Snapshots of Summer-Part Two

After coming back from Missouri we planned to go to Yankee Boy Basin. I have never been there and since most of our time has been spent traveling or working around the house we decided we needed to take the trip.

 This is Travis. Just looked cool when I was looking up at him.

 Here is Cody. These were some cool rocks to climb.

 Here is the family. There was a slight drizzle starting. Very Minnesota-ish.

Ahh. God sure does paint pretty landscapes.

This isn't the greatest picture but I had to use the picture of her and her boots. She has been a boot person forever. This pair has been well used. The toes all scuffed up and well worn. I told her we needed to get her a larger pair and it started some silent tears because she loved them so much. They are two sizes too small and she is still trying to convince me she can wear them with her thin socks.
We had a great visit to Yankee Boy Basin and plan on visiting again.

Snapshots of Summer-Part one

I thought I would give everyone a glimpse of our summer. A very busy one, filled with driving and more driving. Still, we managed to enjoy ourselves despite all the miles. The time we spent with family and church buddies more than made up for it.

We went fishing for Bob's birthday. He was very excited to take the kids. It was rainy, a regular thing on Grand Mesa, but we stuck it out and were able to catch some fish.

Cody caught his first fish. Notice Travis' face. He was excited to fish until he saw the blood and realized that the fish does die. He didn't want to fish anymore. Meleah spent the whole time casting. She loved it.

This is more Travis' style. We went to Island Acres, a swimming hole next to the Colorado River, we had a great time. Travis always spends a lot of the time catching toads. Here he is with his sand castle.

Meleah versus the monkey bars

She is getting ready by cracking her knuckles.

Meleah overcame her fear of the monkey bars. She doesn't get much opportunity to try them out. Her mom is bad and forgets that she might like to go to the park and play. 

We talked the Larsen kids into joining us for Vacation Church School in Phoenix, AZ. They had a great time, making new friends and learning new things. Don't forget the swimming!

After geting home from Phoenix, we turned around and headed to Missouri for Teen Camp. It was Cody's first year and he was very thrilled to go. 

Laura Gill surprised us by coming through Grand Junction on their way to camp, bringing Joani Gill and her three oldest. It was good to get to know them better. The girls taught us all the fun that could be had with a piece of string. It helped pass some of the miles.

Those are the pictures through July. I will do a part two because our upload speeds are veerrrryyyyy sllllooooowww. 

Devil's Vomit?

Jeanie Larsen, the kids and I visited Craters Of The Moon National Monument on our way to the Idaho Reunion. As I was perusing their website, I discovered that the Pioneers came across this area and called it Devil's Vomit. They tried to avoid it all together. Yet, it did spark interest in my boys eyes. If it is funny, disgusting or weird it is sure to be a hit with the boys.

Some of the Apollo astronauts did training at Craters of The Moon because it so closely resembled the moon's surface.

They say that there were three major eruptions. The last one being about 2000 years ago. Jeanie and I both thought of the crucifixion of Christ and that this must have been around that time. They said that the lava covers 100 sq. miles.

We did manage to get a picture of Cody.

My camera battery died so I missed getting pictures of the caves. We went into some of them and there was still ice in the bottom. The Indians hid in the caves to escape the U. S. Calvary. I can't imagine trying to ride a horse across some of that lava.

I also missed getting pictures of the Gopher Snake that Travis nearly stepped on, a marmot(a big gopher like animal), and the chipmunks. We hiked on a trail when we saw all those things. We had just finished the hike, we were hot and tired and Travis saw a guy on a motorcycle  pull into the trail's parking lot and said, "Poor guy, he is going to be miserable hiking this trail."

These cinders would make a perfect snowboarding hill. We learned a new word. Pahoehoe (pa-hoy-hoy), Hawaiian for rope like lava. Travis thought many resembled lava cow pies.

In areas there were pretty, pink monkey flowers. It looked like they were painted on the desolate blackness with the wind as a paintbrush. Maybe after all the black anything that is growing looks pretty.

Just a really cool tree. There is a parasite that attacks the tree and leaves a broom looking branch. I don't see it so much on this picture. They call it "witch's broom".  How fitting to find in "Devil's Vomit."

The day ended with a dip in the KOA pool. Very refreshing.
Jeanie was a little concerned the kids wouldn't enjoy it but we managed to really enjoy ourselves and learn some new things. It was one of those places that I might not ever have thought about going to and was glad that we went.

When planning your trip, remember these things:

1. Sunscreen-Temperatures at ground level can reach 150 degrees.
2. Early Summer- It was in the 80's while we were there and hot enough by afternoon.
3. Water- Bring plenty because after the Visitor's Center there isn't any place to get more.
4. Charge your camera fully before heading out for the day.
5. KOA in Arco, ID. Nice cabins, pool, ice cream. The campground at the monument didn't have any trees, just lava rock and paved road.

What happened to June?

I blinked and June disappeared. It was good to see everyone at Reunion and then go up to Idaho and see more church people. It is so sweet to meet with our brothers and sisters.
In the midst of all this, I received the test results from the Stanford 10 Standardized test the kids did in April. I was shocked to read that both boys scored Post High School overall on the Listening portion. I think that it is named incorrectly. Maybe verbal comprehension would be better. What I have yet to figure out is if it is comparing them to the public school students or a set standard for the test. Maybe Post High School standards are really just that poor.
It is good that we did it this year because with the move and remodelling our house and the areas we didn't get to, they still did really well. It will be a good baseline to see how much it changes next year. It showed me the areas that I knew they needed more practice in. It also showed me that subjects I thought they were doing terrible in, were actually above grade level standards. We need to work on spelling and grammar next year. Maybe it should be done aloud, since they "Listen" so well.
We are working at getting everything organized for next year. We decided to put all the books in the basement. It concerns me a bit with moisture, smells, etc. Right now it is the space that we have, so we will give it a try. Maybe this will keep our basement nicer since we will be down there more often? I am getting excited to start another year of school. It is nice to have the break and get refreshed for another year.