Eat Local

For the first time ever, I have decided to grow tomatoes this summer...little juicy cherry tomatoes. My tomato plant is just starting to go crazy, and here is a salad with the tomatoes, lettuce from our neighbors' garden, and fresh carrots grown in Emmett that I picked up from the Farmer's Market. I think this eating local thing is kind of fun. Mike's not so convinced: he found a little green worm crawling on his lettuce at dinner tonight...even though I had washed and rewashed the lettuce in hot water and put it through the salad spinner. That little green worm was a hardy little bugger! Mike put the worm and the piece of lettuce on the table, and Hank promptly gobbled up the worm. Hank didn't seem to mind a little protein with his vegetables.

Mr. and Mrs. Reynoldson Go to Washington

At the White House
At the World War II Memorial

Orioles Game

Mike and I just returned from a fantastic trip to Washington, DC. He was there for work and, since I had never been there, I flew back on Wednesday to join him. What a great city! We packed as much as possible in 5 days. I cannot wait to return.

Annapolis

Mike and Laurie in Annapolis
Brian, Mike, Kate, Andrew, Jack and Laurie at the pier at the Naval Academy
Jack feeding the ducks
Brian and Mike at the waterfront
The group

Our good friends, Kate and Andrew, live in Annapolis -- about 30 miles out of DC on the water. On Saturday night, Mike, Brian and I packed into the mini-van (yes, we were touring the nation's capitol in a mini-van) and headed east for a relaxing and enjoyable dinner at the Arulanandam house. On Sunday morning, we headed to downtown Annapolis, toured the US Naval Academy, and walked the streets of historic Annapolis, Maryland's capital.

The O's

After an entire day of touring the sites, we drove to Baltimore to catch the Orioles/Angels baseball game. Luckily, it was floppy hat night. I used my new hat to cover up the humidity-soaked hair. Camden Yard is a great place to watch a game! The O's started a little sluggish -- down 5-1 early, then rallied back but ended up losing 6-5.

Changing of the Guard

Perhaps one of the most moving experiences of the trip was the changing of the guard in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The Tomb sits atop a hill in Arlington, and bears the inscription: "Here Rests in Honored Glory an American Soldier Know But to God." The Tomb is guarded by sentinels around the clock...and in the sunshine, rain and sleet...and has been guarded every second of every day since 1937. Each pass by the guarding sentinel consists of 21 steps, signifying a silent twenty-one gun salute. The sentinel then waits 21 seconds before changing rifle positions, and then proceeds to "walk the mat" back another 21 steps. All observers are asked to stand and be silent during the changing of the guard ceremony, and only the ranking officer speaks by giving certain orders to the sentinels who are changing posts. It was a fitting end to our day of sight-seeing.

Arlington National Cemetery

John F. Kennedy's burial site
Looking back over the Potomac River to DC

By far, the most moving place we visited was Arlington. There are hundreds of acres of tombstones: most simple, white headstones. They stretch as far as you can see in every direction. The grounds are stunning and well-kept. When you look at the hundreds of thousands of individuals that have gone before us to make this country what it is today, you cannot help but be proud to be an American.

The Monuments, Part 2

The World War II Memorial
Laurie in front of the Reflecting Pool with the Washington Monument in the background
Mike and the Lincoln Memorial
Laurie and Mike in the reflection of the names on the Vietnam Memorial
The Washington Monument and the Reflecting Pool

(Here, I couldn't help but think of "Forrest Gump": "Jennn-ay!")

The Monuments

Mike and Laurie at the World War II Memorial

(with Washington Monument in the background)

At the base of the Washington Monument (looking towards the Lincoln Memorial)
Mike with the US Capitol in the background
Mike at the base of the Washington Monument
The World War II Memorial

On Friday morning, we toured the monuments -- as many as we could find in 5 hours. The World War II is my favorite. The Lincoln Memorial was incredibly moving, the Washington Monument is very impressive, and the US Capitol rises majestically over the city. You could spend days going to the monuments. Unfortunately, we didn't have that much time.

A Different Tour of DC

Mike, Andrew and Laurie at Le Bar
Andrew and Mike at Lounge 21
Mike, Laurie, Brian and Andrew at the Capital Grille

Mike and I went on a tour of the US Capitol, including the House chambers, on Thursday at noon. Unfortunately, I left my camera in my purse, so we have no shots of the Capitol. What an impressive structure! Did you know that the Statute of Liberty could fit in the Capitol Rotunda? It is an exquisite structure. Google it -- you'll find much better photos than I could have taken.

While Mike worked on Thursday afternoon, our good friend, Andrew, showed me a slightly different tour of DC. We conducted a little "quality control" at some of DC's finest watering holes. Then, Brian made reservations for all of us at the Capital Grille...talk about fantastic steaks! A fun, fun day and evening! (I'll spare you the details about how we all felt the next morning at 7:30 a.m. at breakfast...)

Running with Giants

On Thursday morning, I got out of bed, laced up my running shoes and headed to the Capitol Mall. What a fantastic run! I ran past the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, the Koren War Memorial, along the sides of the Reflection Pool, back around the Washington Monument to the US Capitol, and back. How inspiring! It was my first morning in DC, and I was taken by the history and patriotism everywhere. DC is clean and beautiful, and it just exudes importance. Everything happens there. There are flags everywhere. It was a great run.

Off the Record

BMac and Mike
Laurie and Gretchen

After our White House tour, we strolled across the park to Off the Record, a quaint bar in the basement of the Hay-Adams Hotel to wait out the rain. It was raining so hard, and there was so much water on the bricks in the park, that I actually went barefoot through the park in the rain. Sounds like an ol' Sinatra tune, eh? We had dinner and drinks with Brian and my friend, Gretchen, who recently moved back to DC. Gretchen and I have known each other since Sixth Grade, and I had not seen her since our wedding. It was very fun to spend the evening catching up with her. (And I think she was happy to be there: her children were in bed and her husband was trying to deal with a flooding issue in their basement.)

