Aug. 28, 2008 - dThursday
The dog wakes me up every morning at 5:45!! She stands at the top of the stairs. We have the baby gate still from when the boys were babies so we close it all the time. She likes to come up and eat toys and stuffed animals. So every morning I hear her sit at the top of the stairs by the gate whining at first and then little yips. Our rooms are all right there at the stairs and I don't want her to wake up the boys so I get up and get her a snack. Now, Dan is already up and sitting in the livingroom, but that isn't good enough for her. He doesn't get her a snack! I tried giving her a chew stick and going back to bed, but it only gave me another half an hour. No big deal though. If she didn't get me up, I would probably sleep until 9am each day and then sit around waking up until noon. Back to my pre-child days! Ahh...memories.
We went to Irvine Regional Park today for a picnic. We walked around the pond and hunted crawdads with sticks. They swim away backwards if you startle them, but will fight a stick poked at them! We saw big snails, small clams, and a few fish, not to mention two kinds of ducks. We found a bee hive in the hole of a tree, watched squirrels run, and pet the ponies. Then we had lunch. A big peacock decided to join us. It snuck up on Jake and took his cracker. Then we started feeding it. It didn't like apples, but loved crackers and raisens. We went for a walk around the park. We found a tree with a plague that said it was around 200 years old! Yikes! We played at the playground for a long time. I practiced my drawing and drew a picture of the playground equipment. It came out pretty nice. Tom was so proud of it he had to "show the world" and held it up for the maintnance guys to see. Then we headed back to the truck.
We are still thinking about goals. Jake wants to go to the lego store and see how much a huge Star Wars set is. I think we will do that tomorrow morning. I'm not sure about the piano now. I think I will keep thinking about it. ;)
Oh! The boys finished "The Return of the Indian" last night. Great book, they said. Tonight we watched "Bad New Bears". The boys were riveted. Now Jake wants to take a bat and ball to the park and practice! Me? I'm still working on "Uncle Tom's Cabin". Which, by the way, is completely awesome. It has me crying every night. I have a hard time putting it down, hence the early dog wake-up call is NOT appriciated!
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Aug. 27, 2008 - Jake's Drawings
I have a huge pile of Jake's latest drawings. He draws constantly and I'm going to start putting them all on here. Tonight they were watching a show about the Battle of Midway and Jake looks over and tells Dad "I love this show! It gives me lots of ideas!" as he has papers and pencils all over the coffee table franticly drawing.
Here are a few. There will be plenty more.
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Aug. 27, 2008 - Do you set goals for yourself?
When I was in high school, I remember a class, or lesson, about setting goals and achieving them. I thought it was silly. I mean how can you know what you will do in the future. I always went day to do doing what I had to do. Get food, go to work, pay bills, clean my apartment, go on dates. Other than that there wasn't time for much else.
Now that I am not working and my kids don't need constant attention, I find myself with a lot of time. I find myself thinking about what I could do. What do I want to do with my life? I guess I have de-schooled for so long now that I finally have the need to make something of my time.
The boys and I talked about goals and what we want to accomplish. At first I thought about "this school year", but now I'm thinking we should work on something with a shorter term goal. Jake and Tom both decided they were going to buy a specific Lego set. I have decided that I will learn to play the piano. Tomorrow we are going to sit down and make a plan.
Today we went to Knott's. It is considerably less crowded already. The Halloween Haunt stuff is starting to go up. Tom wanted to go on Ghostrider, but when we got in line he said he wanted to go, but he was too worried to stay in line. I asked if he would like to come back and try again later and he agreed. We went and talked to Sad Eye Joe in jail, saw the Saloon show and had a sassparilla, went on the carnival swings, the Jaguar, and the Sierra Sidewinder and then headed out the gate. On the way to the car Tom started crying that he didn't get to go on Ghostrider and it was all my fault. He had forgotten to ask about it again. I just assumed he didn't want to go and I didn't want to bug him about going (mostly because I really don't like that ride and I think it is just dangerous). His whole day was ruined because of that. I just don't understand that kid. He does this about things all the time.
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Aug. 22, 2008 - Another day...
While I was in the kitchen, Tom asked to change the channel and when I came back in they were watching the Olympics. Go figure! Grandma was watching it the other day and I think they are hooked now. They were doing the pentathalon. The commentators were discussing how they came to choose these events for it. Very interesting. When the Greeks picked a messenger they gave them a test of skills they would need to get the message through. Tom mentioned that it was just like Jason and the Arognauts. Jason gave the men a challenge to choose who would crew his ship. Man I love this life!
