Magic Valley ~ Part Two

Twin Falls has a lovely downtown.  The streets are quiet and lined with fun shops.

Mom ~ don't get mad, but I think this picture is a keeper!  :)
This is her "can we just go in the quilt store and stop taking pictures" look.

Stitchin' Time was our first stop.  It's a fairly small store, but they had some
pretty awesome fabrics and made-up quilts.

As we came out of the store, we happened to look next door.  I wouldn't call
"Girlfriends" just a scrapbook store.  The decor is awesome, there are tons of examples made up,and the selection is amazing.  If you scrapbook and are ever in Twin Falls, you MUST make time for this store!

This is their front counter.  There's also a door on top, with a layer of glass covering it.  Wouldn't this be fabulous as a crafting counter with a high stool?

We kinda accidently spent a couple of hours here.  We realized it had been quite a while
when our stomachs started growling.  :)

The next day, we headed to Rupert to visit "The Gathering Place." 
They had the largest selection of quality fabric I've ever seen.  Mom and I decided that this would be our annual Fall trip, and we're going to start saving for our next visit to this store now.

On the way out of town, we stopped at a place called "Spinners."  It's in an older Dairy Queen building and doesn't look that exciting on the outside.  The inside is decorated with all kinds of bike stuff, and the food?  Oh my!

I had a philly with freshly made sweet potatoe chips, and Mom had a turkey/cranberry sandwich on dark rye bread with the same chips.  The fry sauce was amazing...it either had liquid smoke or BBQ sauce in it.  We were so stuffed from our lunch that we didn't have to eat the rest of the day!

On the way out of Twin Falls, we stopped at the Perrine Bridge lookout.  This is the bridge that you drive over to get into and out of Twin Falls. 

The view was incredible.

These three little birds were keeping an eye on us as we took pictures.

I'm not a golfer, but can you imagine a cooler place to hit a few?

Mom and I had a great trip.  We thoroughly enjoyed each other's company, and we're blessed to be able to do this a couple of times a year.  It was so nice to come home to my little family...it's nice for them to miss me every so often.  :)

Happy Halloween

from our family to yours
{that's me up on top...pretending I'm on a nice warm beach somewhere}
~~~
I'll continue with our Magic Valley trip once all of the trick-or-treating
photos are posted...just in case you were wondering about Part 2.

Magic Valley ~ Part One

Last weekend, Mom and I took a short overnight trip to the Twin Falls area.
While we were there, I wanted to stop off at Shoshone Falls and take some pictures for Bob and the kids.  Assuming that there would be but a trickle going over, I thought it might help them
really appreciate what we saw when we visited the falls in May.

Above photo taken May 2011

Above photo taken October 2011
While there wasn't as much water going over as in May, I was very surprised by
the volume of water to be found in October.  Add that to the beautiful Fall colors, the empty parking lot and the rainbow starting in in the canyon and ending in the falls, it was
simply amazing!
Here are some of my favorite photos from this trip for your
viewing pleasure:

I wish I could have captured the entire rainbow on the camera.
The best I could do, however, is the beginning and the end.

{My favorite}

Ember turns seven!

Emma's dear friend Ember turned seven this past weekend.  So hard to believe...especially when it means Emma is just a couple of months behind her!  She celebrated with what had to be the best party ever!  The day was gorgeous...the parents sat in the sun....first soaking it up and then sweltering in it.  You couldn't ask for a nicer day for an outdoor party in mid-October!

I had to sneak a picture of Ember's guest list written out so nicely on her white board.

The frog pond

Pictures with the strongest man and balloon pop it!

Yum....carnie snacks!

Fun decorations

and....

face painting!  Cassie did an awesome job painting
the kids faces and/or hands. 

I loved this pic...two boys the same age as the girls, spiders (no butterflies or dolphins for them!),
bare feet and holes in the knees.  Gotta love boys!  :)

Each of the kids got a guitar after popping their balloons.  For the girls, they stayed guitars.  For the boys?  Yep...they turned into guns.  :)

All the guests.
Do you see that pie Ember is holding?  It was what had to be the best
cherry cobbler ever!! 

Enjoying cobbler and ice cream on the trampoline.

Presents!
{All of the boys are off hunting each other.}

I love that the girls can actually read their cards now.
This one was a special card from her momma...doesn't the girl on the front
look a tad bit like the birthday girl?

And here's the one that put it all together.