Wednesday, March 31, 2021

March Madness

Well March has come and gone, and yet I didn't do any blogging the whole month!  This is my attempt to catch up before April and the chaos of May.  Daxton was able to take a stuffed animal to school and he chose Robotey.  Since I don't get to be in the classrooms this year, I appreciate any pictures the teachers send.  Here is one of Daxton class at circle time.  

Then here was another as Robotey listened to a read-aloud book in the activity room. 

His class also made pet rocks.  Daxton didn't stop there, he made an entire home for his pet rock!

Last year all these girls got together for their school dance.  This year they decide to get together again, but for Nadia's birthday party.  They dressed up and danced with a disco ball and had a blast.  I'm so grateful that Cambrie has chosen such good friends!  Next year they will all be in high school and that is going to be crazy!

This is what soccer tournaments in Boulder look like this year...  They don't allow any spectators on the field, so instead I sat on top of my car to watch the game.  It was a little chilly, but at least I had a front row seat.  They even won this game which was amazing!

Our good friends the Sargents are moving to California.  I am sorry to see them go because they are such a fabulous family.  We inherited their basketball hoop!  I didn't have any plans to get a hoop, but when one falls in your lap like this you take advantage of it.  They live in the neighborhood, but we still wanted to drive the hoop to our house.  Well, it didn't fit.  So instead we tipped it on it's side and rolled in on its little wheels the whole way home.  We had to drive very slowly through the streets, and it was not a quiet procession!  The last few blocks Cambrie decided to hitch a ride and rode the hoop home.  Now we have a perfect court for the kids to play.

I truthfully don't even know why these girls are laughing in this picture, but any time I see them smiling together as sisters I love it.

Kelton has been honing his rock climbing skills and now can totally scale the rocks on the side of our house!  One day I might find him all the way up to the second story and I don't what I'll do.

Our anniversary was a quiet affair this year.  Kelton ended up sick so we couldn't go anywhere or do anything.  However Jeremy still surprised me with this beautiful necklace!  If you're wondering if it's a small homage to Wonder Woman, you are correct.  I like super hero women.

Cambrie is finally able to go to school four days a week now.  However we still have her at home on Wednesdays.  Daxton, Cambrie and I took a little field trip to the library.  Unfortunately for us the library was closed for its mid-day cleaning so we went to the park instead.  Cambrie and I were not outfitted to play at the park, so while Daxton climbed on the equipment we played checkers with rocks and wood chips.  It was a lot of fun, even if we are both a little out of practice.

McKenze, Brielle and Aubri just being silly.  McKenzie cannot get enough of her friends.

I finally got around to scheduling McKenzie's and Daxton's birthday pictures.  McKenzie was insistent that she wanted to wear her new crown in her pictures.  She looks pretty natural in that thing!

I needed to squeeze in some hill training, but without a babysitter Daxton got to come with me.  We ran up and down the same hill six times, and he never complained.  It was fun having the company, and the extra resistance!

We told the Eames that we would puppy sit Lucy for a few days over spring break.  What began as a three day job turned into a one day job.  I still don't know what came over me that I allowed a puppy in our house for a few days.  Cambrie was in absolute heaven.  She took Lucy on walks, played fetch with her, let her sleep in her bed, and wanted so badly to make sure Lucy was well taken care of.  When the Eames came home a day early Cambrie was choking back tears as she returned their puppy.  I feel so bad that it's the one thing I can't give that girl.  She loves animals so, so much.

And this is the real reason that I haven't posted consistently through March, the lightning bolt that sprang from our computer.  One day the kids tried turning on the computer but it simply wouldn't turn on.  I tried to troubleshoot it, and even called my dad for advice.  We eventually decided that I needed to take it into Best Buy and see what they could do.  As I carried the computer out to the car Kelton asked, "Mom, are you going to ask the guys why the lightning bolt came out of the computer?"  What?!  "Ok bud, can you please tell me exactly what happened when you saw a lightning bolt"  He walked me back to the office and explained that he and Daxton were playing on the computer when Daxton plugged a wire into a plug, and then a lightning bolt as big as Daxton's hand shot from the plug and down the wire.  What?!  I immediately looked at Daxton's hand to make sure his finger tips weren't charred, they were fine.  But the power strip and the USB cord were completely fried.  The best part of the story is that the night before as we were getting ready to sit down for dinner, both boys came running into the kitchen telling us that the computer was really scary and that there was lightning.  Daxton was terrified.  And what did we do as good parents?  "Ok boys that's nice.  Sit down and eat."  We didn't even give their story a second thought!  Oops.  So yes, Kelton's clue was very helpful in determining why the computer wasn't working.  Down as Best Buy they told me that my computer was toast, and that I needed to order a new one.  Like everything else, it was backordered about a week.  Being without a desktop computer for that long was a little annoying, but now it's up and running.  Needless to say we had a very serious conversation with the boys about what plugs are appropriate to plug in and which ones aren't.  I am not looking forwards to any more lightning bolts shooting from the computer!