I went to Home Depot today to get some bug killer for the yard. I usually go to Lowe's but HD was on the way to the grocery store and pharmacy where I also needed to go. I got there and there were so many day laborers (the PC term) that I thought there was some kind of concert or something. Some of them approached my truck as I pulled in and then I pulled out and went to the grocery store instead. Seriously! There is a huge debate on one of my yahoo groups about vaccinating kids because people with immune difficienies need to be protected, but if we forced every citizen of the US to vaccinate we would still have all these people here illegally and not vaccinated with who knows what from what country. If we aren't going to enforce the laws we have, why not just ditch them and do something about the people that are here. It isn't that I don't want them here. It isn't that I don't like Mexicans. In fact I kinda like it! But we need to know how many people our taxes need to house, clothe, educate, and heal if we are going to have those kinds of services! Yikes. Anyway, I was a bit perturbed to say the least. I wish there was some kind of fix for it that made everyone happy. But I live in La La land! :))
Grandma Ann took us to the movies today. The boys wanted to see Fly Me To The Moon. What a stinker!! The only good part was that the 3D was the best I had ever seen. The animation was terrible and the dialog was putting me to sleep. You could have done that movie in 30 minutes but they dragged it out for an hour and half!
I gave the boys a shower today. Ok, I forced them. I mean seriously, I don't remember the last time they showered. I have tried to leave it up to them and ask them if they would like to take a shower, but they stink! I can't stand it! Boys! Ann says she can't wait to hear me complain that they won't get OUT of the shower in a few years, but I just can' t see it happening. I think they actually like to smell like pigs. Yuck!
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Aug. 21, 2008 - Good Blogger!
We sat around for quite a long time today! I'm just having a real hard time wanting to do anything lately. I feel exhausted all the time. :( But the boys wanted to go to Knott's and I wanted to go to Target. We shopped. We ate lunch. And we headed to the park. It wasn't bad today. It wasn't very hot and not too crowded. They are starting to put up the Halloween Haunt stuff, so it was fun to point that out to the boys. Next time we go there will be more to see. We saw the ice show. I wasn't impressed, but then I worked that theatre for WAY to long to be unbiased. The boys enjoyed it though. Jake and I went on the Boomerang, but Tom chickened out. It was way too late in the afternoon for bravery on his part. I told him that the reason for the rides is to have fun. If it isn't fun for him to ride then I don' t mind if he just waits for Jake to go. He wants to go and enjoys it once he is on, but stepping into that car and putting on the seatbelt is sometimes just too much for him to do. Funny thing is that he has been on the ride before. Hmm...
What else? We shopped a bit. Went on the Log Ride. Got an ICEE and a pretzel. They made me go on that darn raft ride and I got soaked. We tried to watch the show with all the bikers and skaters jumping but the boys couldn't see well enough and I really don't think Jake was interested. He wanted to go shopping. We checked out the grave yard and the glass blower. They have a grist mill inside there. Tom was disgusted that they weren't keeping it up so that he could see it work.
We finally left at 5:45. I think that is the longest we have ever stayed. I found cool little plastic cowboys and indians and bought them for Jake. He has been fascinated about that stuff since we were in Montana. So sweet too. He found a bag to keep them in when we got home, but asked if he could get a plastic box for them from Target because he was thinking he would start collecting them instead of army men. He came in and hugged me while I was cleaning up the kitchen and thanked me for getting them...again. I can't help but love seeing him so happy about a toy.
Tom helped me a bunch today in the kitchen. We are having our annual ant invasion! I mean they will swarm all over a crumb left on the table while we eat dinner! It is nuts. We are going to the hardware store to see if we can't find some bug killer that won't kill our dogs tomorrow. The ants were all over the trash can forming a neat and thick row all the way around the door jam and up around the cupboards. Yikes!
Jake drew a great picture for the Nicktoons contest he wanted to enter. He dictated and I wrote down who they were and what they were doing and then we mailed if off. He stood there with the envelope until the mailman came. He is sure he will win. I told him that millions of people watch that show. We'll see. But it is his first contest so he is very excited!
Well, it sounds like Dad is almost done reading upstairs so I better wrap this up. They are reading The Indian Returns. It is the sequel to The Indian in the Cupboard. That is also where Jake is getting this craze about cowboys and indians. He about swooned when he saw a set at Target that looked just like the story. But they were $30 and I just couldn't. I told him to ask Santa!
I'm working on Uncle Tom's Cabin which is awesome, by the way. I love all the insight to slavery, the different stances, personalities, legalities. It is fascinating. I started to read it because I read another book called The Adventures of Liddie Newton and she referenced the book several times in that story.
