Florida Trip 2019

It has been way too long since our whole family visited Nana, Papa, and Great Grandma in Florida.  With the kids in school these days we chose to visit at the peak of summer.  We knew the weather would be hot but that also means it would be great pool weather!  We flew to Florida on August 7.  The flight was uneventful except for the technical delay on the soon-to-be-retired MD-80 flying from DFW-JAX.  We are blessed that our children are such great travelers!

Once in Florida, we had a great time catching up with family, eating yummy food, and spending time in the bathwater-temperature pool in Nana and Papa's neighborhood.  The water was almost too warm to stay in too long!  For something unique, we decided to experience the dolphin encounter at Marineland.  We spent about 30 minutes in the water with a trainer and a dolphin named Dazzle.  Dazzle performed tricks, swam by all of us, and even allowed each person to come in for a kiss and a dance.  We all had a great time and I'm very glad we went!

While in town we also visited the St. Augustine Alligator Farm, which is my favorite zoo anywhere.  It was crazy hot but we were able to see all of the exhibits (and the alligator feeding!) before we needed to head home and cool down.  We also took the girls to the beach one morning.  It wasn't too hot at first and things were going well until Claire got sand in her bathing suit - then it was over!  We enjoyed our time at the beach but we learned that Claire is a pool person!

Katie and I also celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary while in Florida!  We had a delicious family dinner at Enza's to jointly celebrate both my parents' 43rd anniversary (belated from July) and our 15th.  On the 12th, Katie and I had a "date night" and enjoyed a round of drinks in town before a nice seafood dinner at Schooner's.  We would have liked to further experience the town on foot but opted to avoid the stifling evening heat!

It was a great trip and a true vacation.  We were sad to leave on the 14th but we had a smooth flight back home.  Thank you for the great times and hospitality Nana, Papa, and Great Grandma!

Florida Trip 2019 Pictures!

9 Year Anniversary... and Claire Update

August 12th was our 9th wedding anniversary.  To celebrate, we decided to take a short trip to the nearby resort town of McCall.  Neither of us has ever spent very much time there so we were both looking forward to checking out the town.  We arrived on Sunday just as Claire was finishing her nap.  We immediately went down to the McCall waterfront, which is beautiful and full of recreational options.  You can rent boats, jet skis, kayaks, or just go swimming.  We did none of those things.  A storm was about to move through so we didn't spend too long down there.  We ended up checking out the town a little more and having a nice dinner at the Salmon River Brewery.  Their beer selection was a little limited but everything that was on tap was very good!

On our anniversary, we had a nice breakfast at the hotel (the Best Western) and I went on a nice run around town.  Later in the morning we went back to the waterfront so that Claire could enjoy the park and the water.  She didn't want to get in the water very much but she did like splashing and getting her feet wet.  Once Claire got tired of the water, it was lunch time and we went to My Father's Place which has a well-deserved reputation as a go-to spot for a quick bite.  After a yummy lunch we took Claire to the park where she could spend some quality time in the swing - one of her favorite pastimes.  Then it was naptime and we decided to start the drive home while Claire was sleeping.  We drove around beautiful Payette Lake and returned to Boise with plenty of daylight to spare.

While we didn't do too many of the standard touristy things in McCall, we had a great time and can't wait to go back when Claire is a little older and able to spend more time out in the water!

Also included in this update are some pictures and videos from August.  Enjoy and have a great Labor Day!

9th Anniversary Pictures!
Claire Up and Over Video
Claire on the Bar Video
Claire Bouncy Ball Video
Claire Jacks Video
Claire at the Playground Video
Claire with Maggie with Cudjo Video
Claire Climbing Video

Seven Year Anniversary!

Katie and I celebrated our seven year anniversary today! Mostly it was spent at work but in the evening we went to the Idaho Shakespeare Festival and watched their production of Cabaret (not a Shakespeare play, but that's how they roll). After a quick dinner at the cafe (which provides pretty good food and Table Rock beer) we settled in for the show in our lawn seats. It was a very memorable evening as it was the first time we've ever been to a play together! We both enjoyed the production and the outdoor theater by the river is outstanding. It makes me definitely want to go again and see another play!

Yay for seven years of marriage!

MVP Camping Trip #3

The follow-up to last year's MVP Camping Trip was going to be Ohanapecosh Campground within Mt. Rainer National Park. This would be a long drive for us but an opportunity to see the park for the first time. In addition, there would be be two new participants, Tracy and Dan, both of Olympia. Sadly, Karen and Shaun couldn't make it so in combination with Sam, Joey, and Cecilia the trip would consist of the seven of us. The name "MVP" doesn't really work as well for this trip but I'm using it anyway!

The site reservation was chosen on the weekend following our anniversary. We thus decided to leave a day early and spend our anniversary night at the Geiser Grand Hotel in Baker City - a 111 year old hotel that was restored in the 1990s. After work on the 12th, we left Boise around 7pm, making to Baker City just after 8pm local time. After checking in, we ate a nice dinner at the restaurant - Katie had the crab cakes and I had the Idaho trout. Both dishes were great and the restaurant had a great vintage feel to it. We stayed in the cupola suite which was great - lots of room, windows, and nicely appointed. When checking out we were told this room is supposed to be haunted - other than a slightly moving chandelier, we noticed nothing.

On Friday we ate a late breakfast/early lunch at Subway before undertaking the drive to the campground. Driving was mostly highlighted by the eclectic iPod shuffle I put together. We ended up arriving at the campground at about 4pm - at almost the exact time as everyone else!

We were very impressed with the heavily wooded campground along the glacier-sourced Ohanapecosh River. The campground features a near-complete tree canopy of tall second-growth trees, a swimming hole complete with diving opportunities, a visitor center, and trails leading to nearby waterfalls and old-growth forest. We very much enjoyed our time in the beautiful surroundings relaxing with friends! We had a great time meeting Tracy and Dan, catching up with Sam and Joey, seeing how much Cecilia had grown since last time, hanging out around the fire, checking out the area, and eating lots of food!

On Sunday we all departed around noon, beginning the long drive home. We got home a little bit after 8pm, forced to prepare for a week at work.

MVP Camping Pictures (I apologize for the poor quality - we forgot our "real" camera and had to use the cell phone)

Anniversary Dinner

For our anniversary dinner we went for sushi at Fujiyama. We got an appetizer of Beef Negimaki and the Linda, Fuji Mountain, and Red Dragon sushi rolls.

The Fuji Mountain was the best tasting (ah, the magic of tempura):


Although the fire dragon was the most artfully presented:


Yay for five years of marriage!