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.

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.

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.

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.

Frisbee Golf- Freeman Park

On Saturday we decided to go play Frisbee Golf at Freeman Park. Freeman Park is off Science Center Driver across from the ISU campus. The disc golf course has 18 holes, we only played a few of them. You can rent official disc golf frisbees at Play It Again Sports (behind the EITC campus) but we just took the frisbees that we had around our house. You may want to be familiar with the map of the course and bring something to keep score with but we had a great afternoon playing. Have fun!

Farr Candy Co. Sets Record - Free Ice Cream Social

Farr's Ice Cream is celebrating it's 100th year in business by trying to break the record for most ice cream scooped in an hour- and giving it away for free. They are having free ice cream downtown Idaho Falls on Constitution Way from 6-8 on Monday, June 20, 2011. We will be there enjoying some free ice cream.

Update: They beat the record! The old record was 3,000 scoops; Farr's goal was 5,000 and they far exceeded it. It was totally crazy there but I don't usually mind a crowd. The baby loved the ice cream and we enjoyed it and a nice walk around downtown.

Lincoln Park

Saturday we went over to Lincoln Park, which is on Lincoln Road between Woodruff and 25th (Hitt), to play some tennis. This park is small but it has two tennis courts, two baseball diamonds, a shelter, bathrooms, and swings. We were surprised to find that there was nobody there so we were able to have the whole tennis courts to oursleves. If you want a good place to play on the tennis courts or baseball fields this is a good place.

Feeding the Ducks and a Walk by the River

*Now I'm sure that this is not encouraged but I didn't see I sign that said it was not allowed.*


Down by the river downtown (on the west side - closest to the highway) there are a whole bunch of ducks and geese you can feed. We took some bread down and walked along the river front. Even if you aren't there to feed there is a paved walkaway all along the river front that is a beautiful, easy walk.

Sunnyside Park

Saturday afternoon we popped over to explore a new park. Well, new for us. This park is on Sunnyside Road behind EIRMC. Sunnyside Park has a playground, a couple shelters, bathrooms, and a giant parking lot. They also have a lot of play fields, they have tennis courts, soccer fields, and baseball diamonds. There is a lot of room to play there so I hope to go play there some more this summer.

Salt Lake City

Last weekend we went down to Salt Lake to meet up with some of my family so I would like to let you know some of my favorite things to do there.

1. IKEA: I love this store, it has furniture and household items for a pretty good deal but even if you don't need anything plan a few hours (really, it takes this long) to go through. They have a ton of different rooms set up you can wander through and get decorating ideas, they have a kids play place you can drop your kids off while you wander, and they have a cafeteria style restaurant that is super good and reasonably priced. I would go and spend all day there if I could.



2. The church history museum: Across the street from temple square is another place I could spend a lot of time. The exhibits often change but it is often overlooked by people just visiting temple square.

3. LDS Church Welfare building: starting in temple square you can take a free tour where they take you out to the Welfare building and show you the things there, if you have time you can also stay and volunteer a while. Once we helped put together buckets of cleaning supplies that were going to flood areas. It was a really neat experience.

4. Porter's Place: Porter's Place is actually south of Salt Lake on main street in Lehi. I can't speak for all the food here because it is not why I go. They have a bunch of fun (non-alcoholic) mixed drinks with crazy names. They are so good, we usually just get drinks and some scones for a treat. Porter's place is such a fun place with a lot of historical significance (you'll have to go to find out why).

Birthday Weekend Extravaganza!- free things for your birthday

Last week was the husband's birthday so we did a weekend full of stuff that we got discounts for because we signed up for birthday emails and such. It was really fun to get to do all sorts of things on the cheap. Here are a bunch of ones I know about. If you don't like your inbox getting cluttered you can get a different email address to use just for mailing lists, just make sure to check it every once in a while for discounts.

Red Robin: if you sign up for their email list you get a free burger when you sign up and also one on your birthday. The coupon that you print is good for a week before and a week after your birthday. If you go on your actual birthday you will also get a free ice cream sundae.

Cold Stone Creamery: On your birthday (if you sign up on their website) you will get a free 'like it' size with one mix in.

IHOP: again with the email, with their coupon you get a free Rootie Tootie breakfast or something of equal or lesser value. My husband said that although it didn't look like much theh Rootie Tootie filled him up.

Denny's: Free grand slam on your birthday- no sign up required, just prove it is your birthday. (I'm not 100% sure on that, you could sign up for the email club just in case)

Arby's: email club, you get a shake- but you have to buy something else when you go to get your shake

Old Navy: when you sign up for their email club you get $10 off when you spend $50, on your birthday you get the same deal

Kmart: only kids can get this deal but if you sign up for their emails and input your kids birthdays they will get $5 to spend at Kmart for their birthday

Krispy Kreme: most locations give you a free dozen dougnuts on your birthday, you can call ahead to double check, but no email needed

Noodles and Company: with the email you get a free noodle bowl

Texas Roadhouse: with email you get free appetizer or a sidekick of ribs

If you have any other favorite place to eat or shop check online ahead of time and see if they have an email club it is pretty set that you will get something for your birthday. Happy Birthday everyone!

