Randall Camping Trip

We had so much fun at our annual Randall family camping trip this year. We usually drive the 3 1/2 hours to Yellow Pine campground (near Duschene), but this year we decided to stay closer to home. We camped at Diamond Fork in Spanish Fork canyon.
Because we were closer to civilization, we took advantage of it. Even though the weather was iffy, we took the kids to the splash park in Spanish Fork (near the freeway off ramp). It is a really fun, big park. We first explored the playground. Enoch, Carson, Brynnley and Kate had a great time running, laughing and trying all the fun things to do. It started to rain, which wasn't too bad because the kids already had their swimsuits on, but the wind was really blowing. They all wrapped up in their towels and waited the few minutes for the wind to pass.



After that, the sun came out and was quite warm and muggy (typical Utah weather!). We walked next door to the splash park and let the kids really get wet. They, again, had a wonderful time playing together, running through the water and laying on the cement to warm up.

Back at the campground, the kids found all kinds of ways to entertain themselves:

- collecting snail shells. Enoch had quite a collection by the time we left.
- putting on shows for the adults. They are wearing their matching shirts they made with Grandma when they visited her a few weeks ago.


- playing with the wildlife. Enoch became known as the Squirrel Whisperer. He would lay a trail of bread to him and the squirrels would come right up to him as he held very still. These squirrels were not afraid of people, as I'm sure we were their main source of food and entertainment. But, I haven't seen Enoch hold that still for that long.


- be with our cousins. The kids had so much fun together. Gavin loved holding and playing with Marcus. The boys rode their bikes everywhere and made a sidewalk chalk trail to the bathroom so we wouldn't get lost. Brynn and Kate were inseparable. They did everything together. They even had to hold hands while going for walks.


- ate good food. We all took a day cooking and that seemed to work out well. Everything we ate was delicious. On our day we cooked pancakes, bacon, sausage and eggs for breakfast, pre-made Cafe Rio pork salads for lunch and roasted hot dogs and s'mores for dinner.
- rode our bikes. The kids discovered some dirt trails around the camp site and had a lot of fun on those (mostly Enoch as Kate's trike is built more for roads).

We went on a great hike on Saturday morning. It was an easy hike, but took us through some woods and down by the stream. The kids favorite part was collecting rocks in their bags I made them and then throwing the rocks in the river. Enoch is wearing his glow-in-the-dark bug mask from the night before if you are wondering.


We followed the trail and the bear paws when we reached the road. I'm pretty sure this bear was intoxicated. Enoch and Kate had a difficult time staying in his path.




Along the way we found a little wigwam. The kids thought it was great fun.



It was a fun little hike - very clean and nice with things to do along the way.

We had a great time camping. It was so fun to be away from real life, to be with family and enjoy the great outdoors.

Talking

Every day after lunch Mom, Enoch and Kate have quiet time. Mom either takes a quick power nap or decides to try and get something done while Enoch and Kate spend some time in their rooms resting, reading, playing Legos or dolls.
It is a battle to keep them in their rooms. They try to sneak into each other rooms because they have so much more fun together than alone. I've become quite strict about them staying in their own room. They solved this problem by yelling out their doors to each other. I put a stop to that too - nothing quiet about that. Then they discovered the coolest thing of all.
If they both lay down on the floors next to their heater vents they can have a conversation with each other without yelling and making Mom mad. They are actually excited now for quiet time.
Speaking of talking - today we put together a fun craft. We made can phones. Remember doing that when you were little? The kids were so confused while we were spray painting the cans, making holes in the bottom and then tying the string. Even when they were done, the kids didn't know what they were.
After me showing them, they were so excited. They played, talked, giggled, experimented. They thought they were way cool. Enoch even tried throwing one can over the neighbor's fence to hear what they were saying. Trust me, we can hear the pool conversations just fine from our backyard. And yes, the string has to be pulled taunt for the phones to work.




So much fun from such simple things. Pull a few cans out of your recycling bin and give it a go!

