A Little R&R in Boise

I decided I deserved a summer vacation between Jon's nonstop residency and the chaos of moving across the country (part 2) in August, so after the 4th of July the kids and I headed up to Boise. I figured with all the hard work ahead of him during this last big push to finish, he didn't need us around anyway.:)


We made it up to Boise on Tuesday evening with Whitney as co-pilot, and spent Thursday at the Boise Zoo, which surprisingly is really great. It's just the right size for little kids, and has a fun variety of animals--giraffes, zebras, penguins, bears, etc.


They even had a special exhibit of exotic butterflies that you could go walk amongst. They LOVED my mom's pink shirt and kept landing all over her-- I think we counted 5 at one time.

Lucy reeeally wanted a butterfly to land on her, and finally she got her wish. This little guy (dubbed "Spotty") hung around for awhile and made Lucy's day.

Zachary liked the "bugs" but liked the carousel even better. This was his first time at a zoo (at least that he can remember, he was just a baby in Philly)-- so he was super excited about all the animals.

After the zoo we headed over to the "Boise Fry Company" for lunch which was featured on the Food Network show "Diner's, Driv-In's, and Dives" for its crazy and unique french fries and dipping sauces.

They have every kind of potato you can imagine-- Russet, Yukon Gold, Purple, Sweet, etc., AND they had duck fat fries which I'd been dying to try!! Then they also had sauces to match-- Curried Pear, Blueberry Ketchup, Southwest Chipotle, etc. It was fun to mix and match different combinations.

Their motto is that burgers are "On the Side" and fries are the entree, and I'd have to agree. The burger was just okay. They should work on that and they'd really have a foodie hot spot!

Whenever we visit Boise we make sure to visit my grandparents out in Meridian (about 20 min. away) and Lucy loves to go see all my Grandma's pretty things. This time she let Lucy pick some jewelry!

Enjoying some local Mexican food. Yum!

Ready for church with Bishop TomTom!

Lucy is obsessed with the "Pinkalicious" book (which Whitney has and we don't), so Auntie Whitney decided to make some pinkalicious cupcakes for Lucy to try.

Mmmmm, Zachary liked the pinkalicious cupcakes too!


The number one thing to do at Grandma and Grandpa's house? SWIM. Lucy literally swam for 4 hours a day-- you should see the tan lines. She became a little fish and went from only swimming with a life jacket, to swimming completely ALONE in the shallow end and with floaties in the deep end. She would jump in by herself, go down the slide by herself, and swim across the width of the pool holding her breath. Amazing. Zach LOVED the water too, and just bobbed around the pool in his little suit. Best past time ever!

No comment. Still don't know how he ended up naked and eating lunch outside?

Friday my Dad wanted to take the Lil' Naughties camping, so we settled on Grand Jean campground up by Stanley, ID (about 2 1/2 hours from Boise), where the Sawtooth Mountains dominate. The scenery was breathtaking!


It'd been a cold, wet winter and spring so everywhere was lush and green. Idaho is so pretty, but especially so when you've been livin' in a brown desert for a year.

"Helping" (or hindering, depending on how you look at it) Tom-Tom set up the tent. Despite the recent barf debacle my Dad was still game to take them, so I relented since we usually have better luck with the Camping Gods when he's around anyway (he's practically one of them).

Because the river was still so high this summer the main hotsprings were covered, but my dad (being the illustrious mountain man that he is), found this secret, secluded hotspring off the beaten path. Could you ask for a better back drop?


Lucy and Zach definitely enjoyed a nice long soak in the warm water (they were already covered head to toe in dirt).

Our yummy dutch oven dinner of BBQ chicken and aus gratin potatoes. Then we got ready for the campfire and the roasting of S'mores!

That evening my cousin Missy and her kids came up to camp with us, and Lucy quickly made friends with Ellie, who is 5. They were two peas in a pod the rest of the time we camped and Lucy begged to hang out with Ellie every day.

