Art Museum of Eastern Idaho

I had passed the Art Museum of Eastern Idaho (300 S. Capital) multiple times on my way to and from different places downtown. It's located right by the river, next to a park. Finally we decided to go. Because it was family day we decided to take our daughter, but it would have been just as nice going on our own. 

The museum has three different galleries, a project room, and a kids center. They have different exhibits. Currently they are featuring works of art made with wax. Starting Feb 19 they will have a watercolor show. 

Because it was family day they had a free craft project for everyone to do. It was painting in wax. We had a great time looking at and sharing our thoughts on the art but we also liked doing some together. I would consider in the future taking a class there together. 

Although the museum regularly charges $4 for adults, the 1st Saturday of each month is free, so that's a good chance to experience it without the cost. 

Idaho Falls Public Library- Children's Books, Movies, and Reading Programs

One of my favorite things to do in the winter is to cuddle up and read a good book. It makes an outing to the Idaho Falls Public Library a favorite thing to do with my husband.

The first time I went into the Idaho Falls library I was surprised at it's size. It seems huge and has a great selection. As you walk in the doors from the parking lot you come right into the Children's section which is perfect. You may wonder why the Children's section is perfect for a date, but it's good for a few reasons.

One of the things my husband and I did when we first started dating is go to the Children's section of the nearby library and choose books to read together. I love to find books I haven't read since I was a kid, especially if my husband isn't familiar with them and share them. Shel Silverstein is a great choice to read out loud.

Another thing that the Children's section is good for is to find a chapter book for you guys to read together. I   know some couples that seriously read books together, big classics like Crime and Punishment. My husband and I occasionally read books together but can't finish them if they aren't pretty short and real cliff hangers. We have found our best bet is to pick a book from the Children's section. On our side bar we have a few of our favorites, but the one I think we had the most fun reading has been The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. It was a quick mystery that we wanted to solve. Even though we had both read it when we were younger we had forgotten the ending and couldn't help but be drawn in.

Up the stairs from the Children's section, on the main floor, they have a great selection of movies. We have often spent a lot of time picking out movies or even tv shows that we want to watch.

The top floor has the adult, young adult, and non-fiction section. We have read a few books from upstairs, including Sherlock Holmes. Winter and Summer they have adult reading programs, this winter the program is Tresspassing Time- if you read a book from (either written in or about) certain time periods you get rewards. The main reward is an invitation to a dinner and party the library is putting on, I am excited for a night without cooking.

The library also plays host to classes and discussion groups. Coming up is a discussion group on the Civil War, for more information you can check out the library blog. To get a library card and you live in Idaho Falls you just need a piece of mail with your name and current address on it as well as a form of ID. Also, little fact you may not know- you can check out e-books through the ifpl.org website.

Preston, ID

We did this a while ago, I didn't mean to be so slow posting it but here it is anyway.

At the beginning of April and October, the LDS church holds a general conference. It's two hours in the morning and afternoon, with two hours in between. We like to listen to it on the radio while we drive somewhere, this year we didn't really plan, we just got in the car and drove. We ended up in Preston, ID- which is where the movie Napoleon Dynamite takes place and was filmed.

The first thing we did when we got to town was hit up the DI, where Napoleon got his awesome suit. We couldn't quite find one that good.

Along main street we also saw the Cuttin Curral, and the studio he goes to for Karate.

There were some stores with Napoleon merchandise, we didn't buy anything, but it was fun to look.

We ate lunch at the New York Deli, it was really good sandwiches, right on main street as well.

We also went by the schools and the playground from the movie, and we were going to see Napoleon's house but ran out of time. Here is a map of the places you can see from the movie if you want to go explore as well. 

Can you find Idaho Falls?

I know it's been a long time since I posted. I actually have a few posts to come soon. In the meantime, can you spot Idaho Falls in this video. There were a couple places I recognized.

Texas Roadhouse

I have a few other date ideas that can be done anywhere but first- my husband's birthday dinner. I was surprised when he picked Texas Roadhouse because although I love steak, it's not really his thing (I think it was in part a favor to me). Texas Roadhouse in Idaho Falls is usually busy on the weekends but they have call ahead seating which helps but even if it's a spur of the moment thing like it was for us the wait wasn't too long. Once you get seated they have super good rolls (the picture really doesn't capture them) and peanuts to snack on.

We really enjoyed our meal, each meal comes with two sides so we could easily share them with our daughter. My husband doesn't like steak but he says Texas Roadhouse has some of the best chicken. He really liked it and I enjoyed the steak, it was even amazing as leftovers the next day.