I'm also working on How Children Learn by John Holt. Very interesting stuff. You should read it! :)
I've got lots of stuff in the works too. A field trip to Julian Gold Mine. A new yahoo group for swapping shoeboxes with other families to discover America. This whole unschooling thing, which is very freeing and the boys are just loving talking to me about how much their "school" is different than the ones they see on tv. And I'm waiting for a box from the UPS man! Yay!
Good Night!
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Aug. 20, 2008 - OMG - When did I last write here?!
Oooh! I'm a terrible blogger. I have so much to write each day and then I find something interesting to do (like build paper towns with Jake) that I forget to write and then it just goes on like that for days.
Today I went to the Educator Open House at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. I have been planning to go to this since last year. I missed it last year and you can only book field trips if you go to it. I was a little nervous because I was going by myself and it was a teacher thing. I think I was the only homeschooler there. But it was fun! They have a really nice day planned and you get a free breakfast and lunch. They explain the process and what is coming up. You get to talk to the docents and experience a bit of the tour you are booking. The only bummer was that I didn't know you could only book one tour per teacher. I should have brought along another homeschool parent and then I could have booked both the younger kids tour and the older. Next year.
The teachers that I talked to were so nice. They all ask each other the same first question. "Where do you teach?" I had my answer planned. "I'm a homeschooler!" Then they ask how we do it. And I go into John Holt and natural learning and they get very interested. Well, most anyway.
I'm really excited about this tour. It is about the history of the Israelites and where they have settled and how they adopted the culture without losing their own. I'm sure the kids will find it as fascinating as I do. And I like booking these things and having everyone else get excited. The only bummer is it isn't until March!
When I got home, the boys were still playing Roller Coaster Tychoon. Jake was playing Zoo Tychoon and he ran in yelling something about lions. His lions had given birth to their cubs! That means they are happy and have plenty of food. They were wondering where Giraffe's live, in the jungle or the savannah? I love these games! They have had so much fun with them and they know alot about animals and building amusement parks. Tom is set on figuring out how he can be a mechanic at Disneyland. He was grilling Dad about last night at dinner.
Jake saw an ad on tv about making a comic book and winning a prize, so now I have to look that up. I'm in the process of scanning the drawings he has made this past week to show all of you. Yes, it is taking that long because there are that many! But they are great drawings!
Nikki and I have been working on her Study Skills class and we have really discovered some things about each other. I think this will be a great year for her. She is turning out to be so beautiful and intelligent. Much smarter than me! She amazes me with her in depth questions. Yikes!
Ok, I'm off. Can't forget to turn off the water in the front yard and I have to start a load of laundry. TTFN!
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Jul. 21, 2008 - A Great Monday
Back to work! We have spent the last couple weeks laying around the house and watching tv. Thanks Grandpa Bob for the target practice game for Wii! I became obsessed with it and could not stop until I got a platinum medal on all 9 levels! My trigger finger is sore!
This morning I printed a blank schedule with only a couple things filled in. Having this keeps me on track throughout the day. I hate to see blanks so I am always doing something to put on it! The boys got up on their own but I got them breakfast right away and only let them vegitate for half an hour before sending them on errands. They did a couple chores and brushed their teeth. I did math with Jake, then Bible study with both, and then math with Tom. We did another chore together and then headed out to our park day. We stopped for lunch and got Jake some shoes. Payless! It is so unfair! They have a whole wall of girls shoes and two rows of boys shoes! Jake told the cashier that "Apparently this store things girls are more important than boys."
Park day was nice. I love sitting and talking with the other parents. And I love watching the boys play with all their friends. The best part is that they don't care who they play with, whether they know them or not. We walked down to the lake and fed the ducks but the best was watching the fish attack the pieces of bread. We floated a few hamburger buns that we brought for the ducks down creek. We called them our bread boats!
We came home and make shaved ices. The boys played computer games while I made dinner. The boys took out the trash cans to the alley and emptied the dishwasher. Tom commented that there were no "free time" spaces on the schedule. I told him that the four hours we spent at the park was his free time, not to mention that they spent several ten minute blocks playing computer games on the internet.
So now we are blogging and watching the news. The boys are out in the backyard "getting some exercise". It's 7pm. All that is left is showers and stories! Oh! And I spent an hour the morning working on my American Government and US Constitution class. Tonight, while Dad reads to the boys, I'm going to watch the videos and answer the questions.
Life is good!
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Jul. 18, 2008 - A Visit!
