Farmers Market Tour

Yesterday, I had a really great opportunity. Through the blog Gourmet Mom-on-the-Go I won a tour of Pike Place Market and an afternoon cooking with some amazing women, all sponsered by I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. You can read all about our day here. I had such a blast, although I have to admit that I felt a little intimidated by the other women on the tour. I was definately the only amateur. They are all amazing bloggers, chefs, and business women, and they were a ton of fun! Mandy is the author of Gourmet Mom-on-the-Go and one of the greatest cooks I've ever met. I also spent a good portion of the tour wandering around with Lindsey, who has 2 adorable children, owns her own business, and definately knows her way around the kitchen. She was so fun and friendly and pretty dang good at catching fish (see the video). I also enjoyed delicious food from Deanna, owner of The Old Hen Bed & Breakfast, and Emme, who you can watch for on the upcoming Fox TV show, Master Chef. After my fabulous day with all of them, I feel inspired to be a little more bold in my cooking adventures.

SLC (Idaho Part 2)

While we were in Idaho, we also made a day trip to Salt Lake for my grandparents 50th anniversary. I already posted a few pictures of them, but I wanted to post a few more of my family.

Jackson LOVES uncle Kevin... I think it's the red hair

Look how hard he is concentrating. Maybe he shouldn't try to eat grapes with a fork. Kim (my sister-in-law), Kevin (my brother, but not the one that's married to Kim), my dad, and me

Jackson is sitting on my lap as I post these. He just said "Daddy silly!", so I'll use that as the caption.

4th of July

We started off our celebrations with an early firework show while we were still in Idaho.

Playing with sparklers

Then we had a celebration at our apartment complex...

...which included a parade with all the kids

Then we decided to join some of our friends and brave the crowds at Gas Works Park. It was worth it. The firework show was amazing! We ended up having a fantastic time despite the exhauted toddlers that probably shouldn't have been up that late.

Here is Tyler being exhausted the morning after (Jackson is faking... obviously. At least he closed his eyes. Usually when he fakes sleep, he snores loudly and keeps his eyes cracked open so he can see if anyone is believing him.)

Grandparents, Cabins, Boating, and Camping

Our trip to Idaho was amazing. We did all of the happy Idaho things that we love, and I have to admit that it got us a little excited about returning there in 3 years. I also celebrated my birthday while we there. Tyler (and everyone else) got me a new camera that I love. I can't believe what a difference a nice camera makes, especially since I've never had anything better than an $80 Sam's Club camera. So you will never again hear the complaint, "I forgot to take pictures." Instead it will always be "there are too many to post" or "I don't know which ones to use" or you will just see mile-long posts like this one, which is only a portion of our Idaho trip. Enjoy the many, many pictures. Feel free to scroll quickly :)

Enjoying a bike ride with Grandpa (and testing the zoom range on my camera... they were pretty far away)

Jackson and his only cousin, Madden. We can already tell they are going to be quite mischevious together. We also enjoyed a few days at the Boyd's cabin in Island Park. Jackson liked the hot tub.

Goofy face

Jackson has a problem with picking on Madden, who is a year younger than him. I had to get a picture because this was one of the few times that Madden had the upper hand. I promise I helped him up as soon as I finished taking the picture. Watering Grandma Hawkins' flowers

Playing with Uncle Kevin

Jackson did really good in the boat. When he was younger he hated the life jacket, but I think this trip he just accepted that he had to wear it.

And I expected him to be scared of tubing. He wasn't. He giggled and waved the whole time.

Jackson did really good with our camping trip too. The boys are playing volleyball in the background.

Jackson loves Aunt Whitney. She's a lot more fun than all the boring adults he's used to being around.

This is my cool dad

I'm pretty sure Kevin was letting Jackson sneak some s'more bites.

Tyler tubing

All 3 of the Boyd brothers cliff jumping