Forty-second Anniversary Dinner

 Believe it or not, this group of friends have all been married for 42 years...each!  We began celebrating together at year 10, when we discovered we had all been married in 1970.  This occasion was the BYU vs BSU football game (I seem to have a theme going in this blog!) when all but one couple would be in Boise. 

 It had been 3 years since we had all been together to celebrate, but Reed and I, and Alice and Rex (below) had been in Washington, D.C. to have dinner with Diane and Brent (above) in 2010. 

 Most of us have ties to both teams...Reed and I met at BYU, as did Alice and Bill (above), Diane and Brent, and Alice and Rex.  Now, Bill works at BSU, Con and Linda met at BSU...you get the idea!

After dinner, we were off to the game...the end result: BSU 7   BYU 6   I like our numbers better...42, and hopefully many more!

September Birthdays

                 Eden made me this set of "Season Blocks"  Turn the blocks, and the other 3 seasons appear!

                                   Christa and I shared the birthday party...here she is with Mia

And a good time was had by all!   I was handling camera duties, so no photos of the 63 year old!

Go Orange, Go Big Blue...

The boys continue the pregame tradition for our first home game against Miami of Ohio...MANY of my high school friends attended Miami of Ohio...it used to be called the "Cradle of Coaches" because so many influential college and professional football coaches began their careers there.  I love my Ohio roots, but I bleed blue!   J and D always throw the football before each home game, and I must serenade them with the fight song.  Then, with flags flying, they drive to the stadium.  Fight! Fight! BSU!

The Broncos Go To East Lansing and We Don't

 My sister and I had planned to meet in East Lansing for the BSU vs MSU game;  she graduated from Michigan State, married an MSU football player; I graduated from Boise State and married a BSU (formerly BJC) baseball player...it seemed a perfect chance to cheer together, for opposing teams! She cancelled...I stayed in Boise... SO, we rented a suite, invited Missy, Kip and McKena, and tried our best to root on the Broncos. 

 This has become almost a tradition...we did the same thing last year for the BSU vs Georgia game!   .McKena loves to swim in the motel pool, and we all EAT and cheer!

Unfortunately, this game ended poorly...Sparty won...we were very sad...we're not used to losing!

Little D is ONE!!

                                             The invitation...

                                             The decorations...

                                              The treats...

                                             Happy Birthday to YOU...Make a wish...
    
            YUM...

                                           Birthdays are FUN!!

Vacation on the Coast

 We have found a great place to start our vacation...Long Beach, Washington...we arrived in time to see the sand sculptures before they crumbled...

 We stopped in Ilwaco (ill-wah-co) to see the fishing boats in the marina...

 Back at the beach, we saw many boats closer than we have ever seen them...they were fishing for tuna, and apparently, there was a competition going on...big prizes...$2000 for a tuna!!!

SOLITUDE...this is why we love Long Beach...we are usually alone on the beach!

Safari Campin'

 Bellamie is ready to go...first, find the animals...they're hiding!

 Our second trip to the Story Trail...this year the story was Hey, Little Ant...and yes, we found real ones.

Next we went to the Boise Aquariium...are those the screaming eels??!!!!

 
Bellamie loves all creatures great and small!

Je t'aime, mes grandfilles!

 The 10s decided on a French theme for their "Gramma Camp", so we started with lunch at Le Cafe de Paris...right here in Boise, Idaho.  Mais oui!  Tres bien!

 Then we went to the Idaho State Capital Building in search of our French fur trapper history.  Nothing there, but we found a copy of the Winged Victory statue...given to Idaho (and every other State in the U.S.) by the French for liberating their country from the Germans during WWII.  The statues arrived in each state capital on the "Merci Train"! 

 We watched the acclaimed film, "The Red Balloon", and made our collages of Paris street scenes.

 We learned to speak French, and recorded our new vocabulary in personal dictionaries.

 On Saturday, we went to Celebration Park to search even further back in Idaho history...we saw some of the 5,000 petroglyphs preserved there...

 We threw the atl atl...(perfect form, Brooklyn!)

We entered a wikiup...and learned about the Native Americans who called Idaho "home"