Summer Road Trip

We left Vegas July 20 for a 2 week camping road trip. First we headed to Yosemite to spend a few days. We stopped inside the park at a creek to let the kids get out and run around. They always have fun climbing across logs and rocks, and watching the fish.

 



 

 

 





After we got to our campground and got set up, the boys found a swimming hole in the river next to the campground. So we all went down and swam and played in the water for a while. The place we stayed also had mini golf, basketball, and a playground, and the boys thought it was pretty cool to stay out late playing with all the other kids they met.

 

 

 

 

 



 





July

We had a super fun 4th of July this year. After a fantastic day spent with family, we headed out to Moapa, which is a reservation about 30 minutes out of town. They have a HUGE fireworks store, where all the "illegal" fireworks are completely legal! And behind the store is nothing but desert where hundreds of people park and shoot of all of the big noisy fireworks not allowed in the city. It is the biggest, loudest, non-stop fireworks show you'll ever see. The kids had SO much fun! The boys loved shooting off the fireworks, and Brinley was totally obsessed with sparklers. She had to be holding a LIT sparkler at ALL times. The kids were also impressed that I brought them glow stick necklaces! It was a great night, and I hope we can do it again.

 

Next up in July was a quick camping trip to Cold Creek. Somehow on the way up, we missed the "camp ground" and ended up halfway up the mountain on some horrible road where we finally stopped and set up camp. It was a real pain getting up there, and after only one slightly miserable night, we decided to head back home. On the way down, we discovered that we had broken a leaf spring on the trailer axle, and after some serious finagling, we made it back down. The one cool thing about where we ended up staying was the wild burros. They were all over the road on the way down, and were not shy at all when we pulled by them. The wild burros that surround Vegas are definitely one of my favorite things about living here.

 

Once we made it back down to the little town of Cold Creek, we happened to find the actual campground and pond we should have been at in the first place. So of course we stopped and the kids had a great time checking out the pond and looking for fish. Brinley found a big mud puddle, and that kept her busy for the entire time we were stopped. When we were up on the mountain, Tristan found a short length of rope and for reasons only he knows, stuck it in his pocket. While we were walking around the ponds, he then found a treble fishing hook on a few feet of fishing line. Huckleberry Gouker then tied the fishing line to the rope, and the rope to a stick he found. And off he went- fishing. Cahl and I didn't really pay much attention to his endeavor until we decided to leave and as we were walking back to the truck, and we hear Tristan yelling "I GOT ONE!!!!" Sure enough, he caught a fish! A decent trout in a mountain pond. I do think that that was Cahl's proudest dad moment to date. :)

 

Also in July, Cahl and I discovered the fabulessness that is BINGO. And we started going once a week. It was super fun and funny to hang out with all the other Bingo-ers. The little old ladies always have the best advice, and it's so funny to see the serious gamers with their baskets of daubers and sheets spread over half a table. I never won a single game, but Cahl did! A few times actually. Lucky ducky.

Rounding out the middle of the month for us, was the excitement of Jasen losing not one, but both of his front teeth. In the same day! It made for some pretty funny dinners.

June- The End

Toward the end of June, we took a quick day trip up to St George to trade in our Excursion... on a new Excursion! The one that we had was a 2005 V10, and we traded it in for a 2005 diesel which will be much better for pulling the trailer. And the kids are excited because the new one has an entertainment system. Once we were done wheeling and dealing, we headed up to Zion. That was really cool for me, since I spent a lot of time in Zion as a kid. My dad used to go down every winter and work on a house, and so I spent quite a bit of time each winter exploring the rocks and bushes, and chasing the animals. It was fun to see it still up on the hill. The kids also loved driving through the park, especially going through the tunnels. It was a fun drive, and I'm glad the kids got to see it. After we made it through the park, we swung over to the cabin and had lunch with everyone who had come up for the weekend. Going to the cabin is always a favorite thing to do, and the visits are always nice.

the house on the hill

 

entrance to the park

June- The Middle

During the middle weeks of June, we spent a lot of time playing in the sprinklers:

 

 

at the water park:

 

and at swimming lessons:

We also went on an overnight camp out with a huge group of friends. It was a lot of fun, and the kids all had a blast with all their friends. We also had the only trailer there, and I do have to say, it was SO nice to not have to set up camp, sleep on an air mattress, and then have to take it all apart. And most of all- a private bathroom :)

June- The Begining

The beginning of June is always the last week of school here in Vegas, so it's usually full of fun stuff going on. Jasen's class had been working on human anatomy, and they made life sized models of themselves. He did a great job on his, and it hung proudly in the office until Brinley started removing his organs.

 

 

One of the other really cool things some of the 4th grade teachers do is called the Living Museum. Each kid picks a historical figure, and writes a short speech to memorize. On the day of the museum, they dress up as their character and recite their speech to whomever comes to see and listen to them. Tristan did it a few years ago as Theodore Roosevelt, and this year Jasen was SO excited it was his turn. He chose Brett Favre, and he helped Cahl and I design and make him a custom uniform. He had written and practiced his speech for weeks, and we were so proud of him. Tristan, Hunter and Brinley were all very happy to get to go see him at the Living Museum and hear his speech. He looked awesome, and all the teachers and other kids told us how well he did. 

 

 

On the last weekend before school got out, Tristan's school wrestling team had their big tournament. He had been going to practices every week, and the whole team was excited for the big day. After patiently waiting for over an hour, it was finally Tristan's turn. After the customary shaking of hands and good lucking, the match began... and ended about 23 seconds later when Tristan rolled over and pinned his opponent! We couldn't believe it, but he did it- and he had the fastest pin of the entire tournament! We were super proud of him, and he was pretty proud of himself too- he grinned like a cat the rest of the day!

 

 

The tournament just happened to be on Jasen's birthday, and so as soon as Tristan's wrestling tournament was over, we headed out to go camping. Since Jasen's birthday is in the summer, he has asked to go camping for his birthday almost every year since he was 3, and we always do. This year he wanted to take our new trailer up to Mt. Charleston, which was nice since it's not so far away and we didn't leave town until almost noon. Jasen got a new bike, among other things, for his birthday. He was really happy with it, and excited that it is a mountain bike, so he can take it camping when we go and be able to ride up and down all the hills. He seemed especially excited about his S'more pie that I created for him! He really loved it, and it was rather tasty if I do say so.

 

 

During the last week of school, both boys had their class award ceremonies. Jasen received the Attendance Award as well as the A-B Honor Roll.

 

Tristan also received the Attendance Award, A-B Honor Roll, and the Citizenship Award. Both boys worked really hard in their classes this year, and we are proud of both of the their accomplishments.

 

The entire 5th grade also had their Graduation ceremony during that week, and it was really nice to all these kids that we've come to know, who have grown up so much right before us, off on their way toward middle school. And since I'm such a big sap, it was also a little sad.