Monday, March 22, 2021

Devil's Tower

Our last official stop on our crazy whirlwind road trip was Devil's Tower.  It is in the middle of nowhere, and our route was taking us probably about as close as we would ever be to this really cool destination.  We approached it from the backside, and it really stands out on its own.  


As we drove closer we were able to see the details of the vertical cracks that run up it, and the sheer scale of the tower.  




We parked and decided to take a trail that went around the entire perimeter of the tower.  It was paved which made for a simple walk, but my kids decided to turn the entire path into lava and decided instead to leap from rock to log to avoid being burned on the ground.  













We found a small family of deer eating dinner.  They were calm enough that even though they were on the path and we moved slowly towards them, they didn't bolt, they simply walked off the side of the path and continued munching.  We also found a woodpecker looking for food.  He also allowed us to get pretty close and admire what he was up to.  






Towards the end of our loop we decided to scramble across the rubble field back to the beginning.  My kids are little mountain goats.  I was having flashbacks to the last time I walked across a boulder field.  When Cambrie was only a few months old Jeremy and I went exploring in Pennsylvania and found a boulder field.  I was carrying her in the baby Bjorn in front of me and I slipped and started falling face first towards the rocks.  Not wanting to squish her I performed some fancy twisting movements so that I landed full on my back, but at least Cambrie landed on top.  Luckily nothing like that happened this trip.  I had a hard time keeping up with the kids who were moving so quickly!  




It was definitely worth the detour to visit!  

Roughlock Falls

We were in for a long day of driving on this last day of our trip, so any opportunity to get out and stretch our legs was very welcomed.  After Deadwood we drove north and found the trailhead for Roughlock Falls.  With the melting snow, the trails were pretty muddy, but we came prepared with our boots.  Finding the actual waterfall was a bit tricky and we wandered a bit before learning that there was a perfectly paved trail that led us straight to the falls.  Oops.  




The view from the top was pretty, but the view from the bottom was spectacular. 






 Kelton and I went exploring to find the right view point and weren't disappointed.  There was a species of moss growing that was a vibrant green.  It seemed so out of place amidst the winter browns and whites.  It made me long for spring and the colors of summer!

Deadwood

Random stop number...whatever...was Deadwood, SD.  It was an old wild west town home to characters like Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickock.  There were supposedly some great museums in the area, and in season there are duels at noon in the middle of the street.  It is a city full of life...in the summer.  In March it is a very quiet ghost town.  There was literally nothing open on a Monday morning, so the kids entertained themselves by dancing on a park bench.  



We had a good tip from a local about a donut joint that was up and running, so we picked up a dozen donuts and went up the hill to the local cemetery.  We visited the graves of two iconic wild west heroes, Wild Bill and Calamity Jane, and then decided that we would rather go on a hike and eat our donuts than stick around Deadwood.  Even though it looked like it belonged in a movie set, it wasn't the place for us. 





On our way out of town we stopped by a gold mine, and that was cool.  It was just a very large hole in the ground, but GOLD came out of that hole in the ground.  Actually, it reminded me a lot of Kennecott Mine in South Jordan.

Sunday, March 21, 2021

Dahl's Chainsaw Art

Random road tip means random stops.  This workshop for chainsaw wood carving was right next to our hotel in Keystone, SD and we decided to take a look.  If I had a cabin I would 100% have one of these bears in my decor!  

 
The bears, not the Americana throne ;)




Cambrie took pictures of some of her favorite pieces to use as inspiration for her clay art.  She also told me that she's ready to become a chainsaw art apprentice.





  The boys and Jeremy thought that this giant sasquatch was their favorite carving.  




McKenzie I think liked this throne the best with her little soldiers standing guard.


  I just thought it was all awesome.