The White House

The White House
The White House lawn
Mike and Brian doing a little business on the way to the West Wing
In the rose garden -- in a thunderstorm

Our friend, Brian, was kind enough to set us up with a private tour of the West Wing of the White House. It was great. There is so much history in the White House, and it was interesting to see where everything happens. The Oval Office is smaller than it looks in photos, but meticulously appointed. Brian even invited us back for breakfast at the White House on Friday morning, and we left with souvenir menus and White House M&M's.

Weekend Yardwork

Before
Before
After: planted with new perennials
Lovely lily in bloom
Boxwoods to be planted in front of deck

After praying long and hard to the lawn gods, Scotts, John Deere and Snapper, we finally were blessed with the return of our lawnmower...just in time to spend the weekend in the yard. Mike mowed the lawn, while I weeded the flower beds and planted lots of colorful perennials: daisies, black-eyed susans, pincushion flowers and day lillies. We also planted several boxwoods along the front edge of the deck, and ripped out some bushes on the side of the yard. We finished the weekend by laying nearly 100 square feet of sod. The yard looks 300% better today than it did yesterday morning, and our back muscles are wondering what in the world we put them through...and why. I'll continue to take photos of the yard as it matures this summer, but here is a sneak peak of what we have accomplished so far.

Farmer's Market

I love the Capitol City Farmer's Market in the summertime! I cannot resist Apply Lucy's homemade marionberry pies, Ballard Family cheeses, freshmade Treasure Valley Salsa, and all of the yummy produce. I was lucky enough to bump into Paul, Wendi and Simon Wilch this past weekend, and get caught up on all of their summer goings-on. Here is my produce haul from my latest trip to the market -- all washed and ready to eat!

Boise River - 3, Reynoldson Raft - 0

Mike and I floated the Boise River on Friday afternoon with our new friend, Angela Hart. Ang is a good friend of our good friends, Ginger and Keith, and she was spending the day in Boise before hopping a plane back to Nashville. Armed with our inflatable raft, some wine cleverly disguised as "PowerAde" and our lone wooden oar, we launched the raft at Barber Park. After hitting the first "rapids" and winding up in the brambles, we lost Ang's shorts, which were drying out on the back of the raft. Boise River - 1, Reynoldson Raft - 0. The float continued fairly uneventful for another 30 minutes or so, until we found ourselves in the brambles again. I ducked down in the raft and used my right leg to fend off the branches and trees we were floating towards...only to end up with 3 deep bruises on my right calf. Boise River - 2, Reynoldson Raft - 0. Once we cleared the trees, Ang sighed "uhhh" and, thinking that she'd lost her river sandals or sunglasses, I asked "what did we lose that time?" I'm looking all around the raft...I see that we still have the cooler, the wine glasses, my flip flops, Mike's shirt...everything seems to be accounted for and I cannot figure out what we lost in the trees, when Ang says "your husband." Sure enough, Mike had fallen out of the raft and I hadn't even noticed. Luckily, he was unharmed. Boise River - 3, Reynoldson Raft - 0.

The Jungle

Our lawnmower broke down several weeks ago. It has been in the shop for over a week now, and we have been unable to mow the lawn. Consequently, we have a veritable jungle in the backyard. Here, Hank lies in the grass, waiting to pounce on his prey: unsuspecting squirrels and birds that he will never catch because he is too slow. Nonetheless, the predator is enjoying some additional cover from his prey these days...thanks to the grass...which, unlike the corn in Idaho, was knee-high-by-the-Fourth-of-July. Happy hunting, Hank!

Fourth of July - and Independence from Parking Fees

Laurie and Mike at the concert
Mike, the McCalls and the Poosers
Enjoying an adult beverage -- and some strained peas -- at the concert
Samia and Conor
Dinner at Rico's

(note the very patriotic toothpick bar-drink flag in stuck in my hat...

a great fashion idea after a couple of margaritas and sangria in the warm sunshine)

We spent the Fourth of July in Ketchum. On July 3, we met Logan Smyser and her friend, who are both working in Sun Valley this summer, for dinner at the Roosevelt. After dinner, Mike and I ended up playing cards with the Keens until midnight. Instead of driving home that night, we took a cab. We were watching the local access cable show the next morning, and they were setting up for all of the Fourth of July festivities, including the Reckless Kelly concert downtown Ketchum. While they were interviewing the fire chief about fireworks and fire safety, we see my car...with a man standing next to it. It sort of looks like they are towing my car, but we cannot tell for sure. The three of us put on our running gear, and run into Ketchum from Elkhorn...and sure enough, no car. We call the towing company, but they have no record of my car. We head over to the police station, which is, of course, closed for the holiday. Finally, we see a community officer patrolling on her mountain bike. She calls a police officer, who knows exactly where our car is...just "reolcated" 2 blocks south of where we had parked it so the City could begin setting up for the concert. And the best part: we weren't even charged a towing fee! Here's a little tip for you if you're planning to spend any time in Sun Valley: if your car gets towed and you tell them that you had a little too much to drink the night before, they will waive the towing fee. There you go: my public service announcement for the day.

After the run, we had brunch back at the condo, sat in the sun on the deck, and took naps to get ready for a long afternoon of festivities. The Malmens were nice enough to invite us over for Fourth of July cocktails on Friday afternoon. Then, we walked downtown to the Reckless Kelly show with Samia and James and baby Conor. Afterwards, we hit Rico's, a local pizza place that we really like. Even after our midday naps, we were still in bed before the fireworks! Hope all of you had a great Fourth of July!