Day 2 - Visit an Archiology Site

 
We visited an archaeology site. Who knew it was so close.  What a great way to spend a couple hours.  The students who are working at the site were so good to give us a tour, and tell us all about what they have been doing this year.  I love this kind of stuff.

 
This was one of the artifacts that they found outside the entrance of one of the dwellings.  These little figures were amazing. The one looked like a bunny to me.

This is what the site looks like.  I especially like the hand vacuum! So many tools and things that they use.  The record everything!

We saw someone using these screens and it looked like a terribly dirty job to me.  They were finding lots of things though and they had some of the best on display for us to look at.  Lots of arrow heads and needle looking tools, rings probably for weighing things, jewelry and pieces of clay pots.  Some of the items they found came from trading with different groups.

This was a piece of adobe that I would have taken for a regular piece of clay so prevalent in this area.

104 Days of Summer Vacation

There's 104 days of summer vacation, then school comes around just to end it. So the annual problem of our generation is finding a good way to spend it. . . Like maybe . . . . This has been going through my mind as we enter summer full force this week. We have a list of activities that we are going to do this summer and each day we'll try to check at least one off the list. So here we go . . . Day 1 Hey kids, I know what we're going to do today. . . Horse Riding. My brother and sister-in-law have been living quite close to us this year and it's been a lot of fun getting together with them. Her family has a farm with a few horses, mostly that they use for herding cows seasonally. On Monday they took us out to their horses and let us ride. It was so much fun. I think at the end all the children rode on their own at some point, well except Bonnie, but she was in the saddle alone at one point, she loved them and hated it when it was time to leave, which was triggered by the mosquito swarms. We are so grateful for them this opportunity. What a special treat it was for all of us. My girls have been asking for weeks if we can get a pony to live in the backyard. I don't think we've heard the end of it. Going out riding sure brought back a lot of memories for me. My best friend growing up had lots of horses and in the summer we went out and rode in the hills were we lived.

Day 1 Horse Riding

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home Safe & Sound

Jacob made it home from his 6 day scout camp safe and sound and none the worse for wear, other than a couple bloody noses. They made it 55 miles in 6 days with about 18mi in a canoe. They made it an average of 10 miles a day. The first two days Dennis went with - while they were in the canoes - and then drove the canoes home. The wind was really bad those first two days and they struggled to get the canoes moving through the lake. At one point they had to get out and walk them along the shore. Jacob lost one flip flop in the water so being good scouts they fashioned him one out of bark and a lace that they found. It sounds like it was such a great experience and that they really had a good time working on badges and playing and doing service projects along the trail. Every night they had a fireside. The boys got along well with each other and We met them at the end of their trail for the day. We had pizza and soda and twinkies. It's harder than I expected to let my 12 year old leave for 6 days. That is the longest he's ever been away from us. He experienced a little home sickness, but stayed and made it the whole way back. Just the fact that he made it the whole way is just amazing to me. All the boys were in much better spirits than I thought they would at the end. That just says so much for their leaders. They are so amazing to me. I'm so grateful for them and the sacrifice from their families and from work to take 7 boys on this trip. I asked Jacob what the best part was and he said that it was Friday night when brother Ford and brother Rowley came up and gave them Zingers and Laughy Taffy. It was just so good to see someone from the outside and know that they weren't lost or forgotten.

Another Favorite

I found another yummy favorite. I have fallen in love with greek style yogurt. I love how creamy it is and that it has all those good things in it. I have been eating it for breakfast in the morning with a variety of freeze dried fruits. My favorite is the honey flavored. Yummy.

Our Weekend

Last weekend we had a good time with family. Early breakfast in the park, where we had to sit in the sun just to stay warm. Lots of games on the field, soccer, ultimate frizbee, baseball and time on the playground. We met at grandma and grandpas for lunch and boardgames. The older children were allowed to hike up the mountain this time. They came home alive! u6y778

Pony Party

This weekend was Khora's birthday party.  Dennis did an amazing job decorating with the streamers, the kids were so impressed!! .The big boys helped with the games and Isaac entertained them with his bearded dragon.  She had a MLP  theme and lots of games and goodies with her family and friends. Everyone colored a picture of their pony, then we played pin the tail on the pony, Who am I - stickers of animals on their backs that they had to guess by getting clues from the others, and How many treats can a pony eat - Giddeon won the pony treats by guessing 54 pieces, which was the closest to 59, the actual amount in the jar.  Jacob was in charge of the treasure hunt and let the kids around the house looking for all the little pony friends to give them clues. They were eventually led to the castle to find the surprise of cupcakes ice cream, bubbles, party hats, and jelly beans. Khora's friends gave her more ponies, coloring books and treats, a keyring and a pink ballet costume!  It was the best birthday ever for the little 5 year old girl who loves pink and ponies.