Museum of Idaho: Free Christmas Exhibit

At the Museum of Idaho they have a Christmas exhibit. It is free to the public and has the usual hours. They have lots of Santas displayed as well as gingerbread houses and nativities.

They also have a lot of special guests. When we went local new 8 was there reading Christmas stories.


They also let you go through the rest of the museum for free. It was a beautiful evening and a wonderful way to get in the spirit of Christmas.

See what we thought of our previous visit to The Museum of Idaho.

Christmas Lights and Light Shows

When my husband and I decided to go look at Christmas lights her first thought of Candy Cane Lane, which is Hartert Dr.- apparently they are supposed to put up lights but this year it was a little weak. We also went looking in Iona and there were some nice displays there but really not what we expected. We did find two very nice surprises though. One is on Hartert, across Holmes from Candy Cane Lane. There was a house decorated very well and Santa and Mrs. Claus were there. Apparently they are there weekends from 7-10pm at night. The line was super short and it was a fun way to see Santa. There was a wonderful light show, the best Idaho Falls Christmas lights that we have found. They have a radio station for you to turn to and the lights then match the music. It is fabulous- please go and enjoy.

Christmas Tree Lighting

A few weeks ago we visited the Christmas tree lighting ceremony downtown. It was really fun there was a gingerbread houses on display and Santa and sleigh rides that are free. It's quite an enjoyable night. Check out my information on the christmas tree lighting

Snake River Landing: Christmas on the River

Sorry last week there was no post because I was in Oregon and my husband stayed here in Idaho Falls to work.

Thought I would put the word out for our date this week in case any of you wanted to go too.

Welcome in the Holiday Season Downtown on Friday the 3rd. From 3-5:30 at the Plaza downtown there will be free trolley rides, a treasure hunt through the shops, and the kick off for a 5k or 1 mile fun run.

At 5:15 they will be having the lighting ceremony for the Christmas tree.

From 5:30- 8 at Snake River Landing there will be more trolley rides, treats and craft fair, Christmas caroling and Santa will be there to visit.

We will be going and we will have pictures to show you after, but if you want more information go to www.snakeriverlanding.com

We also went to the Idaho Falls Christmas Tree Lighting.

Halloween Ideas, Safe Trick-or-Treating

This coming weekend is Halloween weekend and I thought I would post some things that you could do this weekend.

1. Boo at The Zoo: Oct 28, 29, 30th from 5- 8:30 PM Admission is $4. They have trick or treating around the zoo as well as crafts and costume contests.

2. Trick or Treat Street: Oct 29th 3-6 PM (Go early, it gets crazy) is at Snake River Landing. Kids trick or treat to businesses and RVS.

3. Trick or Treat on the Greenbelt: Oct 30 6-7 PM games and candy is given out along the green belt by the LDS young single adults.

4. Ririe Spooktackular: Oct 30 4:30- 6 PM this is an event that you can go and enjoy the whole time. A fundraiser dinner starts at 4:30 along with hayrides, there is a pumpkin carving contest, a trunk or treat along main street, and a haunted fire house. It's in downtown Ririe.

I know there are more but those are just the ones I know the most about, have a fun Halloween everybody. Below are the pictures of the pumpkins my husband and I carved for our date this week. We got them at the pumpkin patch a few weeks ago.

Idaho Falls Annual Chocolate Fest

So I know this was a one day event and I didn't warn anybody about it. I'll try and let people know ahead of time any other time we go to an event for our date. The good news about this Chocolate Fest is that it is going to be an annual event so it'll be back next year.

Basically Chocolate Fest is a fund raiser for COPD. It is free to get into but you can buy taste tickets to sample any of the treats. So much of the food looked great, but we only tried some chocolate covered pretzels and ice cream with chocolate sauce on it. I wanted my husband to try the chocolate covered bacon but he didn't seem too interested.

There are also a bunch of booths from different places around Idaho Falls, I put my name in for an entry to win a night's stay at Destination's Inn and for a massage. The area high schools had displays and there were some beautiful wedding cakes on display.

Look, it could be ours!

Throughout the day there were different contests that had to do with eating chocolates. I entered one where we were given a certain number of chocolate kisses to unwrap and eat to see who could be the fastest, I came in 2nd.

Anyway, for those with kids the highlight would likely be the free bouncy houses.

Next year I will get the word out before the event so you guys can go too.