Yesterday was my MIL's birthday and her son and his family came to visit from Arizona. They arrived yesterday and we had a big dinner and birthday cake. My Dad and Step-Mom sent flowers. We visited a while. It is always weird for the kids because we only see them once a year usually. They all don't do much until the second day and then they all come out of their shells and have a blast.
Today they went to the movies together. I stayed home and played video games non-stop for two hours! He he he! When they got back we ordered pizza and then played Apples to Apples. MIL forced us to, but once we got the game going it was really fun and we all got to know each other even better. It one of those things that is hard to get everyone on board but when we do, look out!
So now the boys are all upstairs being insane. Nikki is out like a light. She was really tired today. I hope she isn't getting sick. Joanna is getting ready for bed. And I'm here typing this thinking about whether or not I have enough time to start one more game...
Dan and I signed Nikki up for a summer class through Keystone National High School online. It is a "life skills" class. And we are hoping that it will help here learn better time management and study skills. I read the introduction and it sure looks good. She said she will work on it at her Mom's next week and then her and I can go over it before she mails in the assignments. It is nice to get a taste for what the school is like. I'm always hoping that she can do all of high school there, but I realize it may just be a dream. But I can use the info for friends that are looking at high school and for the boys when they get to that point.
Ok, that's it for now. The boys are ready for bed and yelling for me!
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Jul. 16, 2008 - Something New!
Ok, you are going to think I have completely lost it, but I made a video with my new laptop! The sound isn't very good so the next one will have to be better!
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Jul. 16, 2008 - Just Stuff
This is just an entry of stuff. No real point here. I got a new laptop! My old computer was very slow and kept locking up. Dan tried to fix it, but it was just being annoying so he got me a new laptop. He is going to play with the old one and make it work well enough for the kids. That is great because Nikki and I are constantly bugging each other for the computer.
Yesterday, we went on a tour of the Getty Center with some homeschool friends. Nikki got to come with us. I signed up for it because I thought Nikki would get lots out of it. I figured I would take the boys along thinking they wouldn't like it much but it turns out they loved it and want to go again. It was fun to see Nikki hanging out with her friends, too. You don't get to see her in her element when she is at that school all day.
Today the boys want to go to Knott's Berry Farm for a bit in the morning. I told them that we can't stay long though. I have lots of laundry to do and I have to go to Costco and get food for the BBQ tomorrow. Dan's brother and his family is coming to visit tomorrow and it is his Mom's birthday.
What else? Well, it is 6:30 in the morning and I've been up since 5am laying on the couch. This crazy puppy of mine gets up every day at 5 and refuses to let me go back to bed. If I lay on the couch she will play around the living room and let me snooze a bit. The kids won't be up until at least 8am. That figures. Now that the kids all sleep late, I have a puppy that doesn't!
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Jul. 7, 2008 - Some Family Vacation Videos
I hope you like these bits!
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Jul. 6, 2008 - We're Back!
We are home! Yay! I'll sum up our last couple days.
Friday July 4th
Dan doesn't have to work today so we are going for a drive! We went to Phillipsburg and had lunch at a cool drug store cafe. No one ordered the Buffalo Meatloaf, but the burgers were pretty darn good! After lunch, we walked around town a bit and talked to some people then we headed on down the road. We saw a sign for "Garnet Ghost Town" and just had to find out what that was. We headed in that direction and came to a dirt road up the mountainside. It was a pretty rough road. There were lots of ruts in it and it was washed out in parts from the snow runoff. Another truck was coming down the mountain and said that it wasn't all this rough, there were "a couple smooth places" (insert giggle). He had a 4x4 and we asked if our truck would make it and he said sure, people bring trailers up all the time so we should be fine. So we kept going. It was slow going but when we got there it was so cool. We started up the trail, following the signs, and kept hearing a rumbling sound. I thought it was a truck, like maybe they were working nearby. When we got to the top we found a cool mill and lots of neat stuff to pick through and check out. We also found a big scary black cloud and lighting. It was thunder we were hearing, echo off the mountains. A few minutes later it started to rain. Dan started hurrying down the mountain and then I realized why he was in such a hurry. We had to get back down the mountain before that rain washed out the road! We practically ran down to the truck. Dan drove as fast as he could down the road. You could see the rain coming down the places where the snow runoff had already been. It rained harder. And then it started to hail. I don't think Dan really breathed until we got onto flat ground. He kept picturing a flash flood coming off that rocky mountain and washing us down the mountainside. I took pictures! And the kids thought is was really fun!
