Julia Davis Park Centennial Celebration (23 June 07)

Boise is also known as the City of Trees. The Boise River flows through the heart of the city and there is a 25-mile (about 40km) river front greenbelt.

Nestled in the Greenbelt is Julia Davis Park. Many local attractions like the Boise Art Museum, Idaho Black History Museum (strangely, there are really very few blacks here), Idaho Historical Museum and Zoo Boise are located in the Park.

Tom Davis donated his apple orchard to the city in 1907 in honor of his late wife Julia. Julia Davis was known as a generous soul who offered help to passing pioneers travelling on the Oregon Trail.


Bronze statue of Julia Davis offering an apple to a pioneer girl

This grand dame turned 100 years old this year, and we happened to catch her Centennial Celebration!


Quite a crowd!


Kiki getting a ride on daddy's shoulders


Watch me soar into the sky!

The highlight of the day for us was seeing the humongous dogs that their owners proudly paraded around the park. They looked more like bears! It's a pity that I didn't get to photograph any of them.


Patting a mid-size dog (courageously)

Chin Wei, Jeslyn, Min Li and Shu Yunn partook in the pancake breakfast where there was free flow of pancakes, scrambled eggs and sausages!


Kiki eyeing the yummy-looking pancake

We left after listening to the Mayor's speech.


Boise's Mayor David H. Bieter making his speech

On our way back to the car, we went past the Rose Garden again and took more shots with the beautiful blooms.


What a lovely day!


Kiki likes to be carried by Jeslyn

Local Celebration:
23 June 07 - Julia Davis Park Centennial Celebration

Thanks guys! =))

I have just received a belated birthday present... ... Really very touched! That's so nice of you all.

Check out my friendly neighbour's blog: http://tribolum.com/archives/2007/07/26/when_the_cat_is.php

Meow! ;p

Stanley (16 June 07)

Our second day trip was to Switzerland... ... no, Stanley. Can't blame me for having this illusion when I saw snow-capped mountains framing a beautiful lake.

After travelling on a long windy road for more than 2 hours, we finally arrived in Stanley, which lies within the Sawtooth National Recreation Area.


Kiki had fun sitting on a wooden fence

We stopped for lunch at Bridge St. Grill. The restaurant sits right beside a fast flowing river and offers great scenery.


Cute wooden bear statue outside the restaurant


Keep an eye on your kids!


Beautiful scenery


Stop! Private property


Checking out the icy water

After lunch, we went in search of Redfish Lake. Little did we know that we would be blown away by the view!


We are in Switzerland!

Kenneth decided to stay with us while the others went hiking. Owl, Kiki and I took a stroll on the beach.


You will never walk alone... ...

We then went to the Visitor Centre and learnt that Redfish Lake, named for the sockeye salmon, was formed by the action of glaciers. It is about 5 miles long, 1/2 mile wide, and over 300 feet deep.


Wow! Snow-capped mountains in Summer


Gimme a five! Kiki gave Dr Lau a High 5


Kiki & her beloved pacifier

After a while, we went back to the beach to meet the hikers.


Kiki carried by Min Li


A photo with Shu Yunn


Boon Pin & Kenneth getting cold feet


I'm so glam!

Unwilling to return home so soon after the long drive to Stanley, we went on to the Redfish Lake Lodge. Boon Pin, Kenneth, Min Li and Xin Tian went kayaking, while Chin Wei and Shu Yunn shared a paddle boat.


Look at those nice deck chairs

With the great scenery, it would have been fabulous to stay overnight there!

Second Day Trip:
16 June 07 - Stanley

Celebrations!

Kiki and Quinn love gatherings! They always have a swell time, lapping up the attention from the doting uncles and aunties. I believe Owl's colleagues also enjoy having these two kiddos around. Their innocent smiles and laughter really brighten up our days here. :)


Peekaboo! (Kiki holding her fave elephant)


Gotcha!

The default birthday cake for us is cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory! We had earlier celebrated Kenneth's birthday at a nice Japanese restaurant. As there was no birthday cake then, we got two yummy cheesecakes when we went to a Vietnamese restaurant to celebrate Shu Yunn's birthday.


A group photo with the birthday gal & guy

In June, we had also celebrated my birthday and Father's Day for Owl. After passing 30 years old, I decided that it is best to keep my birthday a private affair. Haha... ... We had a good dinner but Qi (aka Kiki) wasn't feeling well, so we bought a slice of White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cheesecake home.


