Saturday morning we went by the market downtown to get some beef. We are looking into getting a 1/4 of beef and have narrowed it down to two or so places. We picked up some steaks to do a taste test of which place we prefer. It will be organic, grass fed beef for about $4.50/lb. We were looking at buffalo, but couldn't find someone to split it with us, so it was just going to be too expensive. I'm sure you've noticed how expensive it is to get beef in the store - heck, everything is getting pretty pricey. It is $2.99 for the cheapest ground here. If we get a 1/4 it will be for ground, steaks, roasts - everything at the same price of around $4.50 a lb - this is post processing price, not hanging. If you've never had grass fed - it is sooooooo much better. If we buy in bulk it will be cheaper and for much better meat than we get in the stores. There are also many people at Chris' work that expressed and interest in splitting a bulk order of cow with us. The two samples we got are different in that one is grain finished (but they grow everything they feed them) and one is NOT grain finished. Grain finishing gives it the marbling that people usually prefer. I'll let you know how it turns out and what we go with. Prices are gonna go up more, so it will be nice to have a years worth of meat already taken care of - as long as there are no loooooooooooooong power outages!
While Papa was picking out the cuts of meat for us to try out, Little Lady and I enjoyed some of the entertainment.
Yes, that is a man that keeps going back and forth, dancing around and talking to himself.
Before leaving we finally got a crepe for Little Lady and Papa to share from the Creperie cart. The line has always been too long before. She seemed to love it - she honestly ate the bulk of it, not sure how many bites Papa actually got!
Some nice views on the drive up.
We started to get a little worried we were going to have to settle for some snow on the side of the road. "Look! Snow!" - we would excitedly yell so Little Lady might be content with that.
There started to be some decent snow on the ground at around 6000 feet up.
We passed some teenagers snowboarding down a hill. They brought a little ramp and everything in their truck. On the way down I noticed a Dad there, supervising, making sure the truck was parked between them and the road (making sure they would hit the truck before sliding out into traffic). Just looked like good old fun!
He is a happy camper! This is the environment he loves - a big draw for the move to Idaho!
We found her snow! She was a happy camper as well. She is wearing her new snow coat - she has been very eager to wear it. I totally meant to bring her snow boots too (which she has been wearing around the house in excitement) but I forgot them! We now have a pair of snow boots, a hat, gloves and a coat in the car at all times for her.
Checking it out, giving a thumbs up.
Throwing her first snow ball!
Love that little face.
First snowball fight!
This is Bogus Basin, the ski "resort" in Boise. While looking up their website I was astounded to learn that they are a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization, run by a board of all volunteers, with professionals running the daily operations and a seasonal staff. I had no idea! Very neat.
My Aunt, Beth, brought us here when we visited many years ago. It seems so small without everyone here! In two months it will be teaming with people!
Here is a shot from when we visited in 2009, one of the smaller ski hills on Bogus.
Another shot from our 2009 trip.
Chris loved skiing during our visit all those years ago and is looking forward to doing more this year.
This was a self portrait that Chris took during our visit it 2009, trying to capture me coming down the hill behind him.......and that is me falling. I'll be content sitting in the lodge with Little Man while Papa and Little Lady take to the slopes.
Anyways - back to our current adventures!
It started snowing while we were up there - couldn't see the view or hills anymore.
We weren't the only ones playing in the snow!
Tuckered out from all that fun!
That evening, we met up with Chris' coworker and his family, who are LDS, for dinner and a tour of the Boise Mormon Temple. It was absolutely gorgeous on the inside. They placed booties over our shoes before we entered, many of the carpets are white. I learned lots of things I hadn't known about temples and the religion. Only certain ceremonies are performed in the temple, they don't do their regular worship in there. The artwork was stunning. They also change into white garments/robes and slippers for their ceremonies, symbolizing leaving the outside world behind. They perform sealing ceremonies, so they are sealed to their spouses and family members for all of eternity - there isn't a "till death do you part" - you remain with those you are "sealed" with after you die. They still have bread and water at their regular worship to symbolize the body and blood of Christ. Baptism isn't done 'till they are at least 8 (I think that is what is was) and choose to be baptized. They can also present the names of relatives that have already passed to be baptized - all very interesting stuff. You can see some of the interior pictures here.
photo courtesy of http://mormontemples.org/eng/boise/interior-photos
It was a very impressive and informative evening. We really enjoyed it and had some great company!
So our journey to find snow was a success, we had dinner with some great people and we got a rare opportunity to tour a temple - I'd call that a pretty good Saturday!
What a fascinating opportunity to tour the Mormon Temple! It is a very interesting religion to learn about, not just from a religious standpoint but from a historical standpoint. Glad you are enjoying living in Idaho.
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