Then we drove back around to Missoula in time to have dinner and see the fireworks for the 4th. The show was great. Tom and Jake danced and sang through the whole thing. I couldn't figure where they got their energy. The show didn't start until 10:30 since that is when it is finally dark!
Saturday July 5
We are heading home today but not until we stop in Deer Lodge and see the Old Montana Prison. It was pretty darn creepy. We got some ice cream and talked to some old guy about politics for awhile. Then we went across the street to "Prospectors Paradise". We talked to the couple that owned the store for a long time and bought some stuff and got some helpful hints about panning. Then we stopped at 4B's for lunch and headed down the road to California!
We stopped for snacks, bathroom breaks, and gas along the way. The kids slept in the bed of the truck when it got dark and Dan and I took turns driving and sleeping.
Sunday July 6
We are home! We arrived today at 12:15pm. We drove 4008 miles and 98 hours! Grandma was happy to see us and so were the dogs. We are still getting used to our house again. It is weird not to have to walk down the road to go to the bathroom. We all really loved Montana. I so hope we can move there someday!
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Jul. 3, 2008 - July 3rd Update
Have to catch up now because we went to an area that didn't have sufficient internet!
Monday June 30
We are in Bozeman still at the KOA. The kids and I went to the Museum of the Rockies. It was so nice. They have a cool Lewis & Clark challenge thing outside but it wasn't open. There was lots of great stuff about dinos. I didn't know that the found so many dinos in Montana! We watched a show about why the Earth has seasons at the planatarium. And they had a display called Heros And Villians with costumes and props from movies and tv. They had Indy's jacket!
We went to lunch at McDonald's adn then got swimsuits at Walmart, came back to camp and went swimming for awhile. Dand finished working and then we went out to dinner and bought some firecrackers to take home with us! I did the laundry when we got back to camp.
Tuesday July 1
Moving on again! Dad worked on the computer in the truck while we drove on up into Montana. We tried to find a new camp near Butte, but it had no phone service so we had to keep going. We had lunch at McDonald's in Butte and decided to drive on to Glacier National Park! About half way there it started to rain and HARD! Lightning and everything! We arrived at Glacier at about 8pm. We found a caqmp with a little service and it was still raining and starting to get dark while we set up camp. It is very pretty here but getting the trailer any where near level is hopeless. Dan isn't getting very strong phone service so we may have to leave in the morning. The trailer leaked a little but nothing major. The bears are thick here so we have to keep vigilent about the food and soaps.
Wednesday July 2nd
Camping Rule: Never pack raw meat on an extended camping trip!
It is gorgeous here! It is a totally different forest, lots of red cedar and ferns. Mosquitos! Ahh! Not like the one in California. These actually take a chunk out of you, I swear! Tom has a bad cold. He is really sniffely. The meat I put in the cooler spoiled and spilled all over so I have some serious work cleaning up that mess.
The kids and I went for a short drive around Apgar Village and did some shopping. When we got back, Dan had us paid up for one more night here. When he was done working, we drove up the "Going to the Sun Highway". It was so beautiful. I can't even describe it. You just have to see the pictures! We even got to play in the snow.
It isn't raining this afternoon, but it is very wet. Everything is soaked. Even our sleeping bags feel wet and cold!
Thursday July 3rd
Yes! We are moving on again. We are headed back down to Missoula. We stopped at the Miracle of America Museum. You can check out their website at www.miracleofamericamuseum.org It was pretty amazing. Unfortunately, Dan was on a conference call the whole time and didn't get to see it. If you are ever up near Glacier National Park I strongly recommend going to see it. It really was fun.
We arrived in Missoula at about 5pm and we are staying in a KOA campground again. We are going to stay here until Saturday morning and then head home. I spent this afternoon cleaning up the coolers, the trailer, and then the truck. We had hot dogs and macaroni and cheese for dinner. I thought about doing the laundry. It is pretty hot here, but at least our things are drying out!
We are getting ready for bed now. It is 10:09 and finally getting dark!
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Jun. 29, 2008 - June 29
We're still in Bozeman! This place is beautiful. The people we have met have been super nice and helpful. This morning we took advantage of the "Big City Free Continental Breakfast" at the Comfort Inn and then we packed up to leave. We went to WalMart and reloaded up our coolers and crates. That was a great experience. The place was awesome. The girl at the register suggested we visit Lewis & Clark Caverns so we did! We drove up to it and paid for the tour. It said it is 50 degrees in the caverns and there are lots of declining stairs. What they didn't tell you is that you had to march 3/4 of a mile up a 7% grade in 90 degree blazing sun to get up to the entrance. Yikes-a-roni! But we made it. And the caverns were very impressive. Jake was a little scared at first but he warmed to it after a bit. They are in the process of replacing the old lights with new LED ones. They started at the end and are working their way through. Boy what a difference! You can see so much more color and depth. Anyway, it was a tour hour tour and we were beat afterwards so we headed back to our camp.