Gosh! Time flies... I'm 31!

As for Father's Day, we met up with a number of Owl's colleagues for delicious ribs. Yummy!


Happy 2nd Father's Day!

Celebrations:
15 June 07 - My Birthday! Dinner @ The Cheesecake Factory
17 June 07 - Father's Day! Dinner @ Texas Roadhouse
20 June 07 - Kenneth's Birthday. Dinner @ Fujiyama Japanese Restaurant
2 July 07 - Shu Yunn's Birthday. Dinner @ Saigon Grill

Bruneau Dunes & Canyon (2 June 07)

My blog is super outdated. Kiki still demands my attention when she is awake. And the moment she (finally) falls asleep in the afternoon, it's time for me to quickly prepare the ingredients for dinner and do other housework. Sigh... ...

Now that both Kiki and Owl are taking a nice nap, let me share our first day trip out of Boise!

Bruneau Dunes State Park
This state park has a romantic slogan, "Feel the Sand; Touch the Stars". Sadly, I didn't do either there.



We have chosen one of the hottest days in Idaho to visit North America's largest single sand dune! The sun was so ruthless, Kiki and I hid in the car when Owl climbed the dune with Min Li and Zhi Jun.



Fortunately, Owl's other colleagues arrived after a short wait. After they had also gone up the sand dune, we hurried off to the next stop. We were really baking in the sun like hot potatoes!


Not everyone is in the picture though


A nice family portrait

Bruneau Canyon Scenic Overlook
After leaving the sand dunes, we drove a few miles farther to look at a small canyon. If only the sun was more forgiving, we would be able to appreciate the grandeaur of it.


It's small but still magnificent!

It's like a sneak preview of Grand Canyon for us! We are really looking forward to seeing GC after this.


More shots for Owl while we hid in the shade

The lesson learnt is to check the weather when planning our trips!

First Day Trip:
2 June 07 - Bruneau Dunes State Park and Bruneau Canyon Overlook

Day Trips and Celebrations

We look forward to the weekends. Come Saturday, it's time for us to travel out of Boise to explore the nearby areas! Sundays are usually rest days, more for groceries shopping or checking out the factory outlets.

Since I have quite a bit to catch up, I will just use this post to list the places that we have visited. Details will be provided in subsequent posts.

Other than day trips, we also participated in some local celebrations. Birthdays and even Father's Day were celebrated too!

List of Day Trips and Celebrations:
2 June 07 - Bruneau Dunes State Park and Bruneau Canyon Overlook
15 June 07 - My Birthday! Dinner @ The Cheesecake Factory
16 June 07 - Stanley
17 June 07 - Father's Day! Dinner @ Texas Roadhouse
20 June 07 - Kenneth's Birthday. Dinner @ Fujiyama Japanese Restaurant
23 June 07 - Julia Davis Park Centennial Celebration
30 June 07 - Sun Valley
2 July 07 - Shu Yunn's Birthday. Dinner @ Saigon Grill
4 July 07 - Independence Day - Fireworks Display @ Ann Morrison Park
6 - 8 July 07 - McCall
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
11 July 07 - Cheryl's Farewell Dinner
14 July 07 - Snake River/Celebration Park
15 July 07 - Li Kiang's Birthday. Dinner on 14 Jul.
20 July 07 - Zhijun's Birthday.

Will keep updating this list! :)

Fireworks

Yesterday was 4th of July, Independence Day of USA.

After dinner at The Cheesecake Factory, we went to catch the fireworks display at Ann Morrison Memorial Park with Kenneth and Minli. Now being summer, the sun sets real late. The display would start only at 10:15pm.

The car park at AMMP was closed to public. Hence, we parked our car somewhere nearby and waited at the pavement. In a short while, we heard the countdown and soon the sky was lit up by the brilliant display of fireworks. Kiki was scared of the noise. But she would not let me cover her ears!

Together with the American anthem, the fireworks ended with a climax. Kiki was mesmerised by the sight. When the display was over, she uttered her favourite phrase, "More, more, more". Haha... Mummy can't do wonders. ;p

Back home, we managed to catch some fireworks from our balcony. Kiki refused to sleep till almost midnight! Poor mummy... :(