Wednesday, May 27, 2015

{Spring Break 2015}

 Day 3: We start our day at Tingley Beach to get some fishing in for James. We brought fishing poles all the way from Utah and we were going to find a spot to put a line in.  I had hoped that when we camped the first night that James could catch dinner, but that didn't go as planned.  James had fun getting all three poles ready to roll.  I had fun packing a picnic for all of us and watching the boys do what they love to do!
One of us got chilly
I'm not really sure how much of their lunch they actually ate...but I can tell you those ducks looked happy.

James got a little too close and fell in.  I'm glad I didn't have to jump in after him...the water was nasty!

 Because James fell in we headed back to Rich and Katie's to clean him up and air out the car a little from the "accident." It was great watching those boys outside rolling around in the yard.
After the clean-up we decided to head over to Explora Children's Museum.  This place was pretty amazing! The kids had fun exploring all the corners, especially James.  It seemed really suited to the older kids.
Gearing up to ride this bike off the platform.
He almost made it up against the wall...I'm sure that's as far as it goes, but he was pretty impressed with himself.
James really enjoyed piloting this plane.
Seriously that face!
Logan wanted to take this little guy home...grateful we were on a road trip!
Explora had this fantastic outdoor area where the kids could build.  James mostly destroyed, but Logan and Carson really enjoyed building houses.
 This boy could not get enough with the games from the game closet.  Considering there were no games meant for a 4 year old he stayed surprisingly entertained and pulled out a game every chance he got.

Monday, May 25, 2015

{Spring Break 2015}

 Day 2: We get up and leave Flagstaff comfortably early with the hopes that we will make it to Albuquerque, New Mexico sometime that afternoon.  We all laughed when we saw a campground within 3 minutes of our hotel, we were so close! As we leave I tell the boys that we are going to try to stick to the road a little more today so that we can make it to Albuquerque sooner rather than later, but soon I find something interesting and we are off the beaten path.  I saw a sign for Meteor Crater about 25 miles east of Flagstaff.  
Within 5 minutes of turning off I-40 my car starts to make some strange noises.  I stop the car and at first when the car isn't in drive the noise stops, but once I start driving again the noise starts again.  Once I get to the Meteor Crater I get on the phone and start making some phone calls...no one has any suggestions.  There was even an onlooker that stopped to listen and he thought it might be my radiator making that noise.  We didn't even look at the crater, it would have been $50 for all of us to go to the observation deck, we just got back on the road.  We I got back to I-40 I had a choice to make, I could head back to Flagstaff, I knew how far away that was and that there would be people there to fix my car.  Or, I could head east toward New Mexico.  After a family prayer we headed East.  After taking a stop at a roadside rest stop and another prayer, I had direction.  There were people emptying the trash and I knew they would tell me what to do.  Both were from the area and told me to head to Winslow, about 15 miles away.  I knew I could make it 15 miles! 
James made all kinds of games with tires while we were waiting.
When we got there...it was a ghost town.  Everything was closed and I was so grateful I had listened to those promptings to reach out for help.  We pulled up to O'Haco Tire & Auto to get some answers and they were able to get us right in.  An hour later we were on the road again with a piece of the a/c sitting in the front seat and instructions not to use the a/c until I can replace the entire unit.  According to the technician it was normal wear and tare and a piece of the a/c had just fallen off and was rubbing up against a belt in the engine.  He said as long as I don't use the a/c I should be fine to drive as much as I wanted...so I did.
 It was a lot easier to stick on the road with the impending doom of my entire engine on my mind.  We were so happy to see Rich and Katie and headed to the park to get all that built up energy let go.  The Mariposa Basin Park was just perfect.  The boys got to feed the geese and play in the play area and I got to talk to adults.
Thankfully we had plenty of bread in the car to share.

Saturday, May 23, 2015

{spring break 2015}


Day 1: We decided to do something fun for Spring Break and visit Aunt Katie and Uncle Rich in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  We have been camping a few times the four of us, but this was the first time we packed up the car and left the state...several times! Since we were on spring break I decided to stop and every roadside stand and to stop whenever we wanted to on the way down and that we could come straight back without stopping. 
I woke up James to show him the show.  I was surprised that he didn't do a snow angle.
It was a little funny to come up over the pass and see snow on one side of the road and wide open mesa.
We saw these little homes on the side of the road and had to take a look.
 While driving down the road I saw these cave dwellings at Vermillion Cliffs, Arizona.  They were so beautiful and it was great learning a little more about how they came to be.  So, what I remember some of these homes were abandoned when a women's car broke down leaving her stranded.  When she moved in so loved them so much that she bought the property and in her will she donated the property back to the state.  There were a few Navajo ladies selling jewelry and James bought a necklace as a keepsake.
Logan and Carson peeking threw!
 Finding all this history is great! I know my mom took us to some incredible places, but I couldn't tell you about most of them! But I know that she can tell me about it and she has pictures to prove we've been there! The kids loved getting out of the car and running across the Navajo Bridge.

Notice that James is showing off his necklace and Carson's goofy face! What personalities!
 On our way to Tuba City, Arizona we stopped by Moenkopi Dinosaur Tracks.  Seriously it was one of the coolest thing I have ever seen and you know it was free! There were a bunch of Navajo stands set up and there was a husband/wife older couple that were taking people on tours.  Years ago a young researcher/photographer came through and taught the people about all the remains that were left there.
It was decided that this dinosaur was 6 or 7 years old, because Logan could fit his hands in the print!
This vase has horse hair burned into it to make that cool pattern.
 We planned on camping in Cameron, Arizona, but apparently there was not any camping sites until Flagstaff...nuts.  I even looked up the "campground" and read the reviews, all three of them.  They were all positive, but they must have all been RV camping!
The Historic Cameron Trading Post in Cameron, Arizona
 We ended up staying the night in Flagstaff which also almost didn't happen.  I never did find out if there was something happening, but we went to 5 hotels and all of them were booked! We ended up calling up Nancy and she said that we should book on-line, love that my little sister is giving me travel advise.  This was genius and heaven sent advise! It was already dark and we had been on the road since 10:30am.  There was even a warm cookie waiting at the front desk and ice covering the outdoor swimming pool.

Friday, May 22, 2015

Blue and Gold Ball

 Our cub scout is now a BEAR! He's been working so hard and it was neat to be able to earn it in time for the Blue and Gold Ball.  This kid got some beads and patches...loving it!
Mother's pin (it's tiny)
And we always have these supportive boys along side us.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

February 2015

 This year we decided to do a little more on the outdoor front.  James start us out with a bike race.  The Kids Criterium Bike Race was perfect and I should have signed up all three boys.  The kids were divided up into age group heats and each group had their own timed race.  There were no first place finishers or last place finishers all the kids just had fun.  James was impressed that there were were treats lining the finish line.
The boys waiting for their heat to start.
All the 8 year olds at the starting line
My handsome little finisher!
We were so glad to have Jessica and Elgin there with us to race with us.