Pumpkin Carving

The boys spent the night at Nana's on Saturday so that mom and dad could go to a Poker Game with friends. For something to do Nana let the kids pick out pumpkins at the local Walmart. Jeremy helped carve the pumpkins and even roasted some seeds. The next night we took the Jack-o-Lanterns home and placed the lights inside. Bryce had the Pumpkin headed man on a horse and Kyle had the Boo Ghost.

Geocaching

To kick off the "Walk Across Arizona" we joined in on a Geocaching event. During the next 8 weeks all 4 of us will be recording our "steps" and watching as our steps add up to walk the 410 miles across Arizona. The boys were super excited to do their first Geocache event. If you are unfamiliar with what Geocaching is it is like a modern day treasure hunt. The goal is to find a Cache with a Handheld GPS unit and then remove an item from the box. Typically you replace an item with something else but since this was a special event it was just the fun in finding all the treasure boxes and finding what is inside. The 1st box was a bit hard to find but once we did the boys we ubber excited. It was a HOT day but we found all 8 boxes and we had walked over 4000 steps in about 2 hrs.

The boys are HOOKED. We are now looking into Caches near our home and will be looking for Caches when we go off-roading.

Crazy Hair Day

Today was Crazy Hair Day at school and since I was an organizer of the event and co-president of the PTO I figured I would get in on some of the fun. Last night I did some internet searches for ideas to do for crazy hair day and found a great tip for keeping a lot of hair sticking straight up on my head. Since I wanted to do something with some Dum Dums I bought at the store I thought of a DuM Dum Sucker Tree. So I placed a water bottle on top of my head and rubber banded my hair to the top of the bottle. IT WORKED. So Mark drilled some holes in the bottle so I could stick the sucker sticks in the bottle. This morning I placed the bottle in my hair then sprayed it pink, hunted for holes to stick the suckers in and then sprayed it again with a glitter spray.

EVERYONE loved my hair. Tons of kids asked for suckers! I really did have a great day and even wore it that night to Halloween Bunco.

Sept 11th Field of Flags

We headed down to Tempe this evening to see the field of flags that were displayed for the individuals who lost their lives on Sept 11th. Each flag had a description of the where the person lost their life and a short bio about them. Mom and Jeremy went with us and we all walked thru the flags reading the bios and reflecting on their lives. At 7pm there was some key speakers and music along with a candlelight vigil. It was a sad but also a great learning experience for the kids.

Micro Burst hits Home

When we got home from our day trip the kids and I went outside to let the dogs in the house and to survey the storm damage. In the dark the first thing we noticed was hmmmm no trampoline and all the patio furniture is blown around and laying on the ground. While Mark was still putting away the Rhino I continued walking around the yard to see what else was wrong or damaged. Bryce told me that the tree was leaning against the house so I wandered over to take a look and found some things on the ground that looked like wood. Turns out they were roof tiles. So I ran to get Mark. We did the best we could in the dark to assess the damage then we went inside to make sure there was no water damage due to the missing tiles. Mark used the Rhino to finish uprooting the tree so that it would not do damage to the house should we have another storm. There really was no saving it anyway. I was sooooo sad :(
In the morning I got up and took pictures for us and for the insurance claim if we end up filing one. Then we took the Rhino out behind the house to find the Trampoline so we can bring it home and take it apart.

An unexpected day out on the Rhino

A day trip that was supposed to take us to Workmans Creek ended up nowhere near there. While getting lunch at Subway before we headed up to the falls the gentleman behind the counter told us about an area right near the falls called "the Tubs" which are a collection of 3 small water pools. So once we got near the falls we set off to find "the Tubs". Since we did not really have detailed directions we ended up passing them. Since we were running a little low on gas (still had enough to get around but if we explored more we would possibly need it before heading back to Globe). Since the Town of Young was only 20 miles down the road we figured we would drive into Young and get gas and then turn back around. Turns out Young has NO gas stations!! And at this time kids are hungry and we still had 21+ more miles till we got into Heber to find a gas station.So as we drove toward Heber we kept an eye out for a place to pull over and have lunch and get back on the road. We found a Fire road near a beautiful grassy area so we pulled over and unloaded the cooler and chairs. While unloading we saw several other people pull onto the fire road so Mark unloaded the Rhino and went for a short drive to see how far the trail went. Once he got back we had a nice picnic lunch (flowers and all) and the kids did a little exploring with Mark. After lunch was over we took off down the fire road to see how far we could go! We took several different paths and even found a few places that we might try to camp in next time we go out. We also found a beautiful creek that we would love to explore on another day. Once we loaded up and started heading towards Heber/Payson we where quickly stopped as a deer jumped out in front of the van to visit their friends on the other side. So as quietly as we could we took a few shots of the deer (the kids loved it) while they were close to the road. We ultimately decided to drive into Payson so that we could head home that way. So after Mark used the extra fuel for the Rhino to make sure we could make it into Payson we headed off. We stopped in payson before heading home for gas and dinner. We chose to eat at a new restaurant that looked cute and we were glad we did. Not only was the food YUMMY but the portions were HUGE.Once we walked out of the restaurant the storms that were in the valley started in Payson. It made the sky's beautiful with patchy blue and black skies and Lightning strikes.
So even though the day did not go as planned some of the best things in life are unplanned!

Bryce is in the new school buildings

After 1 week of confusion and temporary facilities for the 6th-9th grades the kids are now able to move to the new temporary buildings. So this morning I walked Bryce to class from the main campus. It is a small hike to the new buildings but nice that they are separated from the younger kids. This will enable them to move from class to class without disturbing the other grades. In 6th grade this year Bryce will be moving between 3 teachers to help teach them about learning different subjects with different teachers for Jr. High - High School. Their classroom is with their "homeroom teacher" where they will start and end their day. So while it may be the second week of school it is almost like starting the 1st day of school all over again!

