Liam gets sick on Thanksgiving.

We were all set to go to Idaho Falls on Thursday, but Liam got sick at 3am and we didn't go. It's OK though, it happens. I will try and get the kids down there in December. Anyway, we weren't planning on being home that day and had no food, the turkey wasn't thawed yet,  aaaaand almost every store was closed. Jerad ended up getting him and the kids a frozen pizza at Albertson's a half hour before the closed and I had a bowl of cereal. We had out actual dinner the next day. Jerad made the potatoes, turkey, green beans, and cranberries. I had the sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, brownies, stuffing, and biscuits. It turned out fine, even though we had a rough start. 

Savory turkey with salt rub

au gratin potatoes

green beans with lemon zest and French onion soup

cranberry sauce with orange and pineapple

cornbread stuffing

buttery sage biscuits

orange pumpkin pie

handmade orange whipped cream

mashed sweet potatoes 

pumpkin brownies

sparkling mango cider

red wine

Liam takes a sick day

she was less sick

Jasper still worried

HI MAMA

Whole Foods Grand Opening!

Boise has a Whole Foods! Grand opening was on Wednesday at 10am, but they had a free oatmeal breakfast at 9:30. Cassia and  went, she had a "nana" and "bobos" (banana and berries) and I had a banana and free coffee (I was cold and it was free, it was good but still like tea more).  While we were eating a little boy about Cassia' age waved at her from his dad's shoulder. 

Me: Cassia can you say hi to that baby?
Cassia: NO

OK then. 

We saw the people who run it, who I guess have wanted to build this store for 6 years and Whole Foods was really excited to be here. They are going to  be working with a few local charities like the Boise Bike Project and Boise Urban Garden plus local farms. Our mayor was there, Mayor Beiter, plus the BSU marching band. It was packed, Jerad went after work and it was still busy. I need to go back without a tired baby so I can do more shopping but I did find chai tea, mint soap, a new shopping bag, and  a thumbprint cookie for Cassia. We took Jerad a snack at work, Meyer lemonade, red ginger lemonade, and a caramel pretzel brownie. We missed it but we need to go back, we had a sample on the way out of curried hummus and it was amazing. We love Whole Foods!!

(no worries Boise Co-op, we still love you too)

Mayor Beiter

Cassia and her bobos

Blue Thunder

little herb gardens for Thanksgiving

first thing I bought - it's good!

not GF but still looked good

view from the bar upstairs 

we found the mayor 

my purchases

the bag, chai, soap, and Cassia's cookie

This is Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Halloween!

My pumpkin 

Liam's pumpkin (he drew the face)

Susan's daughter pumpkin, she carved a bat on a moon and it fell in so Susan just put glow sticks in it

Firefighter Cassia hitting Susan's inflatable bat

We stopped by Susan't before going out, I had some chili and the kids had a popcorn ball. Afterwards we went trick-or-treating  an hour later than planned (Jerad sold a car) but it was OK. We got tons of candy and it wasn't even that cold - yay!

Jerad gets home from an overnight trip to Idaho Falls

Jerad delivered a car to Idaho Falls and stopped in to see his family overnight. He met Laura's new puppy, a Jack Russell named Roxy and saw his grandma who recently fell and broke her collarbone. When he got home the kids were pretty excited.

We got a scorpion.

His name is Caligula and he isn't very smart, but Liam likes him. He lives in a pickle jar, one of Jerad's co-workers caught him then gave him to us. He's neat to watch, but is pretty bad at eating. We fed him a cricket and he missed it 3x with his stinger then the cricket climbed onto his back. He eventually got it though and he's now very fat. 

Caligula

Lunch at the Basque Market

It was our first time at the Basque Market and we definitely want to go again. There's not only a cool gourmet store inside but the lunch is really fun - you pick from a variety of appetizers and pay by how many you pick. We had roast almonds, olives with herrings, and rolls with prosciutto. 

visiting Larry Miller Honda

First Day of First Grade!

I had to miss it (class at 7:30) but Jerad got him off just fine. He even has a few friends from kindergarten in his new class. He likes his teacher (so do we) and is excited about eating "hot lunch" at school. He even gets to keep a water bottle on his desk. I'm sure this will be a fun year for all of us :)

Cassia goes Hulkmania on her pajamas

When Jerad got Cassia out of bed he found her like this.

Discovery Center and Cazba for lunch!

We took a family day before I took the kids to MT.

fishing @ Park Center

Another Parks and Rec free fishing day. This time Jerad and Cassia got to come along. The good news is Liam caught a 9.5in rainbow trout, the bad news is Cassia fell in the pond. She was OK though, not too happy (I even gave her a cookie after and she crumbled it up and threw it on the ground then stepped on it) but eventually did return to her happy self and sat on my lap and helped me fish. Liam was so excited about catching a fish and had it for dinner. I just cooked it in olive oil with salt, pepper, and some fresh lemon. 

Cassia post fall (at least it was shallow water)

Jerad teaching Liam to cast

Cassia pre-fall

trout!

Jerad's pic

Liam's father's Day present for Jerad

The skeleton "won a trophy for being good and patient. He is wearing a Star Wars hat because he likes it. And he has a gun for shooting alligators"

Boise food truck rally

It was nice to visit the North End! Went to the Food Truck Rally...Jerad and the kids hit up Brown Shuga, a soul food truck, and I played with the kids while he waited in line. It was wind though, so we didn't stay too long. On the way home we stopped at Big Bun and shared a coconut pistachio shake which was delightful.

Breakfast at Zell's (Portland)

We found a local breakfast place off the beaten path, and it was amazing. I had salmon scrambled eggs, Jerad had Italian sausage scramble, and Liam had German pancakes with rhubarb and whipped cream (viola!). Cassia, as you can see, has her own ideas about how to sit at a table and enjoyed stealing food from all of us. 


I want to add that the restaurant owners were amazingly accommodating for kids and brought Liam and Cassia scones with blackberry jam and a basket of toys. The food, the service, and the atmosphere were amazing.