Fun with Zucchini

When we got back from St. George, we had four giant zucchinis in our garden. We picked them, not sure what to do with them.
One half was turned into zucchini bread. Yum!

One half was turned into stuffed zucchini. Thumbs down from most of the family.

Three were turned into zucchini boats - or battleships due to their size.

The kids had so much fun carving their ships. Zucchinis are easier to carve than pumpkins so the carving and shaping went together quickly.


Enoch planted some seeds hoping to get more zucchinis. Great.



We floated them in the tub. They are quite sturdy, even with Tsunami Enoch and Tidal Wave Kate playing along.

Call the Fashion Police!

I've never been accused of being in the know when it comes to fashion, but I'm pretty sure we are breaking about ten different rules here.
When Greg and I gathered the kids for our Sunday morning walk, this is how Enoch and Kate were dressed. Oh well. Not too many people are out at 8:30 am today.


Enoch is wearing shorts and a shirt that don't match, along with his Junior Ranger sash (that he insisted he get so he can be like Gavin and have his patches sewn onto a Scout sash). Enoch and Kate are also wearing their new Crocs boots. These were supposed to be saved for school when it rained or snowed, but the kids love them so much they couldn't wait. I think they are great!

I guess when you are six and three, you can get away with this!

Potter Party

Happy Birthday, Harry Potter (tomorrow actually).
I know, I know - we are nerds. We celebrate a fictional character's birthday. But, it is so fun.
For the birthday party, we ate pizza for dinner and watched Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone. Gavin wanted to watch Harry Potter 7, but since Enoch and Kate were watching with us, obviously we couldn't watch anything too scary. We stuck with the first movie and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was so fun to go back to the beginning after seeing the end.
After the movie, we had our Harry Potter snacks - golden snitch cake balls and pumpkin juice.


I've never made cake balls before. They were easy and fun to make. I'm no expert at dipping chocolate (it shows), but who cares when they taste so good. The pumpkin juice was Stephen's pumpkin spice cider. I found it last fall and have hid it in the storage room until today.
Gavin playing seeker.

Kate, playing Harry Potter, and 'eating' her golden snitch while playing Quidditch.

It was a fun night. We have completely loved the Harry Potter ride. We enjoyed the last movie. When the opening credits started, I got quite sad knowing that this was the end. Greg and Gavin are seeing the last movie right now. Even though the books and movies are over, we will still celebrate Harry's birthday.

Junior Rangers

Every Saturday morning this summer that we've been home we have attended the Junior Ranger Program at Timpanogos Cave Visitor Center. The kids love it, we have learned a lot and we get to be in the canyon every week. It has been great!
Our family has learned about a bunch of different things. We made cookie and candy soil when we learned about dirt, erosion and weathering. We learned about recycling and made inventions using recycled products. We made proboscis out of straws when we learned about butterflies and moths. Our teacher, Ranger Roberta, is wonderful. The kids just gravitate toward her. She knows Enoch and Kate by name and calls us her Junior Ranger family because we have been so often.

Today we learned about predators and preys. We talked about examples, read some books and sang some songs. The kids acted out different ways animals protect themselves from predators, like potato bugs rolling into a ball.

We finished the class by making cookie dough snakes and adding candy scales. This kids thought it was so fun. Gavin joined us today (he usually stays home) and he even had fun making his snake.



A few of the Saturdays, they have done some additional shows. When Greg and I were in St. George, my mom took the kids to the Birds of Prey show. The kids really enjoyed it. Enoch still talks about the owls and Peregrine falcons. Today they had a snake show. Yikes! However, it was quite interesting. We saw, learned and touched. Enoch and Kate had front row seats. As you can see, Kate and Enoch were completely enthralled. But, Enoch was quite concerned about the rattlesnakes.




Today, Enoch and Kate earned their Junior Ranger badges. We have been working on the booklet all summer. They were so excited to take the pledge and get their badges.


Now, we just need to hike to the cave!