We are camping at a KOA outside of Bozeman for the next couple days. They have free showers and laundry facilities and we need those! It is kind of like a hotel but you have to bring your own room. The boys like it though. As I type this they are marveling at the awesome sunset outside. There is a pool next to us and I'm hoping they close it soon. It is 9:40 and I'm getting tired!
We don't know what we are going to do next. Nikki and I are going to go check out the University in Bozeman tomorrow and I would like to see the Museum of the Rockies. Dan has to work in the morning.
Until next time, here are the pictures!
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Jun. 28, 2008 - Major Update!
It isn't that I was so busy that I didn't write, it was that the internet was way too slow in the evening for me to get on it and add anything. It worked fine in the morning for Dan to work, but by the afternoon too many people were using it. So the following is transcribed from my journal and the pictures are at the end.
Tuesday June 25
We took long walks up and down the river this morning while Dan worked. I took a nap while the kids played. I could hear them playing while I napped. Before I went in to lay down, they were laying a trap for another Jr. Ranger. On the paper the National Parks Service gives them, one of the things they had to do was meet another Jr. Ranger. Meeting their brother would never do and they assumed that someone trying to be a Jr. Ranger would pick up trash in the park so they tied an empty juice bottle to a rope, laid it out, and hid behind a log. They took turns "finding" it. The other would pull the rope so the finder would be lured to them and then they would ask if they were a Jr. Ranger. No one came by, so they ended up dragging it around the camp. Another camper asked if it was their pet and they thought that was a great idea. They named it Rick. Then they got more of them. One was a girl named Peaches. One had dirt, one water, and one rocks. They "lost their baby fur" when the label wore off. They played together. They had to tie them to a tree so they wouldn't run away. They took them to the bathroom when they "stunk" and washed them out. They fed them rocks. Jake wanted me to leave a bowl of water out for them. This went on for hours and they are still living in the back of the truck. Jake was proud that they made toys just like pioneer children did.
When Dan was done working, we took a drive to the Gros Ventre Slide area. There was a huge landslide there about 80 years ago and there is a great "interpretive" walk to see there. It was very pretty. There was a sign on one of the trees that said the scientific name for Lodgepole Pine "Pinis Contorta". Dan pronounced it "*****" and now they are going around saying that they found many "***** contortas in big tittie national park". Boys!
We got home way too late to work on the blog so I had to write in my journal for later.
Wednesday June 26
Today we packed up to go to Lizard Creek while Dan worked. He took a long lunch and on the way up we decided to drive on through to Yellowstone instead. I can't remember why now. I guess we just had a hankerin' to see the park! We stopped in Flagg Ranch to get gas and the mosquitos attacked us! They were swarming all over Dan while he pumped the gas. We drove up to Grant's Village and got a camping spot. This place is like a hotel or something. We call it "Big City Camping". Dad had to go back to work so we went for a drive to see the lake. The whole park is filled with tall dead trees and small trees growing under them. Much of the hillsides look like someone dumped out a can of pick up sticks! We had forgot about the fires in 1988. The park is just now starting to have trees again. The place looks like a christmas tree farm!
We went back and got Dan and went out for dinner since we were fairly clean. We walked to the grill/store and got burgers and it cost us $50! Yikes! I got some milk, bread, and ice for $20! We walked back to camp. We went to get ready for bed and the water hose broke in the trailer! Dan fixed it so that we can still use the sink but the shower is out of commission until we can go into town.
Thursday June 27
We lost Jake this morning! We had all gone to the bathroom to brush our teeth. Nikki went back to camp and I was brushing Jake's teeth, then sent him back to camp. I brushed Tom's teeth and washed his face and sent him back. I washed my face and brushed my teeth and went back. When I opened the trailer door Jake wasn't there. I asked Tom and Nikki where he was and Nikki said she thought he was with me. I checked the beds and said "No hiding Jake!" and there was no giggle. I asked Dan in the truck if he had seen him and he said no. I walked back to the bathroom and came back. I told Nikki and Tom to check the other bathroom. Dan took the truck around. I went to the camp office. That is when I panicked and started crying. I asked if they'd seen him. He just doesn't get lost like this. They put his description on the radio to the other camp hosts and maintenance people. All I coul think of was all the trucks and campers leaving at that moment. Anyone could have picked him up and driven off with him. Then Tom & Nikki came running up. They had found him. I scooped him up and hugged him so tight. He was crying. He took a short cut from the bathroom instead of following the road. Now, mind you, you can see the truck from the road by the bathroom. I was so scared. It took me all morning to calm down! The rangers were so nice. One drove by later in the day and recognized him. She told him that she was happy to see we had found him! Now no one goes anywhere alone EVER!
