Big Trip to Idaho: Part 1

We took a lovely trip to the most wonderful place in the world: Idaho.  Daddy traveled first with the kids:

Each of the kids got a paint by sticker book, which they love and which take a lot of time to complete.  They also got new headphones, and we checked out 15 audiobooks from the library, which each come preloaded on a small handheld mp3 player.  Between the sticker books and stories, it was enough to keep them happy on long flights...

And on 9 hour layovers...

Some of us found time for naps during the layover.

In Idaho there were many opportunities for bedtime stories with Grandma and Grandpa:

The local park was a big hit (walking distance from the grandparents' house):

As was the Nature Center, where we saw lots of fish, including this sturgeon that has been there since Daddy was a kid:

This bench shows how big the sturgeon is:

Near the Nature Center there is a little beach on the Boise River, good for some wading:

No trip to Boise is complete without a day or too at the Natatorium, riding the Hydrotube:

Daddy shows proper tube discharge position:

Grandma and Grandpa have lots of things to play with, including play-dough:

And grandpa led a painting session in his studio:

We got together with some of daddy's good friends:

We visited the World Center for Birds of Prey, where we saw lots of cool and/or endangered birds:

Including a bald eagle:

An Ornate Hawk-Eagle

A Turkey Vulture (we see lots of these where we live):

Two giant California Condors:

Also, goldfish:

This is a Harpy Eagle:

And of course the Peregrine Falcon:

There were some live shows with a big owl (Verreaux's Eagle-owl):

And a tiny screech owl:

This is a view of the City of Boise from the Birds of Prey center:

The backyard sprinkler at the grandparents house was always good for some fun:

We spotted this lizard hiding in some cinder-block wall at church:

Cousins started to arrive, pictionary was played:

Another wading adventure in the Boise River:

A pair of red-haired oldest children:

We found a good log for jumping off:

L and L chasing ducks

A picked up some piano skills from her cousins:

And we played at Daddy's elementary school: