and some of our garden grown tomatoes (thank you, Shelley) and farmer's market green beans. We ate on the patio, and besides the medical school horror stories from our MD friends, it was a perfect evening! (kidding, of course, they weren't that bad ;)).

 

 Sunday we headed on a windy car trip up the mountain. The views up there more than made up for the car sickness!

 

 

After our hike, we went to the Westside Diner (featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives) for their famous ice cream potato.

 

Shells had us totally believing that was a potato, but don't worry, it is ice cream in the shape of a potato rolled in cocoa dust, delicious actually!!

That night we ordered in some Mediterranean food, and we had a phonetics lesson, taught by me, of how to pronounce some of these foods I've been eating my whole life. All was well, until the girl at the restaurant corrected Hunter back to the WRONG pronunciation of Mojederah, come on people!

 

  

It was yummy, and no doubt authentic! Our last outing was to the Oregon Trail, where I am happy to report no one got dysentary!

 

However, there is no cure for whatever this is, hahaha!

 

 

  

The next morning, we were up at the crack of dawn to head home. It was sad to leave, but we had a dang near perfect weekend, so good for the soul! Thank you, Shells and Hunter for being hosts extraordinaire (and keeping us going the whole time!). 

Can't wait for the next one, Waco anyone?!

Mama Goes to Boise! Part 1

Labor Day weekend was the much anticipated girls trip to Boise! Shelley (my college and post-college roomie and bestie!) recently relocated there, and while we get to see her when she comes to B'ham for work, we have never been to her stomping grounds, so it was a perfect excuse for a girls weekend!

We flew out Thursday early morning. I was excited to get away for some uninterrupted girl time, even though I was going to miss my peeps while I was gone!

Flying with no children was quite blissful if I do say so myself. The flight seem so much shorter and easier when you aren't trying to entertain squirmy children or worrying about snacks and potty breaks!

Notwithstanding being childless, the flights were really easy. We got to Boise by early afternoon, and after catching up for a while, we floated down the Boise river. The weather was so different than Alabama, dry, warm when the sun came out, and downright chilly in the shade! In short, it was awesome!

 We floated and chatted for the better part of 2.5 hours, while Shelley and Hunter navigated (shout out to Hunter for not only navigating but also being our photographer!).

After we floated, we headed to the local pizza place, which was delish!

The next morning was the first balloon day, so we hit the bed and got up early for the Spirit of Boise balloon festival. They kept the balloons grounded that morning because of the weather, but it was still so neat to see them!

 

Meanwhile, back at home, the kids were having the BEST time with Baba, and I loved getting my periodic updates!

 

After balloons, we hit up Big City, which was deliciousness that I can't even describe! So good! And we went for a nature walk (couldn't resist the owl picture ;)) and briefly trespassed saw the Boise State Stadium.

 Then we went home and had some down/rest time (that's what you do when you travel as an adult, have scheduled rest time, and it was glorious). 

Score another one for Baba, who after taking Lu to the park Friday morning, made it to Z's school in time to eat lunch with him for September birthdays!

That night we had dinner downtown at the Boise Fry Company, then hit up the candy store/gift shop. Hunter was our photographer extraordinaire.

 

After dinner, we went to balloon glow which was so pretty and relaxing!

 

Of course, we would have had a blast doing nothing, but it was extra fun to be there during the balloon festival. Next up, Part 2 :)