Cat Drives Roomba

Exploring Idaho from j c on Vimeo.

Mmmmm……makes me want to go fishing (as long as someone else kills the fish!).

We took a trip to Idaho earlier this month to spend some time with family and to go to our baby’s ultrasound. Luckily, all of this fell around the 4th of July so we were able to celebrate up there and got the chance to light some fireworks.

4th of July

Fireworks are really expensive these days but I love to set them off. When our little guy gets older I’d like to visit a state that allows fireworks because I enjoyed them so much as a youngster.

On the 4th we enjoyed some BBQ (put on by my Bro) and then watched my brother and his friends try to blow each other up. Once it got dark outside Chanin and I set off some fountains, ground bloom flowers, etc. We also helped the kiddos with their sparklers. Later in the night my bro and his buddies lit a bunch of mortar shells off, which looked pretty cool.

I don’t really have any good pics but I did take some video with our new videocamera. BUT, that won’t be up for a while.

Mark’s Birthday

While we were up in Idaho it was also Mark’s birthday (July 6th) so my Mom threw a little BBQ party. It was nice to get to hang out with the family and have some good eatin’. Mom made an angel food cake and Chanin decorated it all fancy. Mmmmm…

Lucky Peak and Idaho City

Since this was Chanin’s first chance to spend some time in Idaho I really wanted to show her some of the scenery. My Mom and Mark recommended the drive to Lucky Peak Park and Idaho City. We headed up there and made our first stop at Lucky Peak State Park. Just as we were driving in we saw a deer running around looking really scared. Then, as we pulled in we saw another and we were able to snap a picture. That was really cool, especially for us city folk.

The park had a nice little lake for swimming and a park area to hang out in. We strolled around a bit and Chanin shot some pictures (below) and I shot some video (again, won’t be up for a while). We’d love to head back to this area again the next time we’re up in Idaho.

We continued our drive to Idaho City along a road that followed the river. The scenery was beautiful and changed from dry rolling hills to very green mountains with lots of trees.

In Idaho City we stopped at a restaurant for a little bit to eat. On the outside it looked pretty normal but when we walked in we discovered that it was really small and very much a locals hangout. Initially, we felt a little uncomfortable because we didn’t know the routine. But, once we sat down and ordered our food we settled in just fine. Luckily, we never heard any banjos playing!

Here’s the route we took. I had the GPS record our path.

Grandma’s House

No trip to Idaho would be complete without a visit to Grandma’s house for some good ol’ home cooked Mexican food.

Grandma made:

• - Chile Verde
• - Chile Colorado
• - Beans
• - Grandma’s Special Macaroni
• - Homemade Tortillas
• - Salsa and Pico de Gallo

We hung out at Grandma and Grandpa’s house for a while and picked some fresh fruit from the trees. We’d love to have a bunch of fruit trees like they do but we just don’t have any room!

I love this salad and Chanin makes it really well! But, then again, she makes everything really well!

Here are the basic ingredients:

• - Romaine Lettuce
• - Red Cabbage
• - Green Onions
• - Mandarin Oranges
• - Nuts (I think almonds this time)
• - Toasted Ramen Noodles
• - Chicken
• - Chinese Chicken Salad Dressing (or Oriental dressing) - Sometimes Chanin makes it and other times we use the bottled stuff.

Unfortunately, shortly after we arrived Chanin developed a really bad toothache! Luckily, we were able to find an emergency dentist and she got a partial root canal done (the rest to finish later). To make a long story short she now has an empty spot where that tooth was, but feels much better now.

Even though Chanin wasn’t feeling great we still had a good time and had a nice BBQ on Mother’s Day. Also, my Mom surprised Chanin with an early birthday party including a birthday cake and some gifts. That made Chanin a happy camper.

Below is a little slideshow of some of the pictures. The funny looking guys are my bros (I’m the handsome one).

And below is a video of one of my bros playing guitar in a coffee shop. We’re proud of the little guy.

So, anyway, to celebrate the occasion Chanin threw a birthday bash at our house. We had a good turnout and about 15 out-of-town guests were able to make it as well as our Maricopa friends (our neighbors).

Chanin planned a nice menu of tasty Mexican food.

Menu

• ♦ Pot o’ homemade beans
• ♦ Mexican rice
• ♦ Marinated carne asada for the grill
• ♦ Fresh fruit salad
• ♦ Homemade salsa
• ♦ Homemade pico de gallo
• ♦ Jalapeño poppers (mmmm…bacon wrapped)
• ♦ Birthday Cheescake (courtesy of my Mom and Mark)
• ♦ Margaritas

The party was a hit and everyone had tons o’ fun. Next year I think I’ll throw Chanin a 30th birthday party so she can just relax and have fun!

Shout Outs

• ♦ Thanks to my lovely wife Chanin for all of the hard work and preparation. All of the food was yumtacular. I just made that word up, I’ll try to never use it again.
• ♦ Thanks to Eric for helping with the grill duties, the meat turned out perfect.
• ♦ Thanks to my mum and Mark for bringing that cheescake from The Cheescake Factory. That was a nice and unexpected treat.
• ♦ Thanks to Ruben and Karen for helping with the party supplies.  That was some fancy decoratin’!
• ♦ And thanks to everyone for the birthday gifts and for just making the trip out here! We hope to see all of you again really soon!

I roasted those bad boys on the grill as the first step.

The house smelled really good after bringing the veggies back inside. I’m not too clear on the rest of the steps but after much blending and seasoning Chanin produced an excellent chile. I know she wants to try a few more things to tweak the recipe but I’m sure it will become a family recipe.

First up is our rotisserie chicken. This was actually our second attempt. Both times it turned out really good but next time we think we’re going to brine the bird first. That should give it some more flavor internally. The meat turned out really tender and juicy but just not a ton of flavor, except for the skin.

To accompany the chicken I decided to try grilling some artichokes.  I was inspired by the recipe I saw in my new grilling cookbook (Thanks Phil and Angela!).  Well, it didn’t work.  They looked pretty good but were really rubbery and tough.  Actually, I couldn’t even pull a leaf off to eat.  Oh well, I may try again but cook them longer and make sure they have enough moisture in them.

Next, we have some beef and veggie kebabs.  Chanin made a really good marinade for the meat (london broil) and we added different types of peppers, onions, and pineapple (Thanks Phil and Angela again!).  They were “da bomb” as the kids say these days (do they still say that?).