Boise for the Win!

After hearing that my parents and sisters were spending the fourth on the beach watching one of the greatest firework shows, I had doubts that my fourth of July would ever be as good as theirs in Boise, Idaho.

Boise is the place to be on the fourth! Andrew and I decided to drive up to Caldwell for our nieces baby blessing. Her name is Eliza and she is absolutely adorable. We ended up leaving Friday morning at 5:30am on the dot. I think I still sometimes surprise Andrew by my early morningness. One of the greatest perks about being married is the fact that Andrew drives the majority of the time. I did not have to drive the nearly 6 hours to Boise-- he did. :) 

We arrived in Caldwell right in the middle of a parade which was problematic because every road was blocked off. We spent the afternoon swimming with our nieces and nephews. Lots of diving was going on, and I was tempted to try until I realized that I might lose my bottoms. After doing a summersault contest underwater, I learned my lesson. 

We had a huge meal to top the night off and I made some mean deviled eggs. We enjoyed the Caldwell firework show from Tavia's backyard which was nice. My family isn't one that gets into the fourth of July like at all. In fact, I have vivid memories of my parents telling us to go look on the back porch at the fireworks and after one minute excusing us to bed. That being said, I don't think my parents have ever purchased a firework. The people we were with on the fourth did purchase fireworks and it was fun to see how excited the kids were. There was one firework that went ballistic and nearly started a neighbors house on fire which made the show much more entertaining. 

Saturday was spent at the man-made lake near Boise. Call me a wimp, but I didn't go in. I was quite comfortable in the shade. The water was really cold from what I hear. Good thing I didn't test it myself. Pizza was definitely a highlight of the day. I could eat pizza for every meal and not get sick of it. Andrew knows that when I'm upset or angry pizza is what makes things better. Good thing he likes it almost as much as I do. The night was topped off with my favorite dessert, "Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Bars." They are quite peanut-buttery, but I'm glad they were a hit with this crowd. 

I love Sundays and always hate to see them end. After the baby blessing, we spent a couple hours making food like crazy. There were over 30 people that came to dinner! We had homemade Cafe Rio which really hit the spot. Unfortunately we had to dash home pretty quickly after dinner, but the Cafe Rio was definitely worth waiting for. 

Another highlight from the weekend was singing with my nieces. I brought my "Frozen" piano music and words and they absolutely loved it. I think in the short time I was there, we sang through the book at least 3 times. In other news, Andrew finished his book while we were there which I'm thrilled about. Maybe I'll finally get to see and talk to him again...

I told Andrew that Boise is one of the few cities I wouldn't mind living in if we are going to live in Idaho, so maybe this fourth of July in Boise will become a reality. (Just so you know, Rexburg is not on this list...)