BYU-Idaho free concert- Salt Lake, Pocatello, Rexburg

The BYU-Idaho choirs and orchestra will be performing free concerts in Salt Lake, Pocatello, and Rexburg. The concert is Bring Forth my Zion. The concerts is free but does require tickets, information for each city below.

POCATELLO - Thursday, March 8, 7:30 p.m., ISU Stephens Performing Arts Center: Admission is free, but tickets are necessary. They can be obtained in person at the ticket office or by calling the Stephens Performing Arts Center Ticket Office at (208) 282-3595.

REXBURG - Friday, March 9, 7:30 p.m., BYU-Idaho Center: Admission is free, but tickets are necessary. They can be obtained from the BYU-Idaho Ticket Office at (208) 496-3170 or (800) 717-4257 (open school days from 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) or online at www.byui.edu/tickets. A BYU-Idaho pre-show dinner at 6 p.m. is available for $15 to those interested (deadline to order dinner is March 5).

SALT LAKE CITY - Saturday, March 10, 7:30 p.m., Salt Lake Tabernacle: Admission is free, but tickets are necessary. They can be obtained at the Temple Square Events Ticket Office at www.lds.org/events, (801) 570-0080 or toll free at 1-866-537-8457.

Jazz Big Band Dance

I mentioned this last year the date is Saturday the 18th and all the other details are the same as last year. I hope if you get to go you have a great time!

Book Store Date

I said at the beginning of this blog that sometimes I would post date ideas that could be done anywhere- I haven't done great at that but I am going to try and post more now.

I have only done this once and really enjoyed it. I got the idea from Love, Actually and she has posted an actual card you can print out with some of the challenges on it. We did it at Barnes and Noble at the Grand Teton Mall but you can do it at any bookstore. The way it works is you and your date split up in a bookstore with three challenges of books to find and then you meet up and share. We did three sets of three while we were there, I wouldn't recommend trying to do more than three challenges in a set because then you have more books to carry and more time apart. Here are a list of challenge ideas.

- Find a map or a picture of some place you would like to travel to.
- Find a book that you think your date would enjoy reading.
- Find a book you read during high school.

- Find a recipe that you would like to try.
- Find a book that has "Happily Ever After" in it.
- Find a joke to tell your date.

- Find a date idea for a future date together.
- Find a self help book that applies to you.
- Find a book that has a character with the same name as your date.

- Find a poem that describes how you feel about your date.
- Find a children's book you liked growing up.
- Find a game or project you think would be fun to do together.

You can mix up the challenges however you want. We did it with our baby in the stroller so it worked out that we didn't even need a babysitter. It's a great date to do and then grab a treat after.

Main Street Grill- Ririe

I am sorry I don't have pictures of this but the other night we went to Main Street Grill in Ririe. It is exactly where you would think- on Main Street, in Ririe. The burgers were really good and they are pretty reasonably priced. You can get it cheaper by not having fries with it, my husband and I were good with just getting one thing of fries to share. I had a chiken burger and it was such good chicken. It takes a little to get your food so if you don't have time to wait you can call ahead to order 208-538-6106.

Soda Springs, ID- Man-made Geyser

For those of you who follow this blog, you will notice that I haven't been posting every week. My goal was a year and I got almost there before my husband and I decided we want to repeat some things, we will be posting still whenever we do something new, which I hope will be pretty often.

On to last weekend! We went to Soda Springs. Each year the first weekend in October and April we listen on the radio to the LDS general conference which has two 2-hour sessions on Saturday with 2 hours in between. It is the perfect time to go explore somewhere new. Last Saturday we drove to Soda Springs, ID.

Soda Springs has a man-made geyser. It goes off every hour on the hour and the spray lasts about 7 minutes. It's not that exciting just to watch but if you are willing to deal with the sulfur smell you can get right up into the spray, which is really fun.

Between sprays we walked across the street to Main Street Diner- we weren't sure what we were going to think but the food was so good. My husband got hand battered chicken strips and I had a hamburger. It was a really good place to eat and the timing was perfect to go back across for the next hour's spray.

Further down Main Street they have a great park that we also stopped to play at. It seemed to have everything, swing sets with baby swings, merry-go-rounds, volleyball nets, basketball courts, a big gazebo. It was a fun place to stop and play too.

There are other historical parks and things throughout Soda Springs but we didn't take the time to go see them all. We really enjoyed our day, the drive was nice and the time there was really fun.

Also, as a note for an upcoming event, Events 4 Idaho has a short description of the Annual Chocolate Fest in Idaho Falls which will be held on October 22 this year.

