Lisa Levanger & Adam Levanger from the GREAT STATE OF IDAHO!

I would like to share a quick story that illustrates why Hidden Springs, Idaho is such a fantastic place to live. This happened to a friend of mine and I was totally surprised to hear of something like this still occurring in 2009. My friend needed a quick treat for her family and so she headed down to the small grocery store known as the Mercantile to pick up some ice cream. The store was about to close and the clerk was counting up the money from the till for that day. My friend apologized for only having cash and said she would run and grab her credit card to save the clerk some time from recounting. The clerk told her not to worry about it but that she could swing by tomorrow and pay for it (which of course she did). Wow!! This level of trust and confidence in your clientele isn’t something you see everyday. This reminds me of scene from the Andy Griffith show, not something that you would expect from someone living in our day. This is one of the benefits of living in a small community – everyone knows everyone. People can trust their neighbors and know that they will follow through on what they say they will do. These so-called old fashioned values are what America is built on and are a breath of fresh air. This quick example speaks to the great people that make up Hidden Springs.

Lisa Levanger

Silvercreek Realty Group

www.idahosummit.com

208.284.7860

I have made a major discovery when it comes to the city of Meridian, Idaho. Settlers Park, located at the corner of Meridian Road and Ustick Road, is quite possibly one of the best, if not THE best, park in the entire Treasure Valley. My children and I happened upon it as we were waiting for some family in the area and it took my by complete surprise. I thought we’d have to pay to get in and participate but in reality it’s totally free.

It is a huge park (I couldn’t locate the exact acreage but it’s very big). It has a number of awesome play areas. The kid’s playground equipment is called Adventure Island and is a number of large ship-like toys that they can run to and fro on. It’s big enough that you don’t have to wait in line to go down the slides and gives them plenty of room to get all their wiggles out. They also have a City of Rocks which is a number of large (safe) climbing rocks to challenge them. Our oldest daughter is pretty adventurous and loved the idea of trying to be queen-of-the-rock. The next area we played on was the Music Garden (which I haven’t seen of or heard about at any other parks). It is a series of ginormous percussion musical instruments for the kids to play with. They have a huge drum set, a bell/wind chime set and a number of other fun things. What is nice about this area is all the sounds created are pleasant to listen to and so you don’t have any annoying, loud, banging sounds but sweet winds chimes. Our two year old LOVES music and so she was totally in heaven with these fun things. The final area we played at was the Splash Pond. It had been pretty hot so this was a prefect way to end the park experience. They have a number of fountains and spraying items. They have a dump-down pirate ship toy that lets you dump buckets of water on yourself. It was open so the kids aren’t crashing and smashing into each other and they can still have a great time. There were a few other areas we didn’t go to such as the soccer fields, baseball complex, fishing pond and food concession area. OH, and to top things off they have a movie night each week there during the summer. So if you are looking for a fun place to enjoy with your kids, you’ve found it at the Settlers Park in Meridian, Idaho.

Lisa Levanger, Realtor, AllPro Realty Group, Inc.

One of the hidden treasures of the wonderful community of Eagle Idaho is their public library. It is truly a gem worth beholding. Not only are the facilities and staff top rate but the children’s programs are incredible. This last session my daughters (ages 4 and 2) and I took part in Toddler Tales led by an incredible librarian known as Mrs. Diane (who first introduced us to Music and Movement while at the Garden City Library). Most of the classes were centered on a theme. They would read books and sing songs that corresponded with that theme and finish the class off with a craft. It was wonderful for the kids as they learned about fun topics as well as interacted with the library staff one on one.

We had two classes that we enjoyed the most. The first was when the librarian brought her pet snake to class. They started by discussing good pet care and then introduced the special snake. The kids loved the chance they got to touch a real snake and most everyone was quite brave and did it.

The second favorite was when the Eagle Police came and taught about bicycle safety (they actually have a number of officers who ride bicycles exclusively while on patrol…they had a number of amazing stories – pulling over a semi truck for speeding while on a bike….crazy!) The kids were encouraged to bring their bikes. They learned proper hand signals and safe traveling practices. Then they had a chance to ride through a course that was set up to practice some of the skills they had learned. That was the last class of the session and thanks to Meadow Gold all the kids had an ice cream treat after working hard on their bikes. This really is an incredible community to live in as various groups come together to teach kids. Amazing what kinds of fun treasures you can find at the Eagle Library from snakes to ice cream parties, it certainly is worth a stop in.

Lisa Levanger, Realtor, AllPro Realty Group, Inc.

As fall time rolls around I am continually impressed with the many activities Hidden Springs has to offer – one of which is the 7^th annual Zeitgeist Half Marathon. It offers 13 miles of rolling hills through the beautiful community of Hidden Springs. It starts off at Optimist Park and runners travel up the ever-challenging Seaman’s Gulch road. It then winds through the community where participants can see the lovely maple tress that line the streets changing to red and gold colors. Runners finish off the loop on the rustic Cartwright Road where they get a first hand view of the many beauties the foothills have to offer. This is a fabulous opportunity to gets some great exercise, enjoy some great company as well as get an up close look at one of the Treasure Valley’s most beautiful areas. I think what is equally impressive to the gorgeous landscape is the amount of community support that is seen at this event. Not only is there a tremendous number of participants but volunteers and spectators line the streets to cheer the runners on. For those readers who have finished a long running event, such as this, the cheers can really help those 13 miles go by a lot faster. So if you want to get a first hand look at Hidden Springs and the people there, come join the cheers of the Zeitgeist Half Marathoners on Saturday November 1, 2008.