The family that lives in the house were so generous and kind. They have hot apple cider and cookies available for those of us visiting. I talked to them a while and found out they start decorating at the beginning of October. Then they spend every evening in December outside greeting those who visit. They also have a lot of trees that are covered in wooden ornaments like the picture below. Each ornament is in remembrance of someone. They started these decorations in memory of a daughter they lost, and they let anyone who wants to hang an ornament in memory of someone do so. They have lots of trees completely covered in these wooden ornaments.
The Kids' work for Unit 2
Leo showing his dad his hard work
The kids' cousin shows her work to Uncle W
Saber shows his work to Aunt A and Uncle Z
Knight Saber
Lady Rose
Although it was simple and quick, we had such a great time at our unit celebration. The "Medieval food" was great and the games were fun. We even listened to some Medieval style music. It was also great to see how much we all learned about this time period in history! Now it's off to the Renaissance and the Reformation! 
Baby birds in their nest at the Boise Zoo
Saber Turtle
Hubby joined in the fun too!
We accidentally discovered this black light golf place and just had to try it out.
Farmer's Market
Boysenberry face (the kids devoured the baskets of boysenberries that we bought at the farmer's market)
We took a train ride along the beautiful Payette River. The train left from a quaint little town called Horseshoe Bend. Hubby and I were taken with the town. Even talked about what it would be like to move there! Don't worry, we weren't that serious, but it really was a beautiful little valley.
In our current history studies, we are learning about The Middle Ages and one of the things we recently learned about is falconry. Well, it turns out the World Center for Birds of Prey is right in Boise, and they have the most comprehensive and amazing center and library dedicated solely to falconry! How convenient huh? This place was great! At the main center, there were many birds of prey to see (hawks, peregrine falcons, even a California Condor), and there were so many interesting interactive exhibits thoughout. Then we went to the falconry library and learned so much about falconry and it's history as well as the popularity of it in modern times. It was great way to solidify the learning.
I took this picture because I wish I had this map on my wall!!
Finally, a fun day at home. How many kids can fit in a princess castle? They put this in their "club closet". Yes, it's the members of the Crazy Lemon Comet Club all crammed into one little castle!
This is only the second week of our seven week trip to Idaho, but being in this small apartment, after being used to a large house, has been somewhat of an adjustment. The kids are all sleeping in one room together, and it has been interesting getting all of them to sleep at night as well as an adjustment when they all wake each other up in the morning.
There is also no place for any of the kids to really spend much time alone, and so they all must play together more. They have always played well together, but now they play together ALL the time, all four of them. In fact, sometimes they are enjoying their play together so much I have a hard time getting them to do school!
It really is a great lesson in how much excess we really have. There is a constant message out there that we need more stuff, and there is always some great new toy or game out there that is a "must have". In our family we are now usually good about not buying lots of new things or not getting the kids whatever they want, and we try to limit most gifts to birthdays and Christmas, (even keeping those within reason). Our kids understand this and are usually accepting of our "No's" to things. However, we still have a lot of stuff and really most of it is unnecessary.
We stopped at this rest stop on the way there and the way back when everyone was feeling sick from the windy roads (even me, who was driving!) It was along the Snake River, right before Brownlee Dam, which created this reservoir. We had lots of fun skipping rocks!
As we continued on our way through the canyon, the nice sloping hills started to become steeper and more rocky and cliff-like. 
After navigating lots of curvy roads along the canyon walls and next to the Snake River, we approached Hell's Canyon Dam and even steeper cliffs; just past the dam was the end of the road, the farthest we could go into the canyon by car. It was rather ominous as we approached this area. The cliffs were so STEEP and very HIGH. There were random rocks scattered along the road, signs of previous rocks falling from the sheer cliffs. There were big black clouds in front of us, peeking between the canyon walls. There were no other cars anywhere to be seen in either direction (and hadn't been for quite a while), and there were posted signs that warned us that water levels could change at any time; sirens and flashing lights would go off when this happens.... What? I was wondering what I was supposed to do with that information? The kids were quiet and said this looked scary. We all observed with curiosity and awe. What an adventure!
We finally made it past the dam and to the small visitor's center at the end of the road. There were no other visitors there- they were all on boat expeditions that had left that morning. Just as we arrived, it began to rain (something that was quite rare this time of year) and we heard loud roars of thunder. Then it began to pour!! We hung out in the visitor center until the storm passed.
There was a small cave near the center that the boys explored.
These are views from the center. Again, the pictures don't really show how amazing these cliffs really were.
On our way back, we stopped at another small rest stop and played around for a while. This warning was all over the place...
Although we spent much more time driving than actually exploring, the spectacle was worth the drive. It's not very often you can see a place like that!