Bisch's RV Challenege- Free Dinner

Sorry, I did't get this up earlier but this week is Bisch's RV Challenge. Throughout the week there are competitors staying in campers without acess to cell phone or showers and every evening they compete in challeneges. Players get elminated throughout the week and the winner gets a new camper. Each evening they have a free barbeque open to the public during the nightly challenege. We went tonight and the dinner was great (hamburgers, philly cheesesteak, steak bites) and the challenege was super fun to watch. They had to milk goats and then drink the milk.

It's worth going over if you have the time. It's through Friday, 5:30 PM dinner starts and the challenge is at 6 PM. Bisch's is just off of Holmes past the Highway.

Hiking "R" Mountain

Saturday we went with my sister and brother-in-law to climb the mountain with the R on it near Rexburg. We brought the baby because we heard it wasn't too hard of a hike but it was really pretty steep. Once you get to the top you the walk is pretty even and the veiw is amazing. The hike up is about 15 minutes but around the top you can spend lots of time if you wanted to walk around the top.



Directions to the trail head: if you head out of Rexburg on main street and about 8 miles out of town turn left on N 3700 E, the first road that crosses it should be Twin Butte Road, turn right. The parking for the trail will be on your left.

Dixie's Diner

The other morning we stopped into Dixie's Diner for breakfast. It was such a fun retro place. I had waffles with ice cream on them and a vanilla root beer. It was good and a fun atmosphere, if we go back I think it will be to try some milkshakes or malts.

McCowin Park and Ammon City Pool

The other night we went to McCowin Park in Ammon. Heading out of Idaho Falls towards Ammon on 17th Street, turn right on Midway Ave. and the park will be on your left. This park has a lot of playing fields- soccer, baseball, football, tennis. It has a nice playground and a gazebo. It also is the home of Ammon City Pool. The Ammon pool is an small outdoor pool, they have swim lessons there but also have open swim most summer afternoons. It was a fun play to spend some time.

Smitty's Pancake and Steak House

Smitty's is grandparents favorite place to eat and we had never tried it. We went the other night and saw why. It was a Thursday so it wasn't very busy. The atmosphere seemed quiet and comfortable. We took forever looking over the menu because it was so good and a lot of things sounded good. They had a great breakfast selection but we had things off the dinner menu. I had a steak and my husband had chicken tenders. We also tried a burger that we got off the kids menu for our daughter (we don't usually order anything for her because she doesn't eat much but we were trying to use up a gift card). Everything was good- the dinners come with tons of choices for sides, and I was full by the end of my salad. We got a lot of food for our money, including free desserts that come with anything on the dinner menu.

My husband's favorite part is that everything comes with things on the side rather than on it. The burgers and sandwiches are that way and even the salads had the carrots, tomatoes, and cucumbers all on the side so we could use what we wanted. My grandparents recommend the fish but we didn't try any.

The waitresses were so helpful with our little girl and nobody seemed to mind when she just wanted to walk around our table while we ate.

Rainey Creek, Square Ice Cream in Swan Valley

We lived in Ririe for a little while before we moved to Idaho Falls and people that weren't even from around here would always ask if I had been to Swan Valley for the square ice cream cones. The week we moved from Ririe was my first time and last weekend my husband and I went back with some of his siblings.

The square ice cream is inside a gas station at the split between going to Jackson or going to Driggs, just look for a sign like this and lots of cars.
They have such fun flavor choices I had a birthday cake kind- which doesn't taste like usual cake batter ice cream, it tasted like cake and had pieces of yellow cake mixed in it. It was so good, I also had huckleberry. My husband's two flavors look the same but one is a Rainey Creek Mudslide which had caramel, and some nuts in it and brownie nut.
The prices are as follows:
Single Regular Cone: $2.50
Double Regular Cone: $3.50
Single Waffle Cone: $3.25
Double Waffle Cone: $4.00
Float with root beer, sarsaparilla, or huckleberry soda: $4.75

You can buy huckleberry soda there and I love it. They have a record of people served on holiday weekends and it was tons so I think it would be pretty crazy to go on a holiday. Also, my husband had trouble keepings his top layer from falling off so watch out for that on hot days.

Blackfoot - Potato Museum, Jensen Grove, and A&W

Last Saturday we decided to go down to Blackfoot, Idaho to see the Potato Museum and we ended up doing a lot more than we planned because there were so many fun things to do there.

