Garden City, Utah

In Logan, Utah, we were faced with a dilemma.  Both routes into Yellowstone, our ultimate destination, were expecting snow.  Not only did we not have chains, we did not even want to attempt to travel in snow.  We found a place for the kids to play, and we poured over our paper map, our map aps, and our weather aps.  Finally we decided to head up the way we originally wanted to go, getting to the Utah/Idaho boarder, and staying at a KOA there to wait out the storm.  Though this wasn't our original plan, the break was actually nice.  We had been traveling nearly every day, and the kids were longing for a campsite to spend a few days in. 

After leaving Logan, Utah, we were instantly thrust into Fall as we traveled through mountain valleys with jutting black rock cliffs, colorful trees, and the meandering Logan River alongside the road.

 

 Once at the KOA, we spent a few day relaxing.  We got some school done, lots of laundry washed, and the kids played outside in the off and on light rain.

 

 We did the touristy thing and tried the raspberry shakes Garden City boasts it is famous for.  However, we were the only tourists in the tiny "city" of Garden and were lucky to find one place still open to serve us the famous shake.  And even that place was closing for the season in a few days.  The temperatures were freezing, our trailer was not heated, but we enjoyed those raspberry shakes.

 

This is Logan and his James.  They have a super cute story that I hope to find time to share here one day.  My mom made James a soft harness and leash when she found out her crazy daughter was going to let her grandson road trip with his kitten.  Logan was walking him this day but tiny James was shivering and cold.  So into Logan's sweatshirt he happily went.

We played quite a few rounds of miniature golf, which the kids loved.

We enjoyed the camp's playground.

 One very cold day we took a walk along a boardwalk carved through a marshy field of cattails.

 

The boardwalk led us through an arbor of trees,

 and out to the beautifully blue Bear Lake.

 

The kids were fascinated to learn that the Native Americans from this area believed there was a monster inhabiting Bear Lake.  From that time, through the settlement of the city, and to present day, sightings have been recorded.  The kids differed on their belief of whether or not there was a monster in the lake, but all of them were equally intrigued by the idea.



Logan, Utah

After spending a day in Zion, we headed to Logan, Utah, arriving late in the night.  The next morning, we had a very excited boy, to awake in a city he shared a name with.  And so, even though it was raining, we set off to find anything we could with "Logan" on it.  We were not disappointed.  Time and time again, Logan and I jumped out of the car, ran through the rain in flip flops, snapped a few pics, and then ran back to the warm car where the others were waiting.  Zac started to fear the other kids would feel down because such a fuss was being made over Logan.  But sometimes, one child just needs a moment to feel extra special.  And this was one of those moments for Logan.  And it was a special time for he and I as we shared in the excitement of our hunt for anything "Logan."  And in the end, the others didn't mind at all.  Here's what we found;

Logan Tabernacle

 Overlooking Logan Canyon

 

I plan to blow this one up for his Christmas present.

 



And I plan to blow this one up big for me.

 



The Desert and Zion

The kids were so excited to see the desert.  They talked about it for weeks leading up to our trip.  I don't know where this excitement came from, or why they all shared it, but we thought their excitement would wane once they saw the great expanse of nothingness.  We were wrong.  They thought the desert was pretty awesome.  It was fun to "see" the barrenness through their eyes.

 We had an impromptu lesson on wind energy along the way.  Kian was especially impressed and for the remainder of our trip, pointed out any windmills he saw.

 

 Did I mention we took our kitten with us?

Yep, we're insane.

We're ok with it.

 

 We were very impressed by the LONG desert trains.  This is where we camped on our first night....right by this beautiful train bridge.  Our camper is parked right behind where the kids are standing.  Many trains went by in the night, and coffee was a welcome sight come morning.

 

 Watching trains.

 

This is what a typical pit stop looked like for us.  If we couldn't find a rest stop with a large pull out for trucks, we found large empty parking lots.  Lunch was made in the camper while the kids scootered.  Not all pit stops were as interesting as the hotel surrounded by a roller coaster, but these kind of stops were key on our long travel days.

 

Two LONG days traveling through the desert and then.......

 

ZION

 When a baby lifts his hands in awe of the huge red rocks and gently raining waterfalls, you know you're in a pretty amazing place.

 

 Arrow loved the slimy rock walls where the water dripped down.

 

 Road School.

We are learning how to identify trees.

NOT as easy as I thought!

