Cave Exploring

Our friends Brad, Bonny, and their 2 kids Sophie and Jake, went camping the week before the 4th of July and invited us up for dinner one night. We went up Dry Fork Canyon to their camping spot and then they took us to the Dry Fork cave! Talk about slightly being claustrophobic! But I put on a strong face and tried to show them how interesting the cave was. It was quite the experience. It was wet, but seeing the different rock formations in the cave was mind blowing. The pictures don't do it justice, but it was fun to be there and see things that go on under the earth. There was so much dust! We had dust in our ears, noses, and mouth! If you decide to do cave exploring, take a mask. Lol!

Kayson got so dirty up there! It looked like he used the dirt as face paint. Gotta love my dirty boys ;)

Unplugged Post #2

Homemade ice cream was the next item we completed on our Unplugged list. This was the first time I ever actually helped make homemade ice cream! It was by far the most tasty adventure!

It's amazing to me how many opportunities come your way when you are looking for them. One item on the list was to plant a tree. I thought it wouldn't be one that we could cross off (I don't really know why I thought that) but Grandpa Merkley opened that door for us. He had some cherry trees that weren't producing, so he and Grandma M decided it was time to take them out and plant something else. It was a lot of work to dig and remove the cherry trees (and I joked that we actually got to act like George Washington!) but it was so much fun to help plant the new ones. The boys are constantly checking on them and making sure they have enough water during these hot summer days. Thanks Grandpa M for letting us be your helpers!

The last activity I'll write about today is: making a sweet treat! The boys were all over this one. Lol! I chose to have them make a classic Rice Krispie treat. It's super easy and for their first solo in cooking I figured it would also be pretty fool-proof. I was right. They had so much fun and I wasn't a wreck trying to make sure it would come out right.

I am so thankful to the people behind this "Dinosaurland Unplugged" list. It has strengthened our family, and more important to me are the memories it has given us as well!

Unplugged

This summer our library sent out "Dinosaurland Unplugged" lists before school got out. The list is made up of many, many things you can do during the summer without electronics; hence the "unplugged" portion of the name. The motivation to do this list is made up in the words "Brag Tags". Each activity you complete, you then go to a specific local business (which they tell you along the side of each activity) and they will give you a "Brag Tag" to show all your friends. To get the tag though you need to have a picture of the completed activity. This then let's kids strike up conversations of what they did this summer, how many tags they got, and provides kids the opportunity to play the summer away outdoors or try new activities indoors instead of in front of a screen. Our family hasn't been doing the "Brag Tag" part because I have forgotten to take pictures, and because I want to reward them with something more fun at the end of summer.

It has been so much fun! A little work and imagination on some of them, but well worth the joy. Here are some pics of the activities we have completed so far:

First activity we crossed off our list was a science experiment. Jace just happened to have to do one for preschool. Killed 2 birds with 1 stone! The science experiment: Put an egg in vinegar and let the shell dissolve. See what the egg looks like on the inside without the shell protecting it. This was very easy and mind expanding!

I'm having issues uploading more pictures, so I will post more later.

Up next: Homemade ice cream!

Catching up with BIRTHDAYS!

Yesterday we celebrated Kayson's 4th birthday. As I was uploading the pictures from his family party, I noticed I had pictures from my birthday, Isaac's late celebration birthday, my Grandma Harvey's cake, and Maddox's birthday that I hadn't posted about. SO! For this post I am catching up on all of them! Enjoy :)

We'll start with Isaac. His birthday was in November, but with the craziness of moving and short stays on school breaks, we never celebrated his birthday. In fact, we almost missed it this time too! But we made it happen. He had a cool rainbow type cake and blue frosting topped with sprinkles and 12 candles. Isaac even helped me make it. I have a bit of OCD when it comes to people helping me make cakes, but I promised and he did a great job! In the hurry of things I didn't get a picture of the cakes inside, but it was so cool looking. We'll see if Jace picks it out when we make his cake in a couple of months.

Next is Maddox. Maddox's cake is probably my favorite one so far! I got this inspiration from Cake Boss' online photo gallery. This is also the first time I ever used fondant. Thanks to Aunt Pam, who gave me so much advice on how to make it and the best products to use, the cake turned out better than I could have imagined. It was the perfect cake for his 1st birthday!

Next is my own BIG 30th birthday "cake". It really was a fruit pizza cookie cake. I wasn't really in the mood for the regular cake and frosting. So this year I went all fruit and yummy cream cheese frosting goodness! And it was GREAT! Even better my family was out here (don't remember for what) to enjoy it with me.

I had the best opportunity this year to make my Grandma Harvey's 80th birthday cake. In order to understand how daunting that is for me, you should know that my Grandma used to make wedding cakes and birthday cakes for years until she passed the tradition on to her daughter Pam. My Aunt Pam is now the one passing down the cake tradition to me. I wanted this cake to embody how much I have learned and maybe stretch my skills a little. And boy did it stretch my skils! I had to make the fondant twice! I was so stressed about the cake, that I didn't roll the fondant out right. It looked awful. So I had Ryan buy some more supplies and I started over. I am so glad I did. The fondant turned out beautiful and the project went smoothly from there. When my Mom delivered the cake, Grandma asked if Aunt Pam had made it. Score! I was so happy to hear that my skills shined and that the cake was appreciated by someone I admire greatly. Love you Grandma!

Last but not least is Kayson! Kayson's birthday is actually today, but because it was Dad's day off, we decided to celebrate it yesterday. Kayson is old enough that I like to ask him what kind of theme he wants for his cake. He switched 3 times! Next year I think I will pick it myself based on what I see he likes :) I really like how his cake turned out, but I really wish I would have used all fondant and I could have added some green seaweed on the sides to add more color. He LOVED his cake! I loved seeing his little face light up. It totally made my heart melt. Happy Birthday Mr. K!

Josie's Cabin

Yesterday (Saturday) Ryan and I took the boys to Josie's Cabin. We were tired of sitting home, and the weather was finally perfect for a family outing. We left around 1:00 and enjoyed the better part of the day in the shade of big trees, and a small breeze to keep us cool while we explored. Jace couldn't get enough of the latter. He was constantly wandering off and playing in the dirt. Kayson loved being Jace's shadow. But Kayson also acted the big brother part and made sure Maddox was staying out of "trouble." Poor Maddox just wanted to explore too, but Kayson was almost too overprotective. I am so happy to see these characteristics in my boys. They all have big hearts and curious minds!

I took some pictures while we were there. I can't believe how much they have all grown. I am so thankful for every moment with my family!