June 7th – June 10th
We had 2 full days of fun in Boise. The first day, we never left Stu and Jan’s property. It is such a cool place with lots of space, beautiful flowers everywhere, a creek, the coolest bird cage ever, horse stables, open pastures, and horse riding arena. Inside the house, Stu has remodeled almost every room himself, creatively customizing the house to turn it into a perfect oasis for he and Jan. He built a birdcage that looks like a china cabinet inside of the house and then the bird can fly through a porthole to the outdoor section of the cage. They have at least 15 little yellow birds flying everywhere and even some week-old babies and a mama sitting on eggs. It was pretty fun to peek in on them when passing by and they definitely captured Scout’s interest! He and Jan also filled one of the extra bedrooms with Jan’s dollhouses. She has won many awards by designing and creating dollhouses with different themes and an insane amount of detail. Jan gave us a tour of her favorites and we were all very impressed.
That afternoon, Kevin’s cousin Alyssa gave a horse riding lesson to Zoey and Quinn. They were stoked!! They learned how to groom the horses, how to set up the saddles, and then how to ride. Zoey fell in love with her horse Mercy. She absolutely loved riding around and by the end of the lesson she was steering Mercy around the arena. Quinn rode Reno like a champ. When the girls finished, Kevin and I even got to go for a spin! I will admit that I am quite intimidated by such large and powerful animals, even though I have ridden horses many times. I was very nervous but agreed to try riding Indy bareback. It was quite a thrill! I thought for sure that I might slide off, especially when the horse started trotting! Kevin masterfully took the reins and rode for the first time in his life!
The second day Stu took us on a bike ride up the Boise River Greenbelt, a 25-mile long path along the river that goes right through downtown. We all rode 5 miles to Simplot Park where there are manmade wave features for surfing and kayaking. After watching the river surfers, the crew went back for lunch and I rode to the end of the trail at Lucky Peak Park, another 15 miles or so. I was very impressed with the way they have developed the area with tons of parks, playgrounds, and riverside hangouts all along the way. Such an active and healthy community!
That night, Stu and Jan hosted the whole family for a delicious dinner. Kevin’s 3 cousins Alyssa, Wendy, and Spencer and their families came and we had a great time catching up. Luckily, someone was paying attention to the weather and noticed it was supposed to rain the next morning so kevin and I stashed our gear in the barn and hitched up the trailer. When we awoke a 3 in the morning, the rain was coming down and we pulled Scout inside the trailer (her crate is usually right outside our door). By morning, the trailer was in a lake that was ankle deep! We waded through the lake to load our stuff and pack up the tent. It was pretty comical! Now we are headed to Grand Tetons National Park near Jackson, WY. Stay tuned for updates on our adventures in Jackson, Yellowstone, and the Tetons!
Traveling to Boise ID
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