 



Here We Go Again

Since starting down this home schooling road, we've never taken a Summer break.  Life has thrown us quite a few curve balls over the last 4 years, requiring me to take breaks from schooling the kids at random times during the years.  Because of those random breaks, I didn't allow myself to take a Summer break.  So we went from one "year" to the next without time to prep or take a mental breather...always feeling behind.  I was again planning to school through this Summer to make up for the break we took when Arrow was a newborn, but I was at my breaking point.  I finally told myself I MUST take a Summer break or I was going to completely fry.  Once I faced that, a huge burden was lifted.  Previous breaks were spent coping or healing, not planning for school.  This Summer break allowed me the time to think about our schooling goals and look for ideas, curriculum, and books to help us meet those goals.  I discovered Ambleside Online and spent the Summer learning their methods and preparing to use their plan.  On September 10th, we started in.  It was the worst week of homeschooling yet.  HA!  I can look back now and laugh but in the moment, ensue freak out!  It wasn't hard because of Ambleside Online.  Partly it was hard because we ALL got sick mid week.  And partly it was hard because of concerns I have that I'm praying about.  So, changes are being made as we enter week 2 and we continue on, thankful for the freedom to have our children home with us, even when its hard. 

 Nap School

 

 Almost 4 years old

Pre School

 

 6 years old

Ambleside Online Year 1

 

8 years old

Ambleside Online Year 1

Not Ready

Well, quite honestly, I'm not ready to start blogging.  I haven't missed it too much because I have not had the time to do it or miss it.  However, I do miss the idea of having memories recorded for the kids.  That being said, we are about to leave on our first real family vacation.  A 3 week road trip up to the Tetons and back that we've been planning for a long time.  I don't know when, where, or how I'll find the time to record our adventures, but I REALLY want to.  So here goes nothing.

In the mean time, here's a few memories from our Summer;

We had a beautiful garden.  Simply beautiful plants.....that produced nothing.  ?!?!?!  SUCH a disappointment.  Actually, we have pumpkins coming out of my ears and its on my to do list to process them all this week and freeze pumpkin puree.  But the tomatoes we wait for all year?.....I have bushes that are as tall as me and twice as wide with beautiful leaves but absolutely NO fruit.  A few plants fruited slowly, so we have had just enough tomatoes to add to sandwiches and pizzas, but we have NEVER had extras.  :(  Also, I'm pretty sure a few have blight so in addition to no fruit, I will not compost the plant.  Any tips on how to clean up my soil after blight is appreciated.

 



Logan took break dancing, and Felicity took ballet this Summer.  They enjoyed their weekly classes a lot.  They also participated in our church's VBS and had a wonderful time.

 



We took a trip up North to visit WONDERFUL friends, and we took a trip down South to visit Zac's family.  The picture above is of Zac and his sister, and all the cousins.

 

Speaking of cousins, remember these twin cousin bellies?  Here are those twin cousins, now almost 1!  They were born just 5 days apart.

 

Arrow started walking!  Well, he will walk all over with this cute walker, but on his own will only cover about 4 feet.  But he's pretty excited about it and I expect him to be fully walking before his first birthday.

 

This beautiful girl turned 6!!!  She was SOOOOO ready to turn 6.  She had a wonderful birthday celebrating with friends and family multiple times.  I'm excited for this year ahead of her.  I have a feeling she will sprout big time this year.

Her 6th year is already meeting her expectations.  She told us she'd FINALLY lose a tooth when she was 6, which she has been waiting YEARS for.  And she was right.  Just days after her 6th birthday, her first one fell out.  And another will shortly.  She thinks 6 is pretty awesome.

 

Speaking of teeth, we have one kid loosing them, and one getting them!  4 to be exact.  The first 4 came in back to back at 9 1/2 months.  Now, at 11 months (!) he's working on another one.

 

And lastly, James joined our family.  A feral cat continues to get pregnant and have babies in my mother in law's garden.  4 days before we arrived for a visit, my mother in law noticed another litter.  Logan was attached to the kittens during our visit and spent every second he could with a special little orange one (the ginger bond is strong, I tell ya).  We decided to let him take this little guy home, thinking he was about 6 weeks old.  Well, we were wrong.  We're not sure how old he is but he couldn't lap up the kitty formula we got him.  We did some research and learned that tiny ones need to be kept super warm so that their energy isn't wasted on doing so themselves.  They also need to be taught how to clean themselves.  In addition, they need their little behinds wiped to help them "go".  Logan has stepped up to care for this little guy in an amazing way.  He feeds him by syringe every few hours, cleans him, wipes him, and carries him around (sometimes in my old sling) to make sure he's warm.  Its been a blessing to see Logan care for James.  And James sure does know who loves him.  He follows Logan everywhere and nestles into all his red hair to sleep at night.  I have a feeling these two will have a special bond that will last for years, and I'm excited to witness it.