Bright and early we woke up the next morning to a Mountain Man breakfast that even Zachary couldn't refuse!

After camping we rushed home Saturday to get ready to host an 85th birthday party for my Grandma and Grandpa Charlie. I have the most wonderful grandparents (in fact, Lucy is named after my Grandma) so it was fun to be around for a celebration in honor of the them.

All the Morris great grandkids (minus 2 or 3) in the hot tub!!


Sarah P came up to Boise (from Boulder City, NV) with her kids Friday night, so seeing cousin Eva and baby Sophie was a fun surprise for Lucy and Zach.

Zach and Mom at the pool party!


Whitney decided we needed to have a birthday party in honor of the all the birthdays we miss by living so far away from each other. She planned a super cute birthday party celebrating EVERYONE, and the kids totally dug it.

We played tag, balloon popping races, Twister, Ring Around the Rosies and Whitney even had prizes for everyone. Then she busted out a pinata.

Watching the kids trying to break open the pinata was not only hilarious but also slightly dangerous-- but hey, who doesn't love a pinata?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to EVERYONE!! Whitney is the cutest. Auntie. EVER.

Thursday night we decided the girls were definitely in need of a much deserved GNO (Girl's Night Out), so we left all 4 kids with Grandpa, Taylor and Devin so we could head out for dinner. We ate at Bardine-- a little restaurant in the historic Basque part of downtown Boise.

Kobe Beef Steak Sandwich w/ Rosemary Ausjus and Sweet Potato Fries! Um...YUM.

My mom got a Bruschetta salad with homemade croutons which was awesome too. It was great to relax and eat in peace and enjoy the great weather.

After dinner we headed to Murphy's restaurant for their famous mud pie (this is just one slice) which was HUGE and enough to share with all four of us. Delish!

In fairness the next night we let the guys off for a Boy's Night at the Boise Hawk's baseball game. We decided to walk over to Delsa's for some homemade ice cream, which the kiddos thought was a great idea.

All three cousins crammed into the bike trailer ready for a ride home!

Saturday morning we headed over to a local park to watch the guys play soccer (Taylor's all-time fav) and then spent the rest of the day getting ready for Taylor's farewell party that night and his talk on Sunday.

Red White and Blue in Cedar City!

Last year I spent the 4th of July on an airplane with my two kids flying to Las Vegas to meet Jon and see our new home for the first time. There was only an empty, dirty house awaiting me then-- with no ice cream, no fireworks, and no extended family. This 4th of July we decided to do things right!

We headed to St. George first thing Saturday morning and met Jon's parents, Jeremy, Kylene, and baby Sophie for lunch with Grandma Del Toro, before heading on to Cedar City. It was Jon's Grandma Cardon's 80th birthday celebration as well so there was lots of fun things planned-- starting that night with a stop at the Shakespeare Festival Green Show at SUU and then a family get together and birthday cake afterwards!



Sunday we headed to church with everybody, and then made Zachy's dream come true when we went to a nearby playground and there were all these trucks just sitting around, and then introduced him to the magic of fireworks. Trucks and fireworks in the same day?!? Hello!

Hey-O!! Firework time!! Helping Grandpa Cardon set up the goods. This kid is a little pyro in the making...

Wohoo!! Good show!! As soon as it got dark that night we watched "Tangled" out on the lawn with a movie projector and the whole extended family. The kids LOVED being up late and outside after dark!


Monday morning we hurried over to the 4th of July parade on Main Street, and then over to games and activities at the park (which yes, included bounce houses!). Jeremy and Kylene had hooked up with the Marsh family (friends from dental school) who have a practice in Parowan, so we all headed to lunch at Cafe Rio to catch up.


That afternoon Lucy's dream came true when Jon's cousin Crystal who is a cheer leader at SUU and super girly and fun (so obviously automatically Lucy idolized her,) found Lucy a spare cheer outfit and pom-poms to practice with!! Although this family unquestionably bleeds blue, it was cute to see Lucy dressed up and super excited about her new duds.

