Must! Go! Camping!

We are a camping family.  I camped with my family growing up, my husband camped with his family growing up and now we camp together while our children are growing up.

I love to camp and it has been a year since we have been able to get out into the great outdoors. Finally, this weekend we were able to go.  We brought along my parents and my sister and 3 of her daughters. 

We went to Capitol Reef National Park (http://www.nps.gov/care/index.htm).   Now, I debated on sharing that information as I don't want to share this little bit of heaven with anyone.  However, if you promise not to take my camp spot, then I say, "Go check this place out! You won't be disappointed!" 

We left late Friday morning and drove about 3 1/2 hours to get there (we did stop for lunch).  When we got to the campground (which is set among orchards that were planted by the pioneers) it was full.  We were debating on driving down the Notom road and find a primitive place to set up just for the night, but then we saw the handicapped spot was available.  As my father just had knee replacement surgery, he has a temporary handicap parking permit (yea dad!) We set up our trailer for my parents, set up the Springbar (what else?!...http://www.kirkhams.com/) tent for us, and another tent for my sister and her daughters.  It normally costs $10 a night to camp in the campground, but my father had his golden eagle pass so the campsite was only $5 a night (yea dad, again!!) 

I made dinner (chili dogs/ hot dogs..depending on your preference) and waited for my sister to arrive.  Once she showed up, we made s'mores and went to bed.

Saturday morning, I made pancakes for breakfast (using Bisquick Shake N' Pour..what campers did before this product is beyond me..it makes it so easy and clean up is quick). 

We headed off to see the Gifford House and gift shop where we tried some wonderful apricot preserves, bought some homemade ice cream, and a book (I know you're not surprised by that last purchase!)

The American Frugal Housewife printed in 1833!

We then went over to the visitor's center where more purchases were made, Junior Ranger patches that the children had earned the last time we were there, and 3 stuffed raccoon toys.

Junior Ranger Patch

We then went over to the petroglyph walk which is a very easy walk along the river bank.  As you walk along boardwalk you can see ancient petroglyph drawing from the native americans that lived in the area.  It is amazing to see so many of them are still clearly etched into the sandstone.  We drove down the road to see the 1 room school house that operated there into the 1940's and then the Behunin cabin that housed a family of 10. 

 As my mom and dad were not able to go on a hike, we decided to drive along the scenic byway, where we forded a river and stopped to let the kids wade in and play for a while.  We came back to camp for lunch and then I and my family and my sister and her kids all piled into our SUV and decided to take the road up to the Lower South Desert Overlook, Bentonite Hills, and Temple of the Sun.  We had a great time, and it fulfilled my husband's need for some 4-wheeling. 

 

Bentonite Hills 

                                                                                                                                                                      



Lower South Desert Overlook



Lower South Desert Overlook

                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                               We came back to camp, had spaghetti for dinner, made banana boats and s'mores and then off to bed.

Sunday, we woke to find that a little woodland creature had visited our camp in the night.  He had eaten some of my sister's hot dogs that we had accidentally left out.  We could still see his paw prints in the dirt and decided that he was, most definitely, a raccoon.

We had eggs and bacon for breakfast which I made while my husband broke down the tents and cleaned up the camp spot.  We made one more stop at the Gifford house and visitor's center and then headed home.

We didn't get to spend as much time as we normally like to, but it was fun and we will be back next year.

Now, for those who have no idea what a banana boat is, here is the recipe:

       1 banana                                      

       mini marshmallows

       rolos or caramellows

       tin foil

       

 Cut a slice down the peel of the banana, slightly pull the peel open and create pockets on either side of the banana.  Stuff any space between the banana and the peel with mini marshmallows and rolos.  double wrap the whole banana in tin foil and place into the hot coals of the campfire.  Wait about 10 minutes, pull from the fire, unwrap, grab a spoon, and enjoy the heavenly, gooey, goodness!

What to major in?

My ultimate plan is to be a high school teacher of English and Biology.  I looked through the biology minor requirements and overwhelmed doesn't come close to describe how I'm feeling.  It has been almost 20 years since I've taken a biology class and, although I was pretty good at it in high school, things could have really changed since then.

 Someone mentioned last night that I should major in world religions since other religions fascinate me.  I've made a fool of myself many times when I find out someone is a different religion than me.  Here is one such example: My girl scout troop meets at a church that I am not a member of and  I was trying to find glue for the girl scout project that myself and my co-leader were doing (we had both forgotten to bring some) when I came across one of the girls' mothers. I asked her is she went to church here (in hopes that she could tell me if they have glue here and where.) She looked at me and said, "Me? No I'm Jewish."  I stopped dead in my tracks.  My eyes got wide and I grabbed her arm and said, "Are you serious?! You're Jewish?! I mean actively participating, practicing Jew?!?!".  She is now looking at me as if I'm some crazed maniac and tentively says"...yes."  I then proceed to explain that I am so interested in the Jewish religion and culture and have been for a long time and that I have so many questions for her. We laugh about it now, but I know for at least a moment there she was pretty sure I was a raving lunatic!  Needless to say, other friends have had the same expierence when they have told me of their religious beliefs.

Back to my point, maybe world religions is something to consider as a minor, although could I even teach such a topic in high schools today?

I do think given my love of reading and literature an English major is a given.  I'm hoping that with all the reading I do, that when I get into my English classes and I see the required reading I'll be able to mark most of them off the list as having already been read.  Here's hoping!