We did the laundry today! The boys played in the snow piles next to the laundry room and got completely soaked. We walked to the visitor center and mailed some postcards. We got ice cream and got a Jr. Ranger paper for Yellowstone. This turned out to be a very long walk! There were some closures because of a washed out bridge and the bears.
When Dan got done working, we drove to Old Faithful. It was suppose to blow at 5:41 and it was 5:55 and we thought we missed it, but then it went! We took the walk all around the area. Some of it is very pretty and most of it stinks. The buffalo apparently really like the place because their hoofprints and poo are everywhere! We saw a buffalo grazing near the walk and we took pictures and then he started coming across the walkway. We thought he was going to go down the boardwalk! And there were hundreds of people standing there because Old Faithful was going to erupt again. Nikki said he was going to walk over the gyser right when it blows and be blown into the air belowing like in cartoons. We couldn't stop laughing at the visual.
Before we left the area we went into the restaurant to see what they had. The sign said "Cafe" and when we got in there it was just a snack bar with $8 slices of pizza. We went back to camp to make spagetti. Nikki and I almost died because we were really hungry and it smelled so good!
Friday June 27
We made eggs and Canadian bacon for breakfast! We went for a drive while Dan worked from the trailer. Today was beautifully clear and sunny. I've never seen bluer sky! Last night, I got up in the night to go to the bathroom and was awestruck by the number of stars! It doesn't get really dark until after 11pm so we hadn't seen them yet. Wow!
On our drive we went to see the paint pots and some other gysers. They were neat but you can only ses so many of these before they all run together. The place is really crowded too. The parking lots are all insanely full. We went to the Firehole Drive and saw an elk carcass and a buffalo carcass. Maybe there were some wolves nearby? We drove by a large crowd looking at elk. Then we stopped at the river where a guy was fly fishing. Jake didn't want to walk anymore so we went to get lunch. We stopped at a sore for soda (always bring soda on camping trips) and then stopped at a cool cascade. Stoped at a picnic area for lunch on the Continental Divide. Watched a chipmunk and a gray jay. The boys made a snow man.
We went to Shoshone Point, had to stop because we wondered what the "point" was. We took pictures at the Continental Divide sign. When we got back to camp, Dan was still working. Nikki decided that Jake's Indian name will be "He Who Sings like the Drunk Man" because he is constantly singing. They are usually made up but some are ones from his CD's.
This morning Jake and I saw a squirrel barking at a dog. And a coyote walked right through our camp! We played card games and made fires with Dad, roasted dogs, Jake scrapped his elbow good on the asphalt. The boys spent about 20 minutes pouring cups of water on the fire. We have to get to bed early so that we can get an early start tomorrow!
Saturday June 28
We left camp at 9:30 this morning and headed for Montana! We checked out some things along the way. We saw the mother Grizzly and her cubs in the meadow by our camp! There were a hundred people there dragging toddlers across the road to see them close up. Yikes. We we just took a picture from the truck! We stopped at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Talk about beauty! We hiked way down into the canyon to see a waterfall and almost died coming out! It was very steep. We stopped for a picnic lunch and then drove on.
We arrived in Bozeman, Montana at about 5pm. It is everything I dreamed of. We got a hotel room for the night and took real showers. I went to the Super Walmart next door. This place is awesome. I'll take some pictures of it tomorrow.
Tomorrow we are going to find a camping spot nearby. See you then!
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Jun. 23, 2008 - Monday in the Tetons!
We woke to find Dad already hard at work in his mobil office, aka "the truck". We all had breakfast and went for a long walk up the river. There is still no sign of the beaver. The boys insisted on sitting there and waiting for him but then continued to yell and throw rocks into the water so I seriously doubt we will ever see him, if he lives there now at all.
We continued our walk. Found a lot of animal poop. We followed a trail and came across an animal carcass! We stopped dead in our tracks and looked around. The carcass looked pretty old and it was pretty clear there were no animals around so we checked it out. Nasty! It WAS a prong horn!