As you may recall, Jon's mom had broken her leg the week before on a dreaded bounce house, so she was basically laid up all weekend during the festivities. In order to lift her spirits, Crystal and some other cousins bejeweled her crutches as a surprise. Ta-da!!

Lucy playing "Shoe the Old Horsie, Shoe the Old Mare" with Great Grandma Cardon and baby Sophie.

Cheese!! These Cardon Frousins sure love each other-- and we'll get to see the Sophster again in a little over a week when we drive through Albequerque to NC.


After the 4th of July festivities had wound down a bit, the kids and I loaded up, said our farewells, and headed to Provo to stay with Whitney before continuing on to Boise the next day. We decided we needed a little treat before bed and got some yummy ice cream at the Creamery on 9th. It was a GREAT holiday weekend!

Wild Weekend in St. George

Jonathan's mom has been visiting her mother in nearby St. George the last few weeks, so the kids have gotten some extra chances to spend time with Grandma! She and Great Grandma Del Toro were able to come visit over Father's Day weekend, and this past weekend the kids and I headed up to St. George on Friday afternoon to go see both Grandmas again. Grandma Cardon had some fun activities set up for the kids to do as soon as we got there!


Zachy and Lucy got to paint some fun magnets, which was very serious business for Zach who worked super carefully, then they had dinner, went for a bike ride to the local elementary school, and got to stay up late and watch a movie while I shopped at Tai Pan.

Saturday Jon headed rock climbing with his buddy Matt Kelly, and then met us at the new recreation center in Washington where the kids got to go swimming! It was a huge swimming pool with slides and things to climb on and even a mini lazy river, and was completely indoors so you weren't dying in the hot sun all afternoon.

The kids had a BLAST swimming with Grandma and mom and dad!

I bought Zachy one of those suits that has floaties sewn in on both sides, and he was SO cute to watch bobbing along in the water. He wanted NO help!

Lucy has been taking swimming lessons all month and they are really starting to pay off-- this is her impression of "Patrick," the star fish on "Sponge Bob."

Getting a quick bite to eat in between swimming breaks!

That night Grandma was kind enough to babysit so Jon and I could go celebrate my birthday, which was the next day on Sunday. We got dinner at Texas Roadhouse (which by the way, DON'T tell them it's your birthday because all they do is make you sit on top of this ridiculous wooden horse so they can publicly humiliate you, and NO free birthday dessert!!), but at least the food was good. Then we went to "X-Men First Class." At 28 years old I think I look a little worse for the wear-- but hey, it's been a long year!!

Sunday I was treated to waffles with strawberries and cream for breakfast, and then church for everyone but Zachy and I who stayed home to let the little monster, er, bambino nap. This is us ready for church (before Zachy crashed). It was a great, relaxing birthday!

Lucy, Grandma Cardon, and Great Grandma Del Toro


Jonathan left for home Sunday night since he needed to be back for work, but I decided to stay a little longer with the kids and play on Monday. We headed to a local place called "Jumpin' Jacks" which is an indoor warehouse FULL of bounce-house-things.


The kids had a blast sliding down the huge slides (they were FAST!), and bouncing around on the equipment.

But REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! ***Record scratching to a halt*** That was the end of the fun. Poor Grandma was trying to help Zach up a steep ladder when she lost her footing and fell about 3 feet, and wrenched her leg so that she fractured it in TWO places!! It was A-W-F-U-L. I felt terrible. She had to go to the ER in an ambulance and have X-rays taken to find out her leg is BROKEN. Needless to say, the weekend ended on a definite sour note. BEWARE the bounce houses!! That's two people--count 'em, TWO people in my family who have broken limbs or appendages on these contraptions this year. First my sister in law who broke BOTH feet, and now my poor mother in law. Here's to a quick recovery!!