Jammin' with 'Jimi C' n Family in Boise

proud father with his cool son at the RadioBoise studio

the Temple

We left Denver for Boise and decided to pass through Salt Lake City, Utah. We hadn’t been in the city on the Great Salt Lake. When we were in Utah in 2009 we meandered through its wondrous national parks such as Arches in Moab. This time around I wanted to visit Temple Square, the seat of the Mormon faith, considering that we might have a Mormon President come November. There were many missionaries milling around looking to inform/educate anyone who had the time. But we were simply interested in the monolithic Tabernacle with the great organ of 11,600+ pipes, the golden Gabriel the Archangel blowing his horn atop the magnificent Temple, and the statue of Brigham Young, the one who led his people west. It was a short sweet stop. 

The following day we reached Boise and were glad we were in time for jamming at Audio Outpost, Jimi C’s (no relation to Jimi Hendrix) radio program at the community radio station Radio Boise @89.9 KRBX FM, with live streaming at radioboise.org.  His blog reads ‘Providing refuge from the musical wilderness of commercial radio to bring you the best indie rock, pop and more. Thursdays 6-8 p.m. MST. Knock the trail dust from your boots and relax. You're safe here‘. 

Jim, Bill’s eldest and only son, is a managing member of a real estate law firm in Boise but his passion is alternative music. He and wife Anna, a smart and bubbly lady who gave up working to ensure the best care of and education for their two darling kids, Madeline, 8, and Ben, 5, have lived in the city for almost 10 years. They worked in Seattle before that. 

Madeline is a natural in soccer

Then it was another whirlwind weekend. Jim took a day off from work and he and Bill shopped for the ingredients for the fishermen’s spaghetti, one of Bill’s famous dishes (from late wife Judy).  The kids were in school and Ben had a party after but we got to play with them a little. Saturday was supposed to be THE BIG DAY! Madeline and Ben both had scheduled soccer games. The two are ace soccer players. But air quality, monitored by the state, reached 150 early on the second half of Madeline’s game and all games were cancelled for the day. Too bad we were not able to see Ben’s fighter stance. We were able to see why Madeline’s team depended a lot on her, though! If the Harpers are a tennis family, the Colborns are a soccer family!

Ben at home with the Balloon Lady!

But we found an exquisite Ezekiel bread (gluten-free with 4 beans), quite expensive at $7 for a small loaf, at the Saturday farmer’s market which was a nice alternative activity. But the highlight of the day was dinner! Jim is an expert pizza maker (one of his high school jobs at a local pizza company in Gig Harbor, Washington). It was a thrill to watch the little kids help their dad whip up pizza dough with spices, top them with pepperoni, Canadian bacon, mushrooms, bell pepper, onions, and tons of mozarella shreds. Italian scent filled the house and soon we had all the breadsticks and pizzas we could carry in our bellies. But not until we took a special trip to Ben and Jerry’s (yes, there was an outlet in Boise!) and I had another scoop of my chocolate therapy while the others had their own faves.

the great pizza makers!

family walk around the neighborhood

Ana and Madeline went to Sunday mass with us at the Cathedral. But the afternoon was a nice little hike around their neighborhood, the old historic district, right beside downtown, where their home just had a new 300 sq. ft. addition (making it a comfy 2000+). Well Bill got his free monthly rental at Redbox and so Lorax on BluRay was enjoyed by everybody (but I slumped into a short nap, wiped out by the nearly one mile walk which I had not done for quite some time!). Dinner was a special chicken curry, complete with condiments coconut shreds and peanut chips, a favorite of Bill and Madeline. 

Bill getting the free mvie rental for the family!

lots going on every time!

While Ana was cooking and Bill and Jim were out for errands, I was amazed by how smart Ben maneuvered an internet search to complete the ZhuZhu Hamster City (the core of which was Suzanne’s ‘pasalubong’).  Madeline got art/craft supplies. Then he and Madeline came to an instant grasp of Words with Friends to play with me! That makes them my other BPPs! Then the rest of the evening was spent with some Kinect sports games and the frenzied chase to finish a difficult 550-piece puzzle without borders (we were obviously not successful)!

breakfast at iHop, where else???

But Monday morning, after everyone (except me who overslept) walked the kids to school, the grownups had a continuation of their last evening’s tete-a-tete about places to visit and people to vote for. Then Ana took off to volunteer at the kids’ school, Jim went to his law office, and we headed on to go back to Pittsburg, Kansas for reasons I will talk about in my next post!