We went back to camp and had lunch and kicked Dad out of his office to the trailer and took the truck for a drive. We found a cool aspen grove and an old homestead. A pronghorn ran across the road. Then we saw a whole heard of buffalo up close! There were a bunch of babies! It was a thundering herd of buffalo but you couldn't hear them so the boys said I can't use that phrase to describe them in the house anymore.
We checked out the old buildings on Mormon Row. Went to the little store and had ice cream. Bought some more ice and provisions. And went to the visitors center to have a look see. We felt all the different furs and checked out tracks. Now if they had only had a display about animal poop we could ID some of it around here! We watched a movie about the park and that was the best of all. We really liked that! Then we headed back.
We made dinner and then went for a long walk with Dad down the river and found some older animal bones. That walk was really pretty!
Now we are just relaxing. The sun just went down behind the mountain and it is 8:30! I'm beat!
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Jun. 22, 2008 - Grand Tetons
So this camping thing is going great! We drove up into the park today and checked out another campground near Jackson Lake called Lizard Creek. We are totally going to move there in a couple days! It is beautiful.
Right now we are in Gros Ventre. It is in the valley right next to the river. It is nice, but not like the lake! We have spent the day wandering up and down the river. We bought some books to learn a little about the area. I love tracking animals so I've been identifying scat and tracks and the boys just follow along and throw rocks in the river. It is really high and fast so I'm so nervous about them falling in!
What else...oh yes! We found a beaver dam. I told the boys we should sit up on the rocks nearby and see if he comes out. They want to, but I don't think they understand that I want them to sit and be very quiet and still for an indefinite amount of time!
The drive up was nice, by the way. The boys slept in the bed of the truck and Nik slept in the back seat. Dan took a little nap. He is too nervous when someone else is driving to go to sleep. We stopped a couple places to eat and stretch our legs on Saturday and arrived here at about 3pm.
We love it! Yay! Here are some pictures!
Oh! And Tom and Jake read that Tetons means breasts in French so they have been running around talking about the bodacious ta tas that they can see from camp!
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Jun. 13, 2008 - A Song
We have this great book called "I'm Gonna Sing My Head Off - American Folk Songs for Children" and my MIL was thumbing through it today and started singing this great song. She said she loved this song as a child and she thought that Pete Seeger had sung it once. I told her to check YouTube and see if they had it and they did! I had to post it here for you all to hear because I thought it was a homeschool song. :)
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Jun. 12, 2008 - Wow!
This is a video of my good friend Michelle's daughter singing. Be prepared to say WOW!
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Jun. 10, 2008 - Our whirlwind weekend trip!
Nikki entered the Letters from Literature contest (remember that from way back?) and she got in the top ten from California. The award ceremony was in San Jose and we thought about making it a family trip and stay up there a couple days, but she is still in school AND Dad had to work so we changed it to just us and Nikki driving up for one night and coming back the next day. The boys spent the night with Grandma Shelly.
We left at 10am on Saturday. On the way up we stopped for gas and lunch outside of Bakersfield. The place was called "Golden Bull Burgers" and it was so good! Nikki and I had pastrami sandwiches! And they had homemade baklava and it was delicious!
We stopped to stretch our legs and check out the California Aquaduct. Then Nikki had to go to the bathroom so we stopped at Casa De Fruta! That was awesome. We need to go back there for sure.
We spent the night in Morgan Hill outside of San Jose and had dinner at a BBQ place there. That was the best BBQ ever! And then Dan fell asleep in his clothes at 7:30 in the evening. He had been up all night the night before, working.
On Sunday we got dressed and headed to San Jose. We had breakfast at Flames next door to the Winchester Mystery House. We went over there and checked out the gardens. We wanted to save the inside tour for when the boys were with us. They would have freaked if we saw it without them!
Then we headed to the library where the cermony was to be held. It is the grandest public library I have ever seen! The ceremony was only about 45 minutes long. There were about 50 people there. Nikki didn't get first place, but I think top 10 is pretty awesome! She got a nice award to take home and a booklet with the winners and top ten's for each catagory in it. It was fun to be there. Dan was so proud of her.
After that, we headed right for home. It was 4pm when we got on the free way. We stopped for dinner along the way and got home at 10pm. Wow! What a drive!
The whole weekend was pretty much great. We got to spend "quality time" with Nikki and I think she enjoyed it too. Lots of talking between all of us and we didn't have to chase the boys or listen to them sing all their favorite songs over and over again. I think they would have been fine on the drive up, but the drive back would have had to been delayed if we had them with us. There needs to be sufficient time between drives when those two are in the car!
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