Our first stop was the Idaho Potato Museum, which is open Monday through Saturday during the summer and Monday through Friday in the winter. It costs $3 for adults. We learned quite a bit about potatoes but there was quite a bit of reading. It would be really fun history for someone that is interested in farming or has a lot of background in the area. If you happen to be from out of state you get free potatoes when you visit.

We then saw a sign for a $1 ice cream cone at the Downtown Bread Company. We stopped and it looked great but was already closed for the day. It closes at 6 on weekdays and 3 on Saturdays.

We missed the turn for Jensen's Grove and happened to pass an A&W, which sounded delicious. Everything looked so good so we had dinner there. We had a cherry limeade, a root beer float, cheeseburger, corn dog bites, and a "Freezerrr". You are probably wondering what a freezerr is, but it's like a milkshake but more icy. It was all good.

At last we made to Jensen's Grove and decided to take a walk around the perimeter of the lake. It was a nice easy walk that lasted about a half hour. Jensen's Grove also have frisbee golf, swimming, play equipment, volleyball nets, and boat docks.

Blackfoot Pride Days and Ririe Days

This weekend you can go North or South for some fun events in different cities.

Blackfoot, Idaho is hosting their annual Pride Days Thursday, July 14 - Saturday, July 16.

The Idaho Potato Museum will be doing tours each day of the event, and there will be an open house at the Historical Museum at 190 N Shilling on Friday and Saturday. Friday there is also free swimming at the Blackfoot Pool and free Bouncy Houses at Jensen's Grove.

Events on Saturday are mostly all at Jensen's Grove in Blackfoot. The best schedule we could find listed the events as following:

8am	Triathlon
8:30-9am	Sprint Boat Races
8-10am	Free Breakfast
9am	3-on-3 Basketball
9-11am	Sidewalk Chalk Art Tournament
9am-4pm	Car and Bike Show
10am-3pm	Helmets and Safety Demo
10:30am	Plane Fly-by
11am	Snowmachine Races
12-4pm	Free Potato Feed
1-4pm	Motorcycle Rodeo
4pm	Sprint Boat Demo

Ririe is hold its third annual Ririe Days this year on Saturday, July 16th. You can sign up for some of the events online at the Ririe Days Festival website.

7:00am	Kelly Canyon Run
8:00am	Family Bike Ride
8:30am	Flag Ceremony
9:00am	Golf Scramble
9:00am	Car Show
9:00am	Family Breakfast
11:00am	Craft Fair
11:00am	Food Vendors
11:00am	Archery Shootout
11:00am	Dutch-Oven Cook-Off
11:00am	Carnival Games
11:00am	Plane Fly-by and Bag Pipes
1:30pm	Fire Dept. Hose Down
1:45pm	Big-Boy Tricycle Races
4:00pm	Adult Pitching Machine Tournament

It sounds like the two events will be somewhat similar, so you may just want to go to the closest one to where you live. Unsure as to which we are going to yet, but we hope you enjoy your time!

Motor Vu and Sky Vu Drive Ins

Friday Night we went to see Cars 2 and Pirates of the Caribbean 4 at the Motor Vu. They say that the movies start around 9:45 but it was after 10 when ours started. Both the Sky Vu and the Motor Vu cost $7 for adults and $1 for kids (5-9). You can call 522-3111 for what movies are showing at both.

There is also a drive-in theater in Rexburg - the Teton Vu. It costs $6.50 for adults and $1 for kids (5-11). It is run by the same people who own the Rexburg Paramount - the cheap theater.

We had a good time but have a few recommendations. If you have a small car like us you may want to get there around 9 when they open so you can get a spot that won't be behind a bigger car. They play the sound over the radio and a few cars had to be jumped after, so be careful with running your battery down. You can bring your own portable radio which worked well for us.

Fourth of July in Idaho Falls

Idaho Falls Parade: Starts at Idaho Falls High School, goes along 4th and ends at Tautphaus Park. It starts at 9:30am.

Teton Valley Summer Festival: Includes Hot Air Ballons, Rodeo, Parade, and Pancake Breakfast. It goes all weekend long in Teton Vally. http://tetonvalleychamber.com/blog/2011/05/25/come-see-the-30th-annual-summer-festival/

Rexburg Whooppee Days: Includes a 5k run, rodeo, and the Rexburg Parade- that goes from Smith Park to Porter Park and starts at 10am. http://www.rexburgstandardjournal.com/news/article_f1988ba6-7f33-11df-a46e-001cc4c03286.html

Idaho Falls Fireworks: The big Idaho Falls fireworks are downtown above the river. They start around 10pm and if you have radios and can tune them to 97.3 you can hear the music that goes along with it.