Frightened Felons & Farmstead

On Friday we drove to Boise.  That night we attended the Frightened Felons at the Old Idaho Penitentiary, which is supposed to be the #1 haunted place in Idaho.  They had actors telling inmates' stories, a scavenger hunt, kids' games, and a haunted cell block #4.  It was so much fun!

The penitentiary opened its doors in 1872 and closed in 1973.  There were 129 recorded deaths during the 101 years the prison operated, including 10 executions.  This place was even featured on the Travel Channel's Ghost Adventures!  

Cell Block 2

Cell Block 3

Saturday morning we went to the pumpkin patch.  It was a windy, cold day.  We made it through the corn maze, picked out a couple pumpkins and then headed for home!

 Emily recently got a new bike, and was happy to try it out by taking Gerda for a run.

 Lots of snow came last Saturday.  Emily and the neighbor each built a snow structure in the backyard and threw snowballs at each other.

By Sunday most of the snow had melted and Emily enjoyed riding Eleanor.

Ashley, Tobie, Emily

Free skate at the ice rink with Ashley (gym friends) and Tobie (skiing buddy).

Trail ride on bud, Emily is in the front, followed by Neve on Smoky.

Trying tennis, which she liked, but not the coach.  Not sure she'll go back.

 Brooke's party was a camp out theme.  Complete with a teepee in the living room and s'mores around the fire.

 Team building exercise at gymnastics, the girls created posters for everyone by writing encouraging messages to each other.

 Enjoying a three mile walk out Adam's Gulch.

Riding Smoky at today's riding lesson.  It was a beautiful day to be outside.  Emily was jumping Smoky and even enjoyed some cantering.  

After a long hiatus, Emily has riding lessons back in her schedule. She was so happy to be back riding Bud and jumping again!

Kennedy and Emily celebrated surviving the first week of school with Yellow Belly Ice Cream.  

During the second week of school, Emily and her classmates spent three days and two nights at Idaho Base Camp.  The kids had a great time sleeping in tents, learning outdoor survival skills, and participating in team building exercises.

We spent a day during Labor Day weekend at the Twin Falls County Fair.

Labor Day was spent in Bellevue, we watched the parade then hung out for music and food in the park.  It was beautiful weather!

5th grade.

 School started on the 19th.  Ms. Barron is her teacher, which she was very excited about.  And next week she's off to Idaho Outdoor Base Camp with the other 5th graders.  She'll be gone Wednesday to Friday, that's pretty exciting as well.

Our last hoorah to summer vacation was a morning hike at Adam's Gulch with Millie.

Redfish

On Friday we drove an hour north to take the dogs to the dog beach at Redfish Lake.  We were up there early and it wasn't very crowded.  After lunch, we rented a paddle board, but I didn't get pictures of that!

Top Flight camp

Emily spent the 26-28th in gym camp in Boise.  The 98 girls worked stations from 9-4 each day with coaches that were Olympians, college athletes, and even college coaches.  In the evening, Emily enjoyed swimming at the pool and even Wahooz Family Fun Zone with all the other gymnasts.

Iowa

 On the 19th, Emily and I flew back to Iowa.  What was supposed to be a 30 minute layover in Minneapolis turned into a 3 hour delay. Emily was entertained at the indoor playground, but we were definitely tired by the time we made it to Des Moines around 11 that evening.

Our first day in Iowa was spent at an arcade with Grandpa and Grandma.  We had wanted to play laser tag, but a power outage earlier that day meant the internet was down and it wasn't working.  Emily earned enough tickets playing games to get herself a Magic 8 ball prize.  There was also time to play croquet in the yard. 

The second day we met up with Pat, Cheri, and Becca for lunch and an escape room.  Although in the end we were trapped, it was a lot of fun!  

The next day we went with Becca to Adventureland, Iowa's amusement park.  Emily and I had fun riding the extreme roller coasters, and every one of us left the water ride soaked.  Tuesday and Wednesday we visited great aunts, great uncles, and great grandmas, as well as setting up the camper at Cutty's campground near Des Moines.  During mornings and evenings, we spent a lot of time playing rounds of miniature golf.  

We also made it to the trampoline park and rock climbing gym.  

We flew back to Boise on the 25th, and Emily was delighted to be invited into the cockpit.  It was a fun and busy trip back to Iowa, thanks Grandpa and Grandma!