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"

Cache's Camp

 Cache is a farmboy, loves to be outside, doing things with animals, both extinct and alive! We read about dinosaurs, then he constructed a diorama.     We went to the MK Nature Center...

 to see fish, ducks, deer, in their natural habitat...he couldn't believe that we could stand outside the actual water level and see what was going on in the river.  We saw sturgeon that were up to 10 feet long!

 We went over to Borah High School...his mommy's school...found her name on the Lion fountain (the class gift) , then we hit the football field. 

                                    
 Cache practiced kicking and throwing the football...I was the official shagger...look at that, up and over the goalpost!  As I would return the ball to him with an underhand toss, Cache would say, "Throw it back like a man, Grandma!"   Oh, Cache, if only I could. 

We returned to his favorite indoor, blacklight miniature golf course...super fun!

If It's Summer....It Must Be "Gramma Camp"

      The perfect spagetti rose

If you're saving for a big trip...you need a special bank 

At the "secret" little piazza in downtown Boise.  

Uninvited Guest...

                                      Eden watches as Jay and Dallin take care of business...

                                                    more info below...

We gathered for McKena's 10th birthday...a Hawaiian luau...apparently a remnant from Missy, Kip and McKena's Disney Cruise decided to attend...(a mini mouse!)  EEK!  Never a dull moment when the fam gets together!

The Cache is Off the Path!

I went to the Idaho History Museum with the grandkids...as true farm kids, they found their favorite place to pose! 

Then we went exploring...following clues to find the secret cache...since Cache's name is the same, he took the lead, went off the path, found the cache "off the path"...hurray!

Cross One Off the "Bucket List"

On our way to Phoenix for a week of MLB Cactus League Spring Training, we flew over the Grand Canyon...what a trip!!




On my morning walk...in Litchfield Park, AZ, so many beautiful things to enjoy!

Having a "Lucy" moment...have you seen that "I Love Lucy" episode?

Our first game was at the Mariners' facility in Peoria, AZ

Ichiro up close...he hit a homerun his first time at bat! We do love the Mariners and Ichiro!

Camelback Ranch was our favorite ballpark...Gorgeous!!

There were warning signs everywhere...really?...flying bats and balls???

This was my view of the Dodgers-Brewers game...who won????

Almost there...I'm feeling Ohio!!

I was a little giddy to see my Indians! Met a woman (in the parking lot!) who lives in Berea and taught at Roehm!!

Interesting "Rocket Ball" sculpture in front of the stadium

The Indians and the Reds share Goodyear Stadium...

We were this close to the Giants' dugout...I know there were other Indians' fans there, but I was the only one on this side!!!

The Angels play in the devil's stadium (Tempe Diablo Stadium) and everywhere you look you see #5...Albert Pujols is now an Angel and a fan favorite!

We ended our time in Phoenix with a trip to the Heard Museum...

I loved this quote...from the collection: "We Are!" Arizona's First People

USA Dance

We drove to Rexburg at the end of February to attend Brooklyn's first ballroom dance competition...had no idea what to expect...it was very well-run, the judges had hand-held keypads that immediately posted scores on the main board for the dancers to see. They handled, perhaps, a thousand dancers with great efficiency. Fantastic!

Couple # 115 takes the floor...to perform what I would term free-style...no choreography, just listen to the music and DANCE!

Brooklyn did so well in the competition...they had to perform foxtrot, samba, waltz, swing and chacha...each dance was done in its own separate competition with judges placing dancers into quarterfinal, semifinal and final rounds each time.

In a different type of competition, the dancers wore costumes and performed choreographed dances...Brooklyn and partner on the right.

Each member of the team received a Gold Medal

...and the waltz competition ended with a first place trophy!!!