Books I'm reading

This is the current list of books I'm reading/listening to:

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (audiobook) - I'm listening to this one with my husband.  As he travels a lot and drives about 45 minutes to work, he listens to the cd's and on his mp3 player.  I've loaded it onto my mp3 player and listen to it while I'm doing housework or shopping.  I just started it this morning and am already enjoying it.

A Dog's Way Home by Bobbie Pyron - This is a children's book and I'm reading it right now with my older daughter who is 10.  Our local library hosts a mother/daughter book club 9 months out of the year and we have been participating in that for about 2 years now.  It has been really fun and has given us something to share.  She is much further ahead than I am right now and asks me everyday if I read any of it today.  She is anxious to talk about the book and knows that she has to wait because I won't let her give anything away to me.  She is really enjoying the book and can't wait for the bookclub meeting.  I'm only about 1/4 in to the book, and I am liking it as well.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins - my sisters-in-law and I have started a quarterly book club and we have decided to read the Hunger Games books.  I actually read The Hunger Games quite a while ago, but never did move on to the others in the series.  I might be a victim of all the hype or I just wasn't in the right state of mind at the time, so although I found the first book quite good, I wasn't sucked in and was able to put it down at will and I was ok not picking up the next book as soon as I had finished the first one.  My husband read the first one with me so when he found out that we were doing the whole series, I got the audiobooks for him and he has already finished this one.  I have until the end of June to get this one finished--so I'm taking my time with it.

Ben-Hur by Lew Wallace - My husband bought me a Kindle Touch for christmas and Ben-Hur was one of the books that he put on it.  I have seen the movie before and like it, but what really got my curiosity is that Anne Shirley in the movie "Anne of Green Gables" gets in trouble for reading it during math and I've stored this book title away in my head ever since.  When I saw it on my Kindle, I decided to dive right in.  It was a few weeks before Easter, and I thought it would be great to have it finished by Easter.....no such luck.  I am enjoying it so far.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - I have read this one before and I loved it.  I was going to be reading this one with a teacher friend of mine, but things just haven't worked out with her schedule to be able to read it.  I may just put it back on the shelf, but because I have already started reading it again, it's hard for me not to finish it.  Does anyone else have this problem?

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling - This one will be slow going as I'm reading it to the twins before bed time.  As we have a busy schedule and sometimes get home just in time for everyone to brush their teeth and then fall into bed, it's not an every night read.  Check back in 2 years and I should be done with it.  I have told the twins that they are old enough now to read it on their own, but neither of them want me to stop reading it to them (which secretly I'm glad about). I have read the entire Harry Potter series and love them all.  It has been fun reading these to the kids and see their surprise at the twists and turns in the storylines.  I'm glad that I've been able to keep them from knowing too much about Harry Potter so it is a fresh, new story for them.

That's about it for now.  Many people wonder at my ability to read so many books at one time and to keep everything straight.  I'm not sure how I do it, I've always been able to.  My reading of multiple books, however, didn't start until my senior year in High School, where I took A.P. English and we were reading many books at a time.   I guess I can thank Mr. Bickmore for my ability! :)

This is not a craft blog...but I must share!

I am a Girl Scout leader for my 7 year old daughter and a co-leader for my 10 year old daughter.  One fun tradition that girl scouts has is making swaps.  I had to make some for my older daughter's girl scout sleep over and they turned out so well, I have to share them!  Now these just might become collectors items because I rarely do crafty stuff like this.

These were very simple to make (which is why they worked for me!).  For the pinwheels, I cut out squares of felt, cut from each corner to just before the center, hot glued every other corner to the center, added a pony bead, and put a toothpick and pin on the back.  The button flowers are fairly self explanatory.  I used hot glue, and put a pin on the back.  Both my girls love them, and so did the girls in their troops. 

I'm going back to school!

I've been toying with the idea of going back to school to get my bachelor's degree for a long time. 

About 11 years ago, my husband came home to his very pregnant-with-twins wife sobbing on the couch.  When he asked what was wrong with me, I answered "These children will be born to a mother who doesn't have her bachelor's degree!"  I was in earnest and whatever pregnancy hormones were pulsing through my body at the time made me upset that my husband had his degree and I only had an associate's degree.  For some reason a bachelor degree was crucial to the upbringing of my children.  I soon saw the irrationality of my tears, but did vow that one day I would go back to school.

 I have been a stay at home mom ever since my twins were born nearly 11 years ago.  We had another child 4 years after the twins and I have been doing my best to juggle housework, motherhood duties, and keeping up some of my own interests.  Some days are better than others, but I have found I do much better if I take the time to do some things I enjoy (mainly reading).

This school year, beginning September 2011, my youngest started 1st grade which left me home alone for 8 whole hours a day!  What was I going to do with myself?!  How was I going to spend my time?!  I had so many plans, but they slowly went by the wayside and I found my motivation slacking and then one day it hit me...I should go back to school!  I talked it over with my husband who was very supportive of the idea and the kids seemed ok with it, although my son wasn't so sure at first.  He was certain that my going back to school meant that I was going to live in the dorms at the University.  After I explained that he won't feel the want of my presence he got on board with the idea.

I filled out my application, requested my transcripts and have been anxiously awaiting any news from the University.  I have checked my application status online everyday and today my status went from "in process" to "admitted"!!!  I'm so excited to start this fall and hopefully I can pull off motherhood and studenthood simultaneously.