Mom & Dad's visit

Mom and Dad visited in June. They drove cross-country from Geneva, taking their time and stopping along the way. Mom collected rocks from every state they went through (and no doubt seeds and cuttings of all kinds of plants). Daddy looked the other way--he's used to this kind of behavior from her :-) But that's why her garden is so awesome. She has plants from every state her kids have lived in!

We took a trolley ride through Boise and learned that Al Capone came here and brought the famous madam, Diamond Lil with him way back when.

After our "girls day out" pedicures.

One of my favorite shots: just hanging out together on the porch.

The next several shots are from Idaho City, Idaho. It's an old mining town, formed during the gold rush and at one time, the biggest city in Idaho. The downtown has been preserved. The sidewalks are wooden and over a hundred years old. There are still old, wooden hitching posts.

Hard to see in this picture, but the tree stump behind us is hundreds of years old. Someone counted the rings and marked when the Civil War started, when Idaho became a state, the gold rush etc.

Back in Boise now, at Powell's Sweet Shoppe...the coolest candy store EVER.

Mom at the Botanical Gardens.

She named just about every tree, bush and/or plant we came across. And when I checked the name tags, she was right! Wonder why I didn't inherit her green thumb? I think I'm the only person in America that can't grow "big, beautiful...." tomatoes in the @#(*&^ Topsy Turvy tomato planter.

Fodrz Day

Vince opening a gift from Abby for Father's Day. I think that's a cobra face he's making (??). It's a wooden cobra for them to paint together. Jessie's gift for her dad was very interesting. She called that day to tell him happy Father's Day and that his gift was buried in our back yard, under the dining room window. Jessie has been in Memphis since the end of May, so this took some foresight and planning. She got him some sage to burn, like incense. She used to do this often while here, telling him it has cleansing properties and Vince liked the smell of it. Anyway, she put it in a Ziploc bag and buried it before she left. He loves it!

I was lucky enough to have my Dad here for Father's Day, something that hasn't happened in over 5 years. Living 3,000+ miles away doesn't do much for those family get-togethers and holidays. My parents drove out to see us (more on that soon) and we had a great time. Here's my Dad opening a gift from Abby.

Abby's kindergarten teacher helped all the kids make Father's Day cards before school was out. She took their picture dressed like a dad and they decorated the card. Vince's said "Happe Fodrz Day".

Abby's Birthday Party

We had Abby's birthday party at the rec center in our neighborhood. She wanted a pool party and that was the only pool nearby. She announced she didn't like cake, so we had a big cookie decorated like a beach ball. We made a paper mache pinata that she painted. It ended up on Vince's head later :-) Here she is with some of her school friends:

Pinata time..woohoo!

This was her actual birthday on the 30th. I tried to get that cute morning hair-do.

Here's Sox with his party lei.

The door from the room to the pool outside couldn't be unlocked so we propped it open with a chair but the security guard didn't like that: "Ya cain't do that, now ya hear". Ok, he didn't talk like that, but it makes the story better. We shut the door, but left the edge of a towel at the bottom so we could get back in easily. Deputy Dawg (or the Birthday Nazi as my friend, Kara called him) didn't like that either: "I said ya cain't do that...gosh dern it!". Not to be outdone by a Barney Fife wannabe, we removed the towel but left a little, tiny piece of cardboard sticking out the bottom. And wadda ya know, he busted us on that too! He's good.

Abby and her friends got all "sugared up" on cookies, ice cream and candy, ran around like hooligans and generally had a great time. She actually turns 6 this Tuesday, the 30th. Time does fly!

Vince, Abby and Samantha with pinata before the party.