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.