Wild Weather-- Dust Storm or MIni Tornado

On the way to the valley for a day of shopping there were SEVERAL dust devils on the side of the road. So while Mark drove 70 miles an hour down the 347 I got a few shots of one of them that was super tight. I know how powerful wind can be therefore I can never imagine myself living anywhere near Tornado Alley! I think this one is the biggest one I would like to see...lol

Jennie's New Glasses

The whole family went in for eye exams before the new school year started. Kyle found out he still does not need glasses but the rest of us got to shop for new frames for the new year. Mark and I really did not have any changes to our prescription but we thought it was a good idea to get a back-up set of frames. While Mark was in getting his eyes checked by the doctor I shopped for my new frames. Which is really hard to do with your eyes dilated by the way. I found a cute pair of frames that were different but that I really liked. I was not sure what Mark would think so I picked out 2 other frames for him to look at. Once he was done with his exam I showed him the 2 pairs I had picked out that were similar to what I already had. He was not too impressed so I showed him the other pair that I liked. He agreed that they were different but he liked them as well. Sooooo here are my new glasses (not the greatest picture due to the sun reflection).

1st day of the new School Year

So today began the 1st day of the 2010-2011 school year. The boys woke up right away and headed downstairs right away. They had picked out their clothes the night before so they were ready to go in no time flat.

I had to get back into the routine of making sure the kids eat breakfast while I make lunch, pack backpacks, and make sure kids have water bottles for the day. We all made it out of the house and to school on time!The parking lot at the school was a ZOO but we found a place to park and were able to drop off the kids in the appropriate areas. I am sure the kids will have stories of their 1st day as soon as they get home.

Sedona and Flagstaff Fun Day

____________View from Parking lot on Schnebly Hill ___________

Today we took a drive to cooler weather and a day of adventure on the Rhino. We headed off to Sedona to drive the Rhino on a few trails and go exploring. We arrived about 9:30 am and headed up Schnebly Hill Trail. On the trail we saw great sites and SEVERAL of the jeep tours. The trail was not too long and I got to drive the Rhino on the trail back. I even found this awesome house and land in the middle of nowhere that I can dream about at night :)After we got off the trail we headed into Sedona to explore some shops and eat. After driving for a bit trying to find a spot to park the van/trailer/Rhino we finally located one and headed off to explore. We saw several shops selling the Original Dirt Shirts but the only thing we bought was a few items from Del Sol (I got some hair clips and the boys got some key chains) where all the items change color in the sunlight. The kids even got to eat HUGE ice cream cones.
Once we were done shopping in Sedona we decided to head up the road to Flagstaff. The drive through the valley was pretty and it was nice to get to get to even cooler weather. We were looking to go try out the Cinders OHV area but the road was blocked due to a flash flood so we had to take a detour through the Sunset Crater National Monument area. It was awesome to see the volcanic rock formations and marvel in the magnitude of natures fury.
Once we got to Cinders OHV area and unloaded the trailer and Mark was OFF! I could do nothing but hold on and tell mark to slow down, you cannot make that hill, is this a path, do you know where you are going, etc...
Mark did finally find the way back to the van (it did not take too long) and he took the boys out one by one to go play. He really only overheated once :)

Crown King 4x4 Run (Mark's Story)

After Jennie took off with the trailer the 4x4 run began. The 50 mile run started out easy for about the first 40 miles with little to no obstacles. The group of 4 jeeps and the Rhino were able to do the 1st part of the run cruising at about 20 miles per hour. We stopped in a few different spots to admire the views and the wildlife (cattle and even a donkey). It rained on and off for the entire drive but the closer we got to the clouds in the mountains, the harder it rained. At one point on the mountain we were actually up above the clouds looking down. There were a few spots where some of the Jeeps tried to do a few more challenging side trails and at least one time had to be winched out of a sticky spot.
As we continued on the trail the rain got heavier and water began to puddle and run over the trail making it slippery and wet. We came across a few creek crossings with the deepest of which was 10-12 inches. Once the rain started pouring down we had to remove the windshield and someone in the group pulled out a tarp to strap onto the Rhino to help keep the boys and I a bit drier. We even had to cut a window in the back so that I could see out the back (very red neck).
The last 5-6 miles of the trail definitely became more difficult and the rain just added to it. There were 4-5 spots where I knew I would have difficulty with. These were steeper rock ledges and steep climbs that were made slippery by the rain. I ended up having to be tow strapped 3 times and had to be winched once (as well as some of the jeeps). I am proud to say that every where I was not the only one to get stuck. The last major challenge on the trail involved a 6 ft hill down into the bottom of a creek bed followed by a 15 ft climb up a hill (about a 40 deg slope) with several large boulders (this was my winch spot). The first Jeep that tried to cross this area got hung up on the large boulders on the hill and had to make several attempt to make it to the top of the hill. Only 1 of the jeeps was able to make it thru this area with no assistance. When I tried to make the climb the Rhino did not have enough ground clearance and power to make it on it's own. The last mile and a half was pretty easy and had beautiful views as we made our way into Crown King.All in all this was definitely not a trail I could do on my own. But a great trip I would take again if I went with the right group.

Since I was not able to get a hold of Jen I was quite surprised to see her climbing the hill to the restaurant after we had finished our meals. Too bad she did not get there before we ate :) We all were able to explore the tiny town of Crown King and after we trailered up the Rhino and headed down the hill I was even more impressed with Jennie and her braving the drive into Crown King.

(bloggers note: These pictures were taken by several different people who went on the run with us. I was unable to take any photos as I was driving most of the time. Thank you to Emma, Jason and Vinnie for taking such great photos. )