High Adventure

Greg and Parker were off to their 2nd High Adventure....

Since they were such pros from last year, they just kinda copied all their old plans.  

They checked their gear...

 

 

And bought a few on-the-way-home snacks, these ended up being SO appreciated.  Their last night and morning they left, the rain was NON-STOP.  The stream they needed to cross was now a river.  And they left camp before eating breakfast.  When they made it to the cars everyone was exhausted and hungry.  They devoured the pop-tarts.

 Ready to go!

On the trail. 

 

 So much rain

 Finally home about 6-8 hours later then expected!

Last Day and 6th Grade Clapout

The last day of school started with Parker running off before I could get a photo of him...

Here's the link to First Day school photos.

Greg was working from home so he was able to walk to school with us.  He was still training for High Adventure (photos coming soon!) so he wore his 50 lbs. backpack for the walk! 

Then Mimi did the last day of morning announcements with her 2 buddies and one of our favorite school secretaries.  (Lately we are finding that being on the good side of school secretaries is PRICELESS!)  

 

 

The 6th grade teachers planned a fun day of games and events.  One was Candy Bar awards.   I volunteered to put that together.  Each student received a certificate and the candy to match.  Mimi was Pop Rocks, and she was pretty happy about.  

Most kids were happy or at least thought their award was funny. 

Clap out!  

Everyone cheers as the 6th graders march out for the last (symbolic) time.

 Yoda and his energetic teacher.  

Mimi out grew her teacher this year!

 Mimi's reading teacher has been amazing resource this year. 

Another of our Fav secretaries 

and a Photobomb!

 Then the day that Parker was dreading.  The hair cut before High Adventure...

Trip to Utah 2018

When we went target shooting with the kiddos on our trip to Utah...
Parker, "boom, I shot a cactus"
Me, "What did the cactus do to you?" 
Parker, "Everything"

As we walked by a lawn the sprinklers came on
Mimi, "oh, the grass wateters are on"

My mom, "I cut some watermelon, and there is a whole bowl cut up in the fridge"
Greg (misheard), "There is a HOBO cut up in the fridge?!?!"
All * Laughing!

More to come...

A moment of calm in our busy summer...

just wrestling and solving a Rubiks cube.

Mimi in the sky

For Girl Scouts we gave the girls a cookie sales goal and going Zip Lining would be their reward.  They totally did NOT meet it!  Zip Lining is pretty pricey, so we did a Rope Course instead which was more reasonably priced and it was a tad shorter.  Mimi LOVED it!  There was a short zip line at the end of each course. 

Video

Parker

I make lentils now and then, and this time I guess I used a little too much heat in the spice.  Mimi was asking for milk, Yoda was avoiding it all together and Parker was taking dinner kinda slow. 
Me, "what's going on?"
Parker, "this is like, not mild"

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Greg introduced Monty Python's Holy Grail to Parker and for a few weeks he was galloping everywhere.  As I stood in the neighbor's yard, Parker started galloping in.  A friend of the neighbor, who did not know Parker, took one look at him and said, "um, there's a teenager galloping in towards you"
Neighbor, who knows how harmless Parker is, "yup, that's Parker, he's great!"

Eagle

Parker took on an Eagle project this past year.  He didn't know what he wanted to do, but he knew he wanted to do something outdoors and at a place he loved.  He asked at a few places and then finally decided to ask at our elementary school.  He offered a few ideas, but his 4th grade science teacher asked if he'd like to do a pollinator garden in the school's flower beds.  He was interested and felt like he finally found his project.

Here is the before.  

In the past it had been a "sensory garden".  A teacher long ago had planted plants that smelled, looked, and felt interesting.  Lots of them were herbs so the students could even eat them.  But that teacher left, and since the garden is slightly hidden by this brick wall, it was a little forgotten.  A self-propagating, pollinator garden seemed like a good fit. 

One day last fall we went in and tore out some of the weeds and leaves. 

We even got some helpers from the troop.

Over the winter Parker spent hours and hours researching plants that would work in the garden.  They had to be perennials, attractive to pollinators, deer resistant, drought tolerant, etc.

He also worked hard to find a greenhouse to donate flowers.  This was not easy.  He knew he had some donations from family and friends, but we needed a few hundred.  One store was willing to give him 50% off anything he bought and the PTA was willing to donate some funds, but he kept looking and found a greenhouse willing to donate a bunch of plants.  He also ended up working there and learning more about plants as a bonus. 

Fast forward to Spring and it was time to plant!

Getting the flowers from the Greenhouse.  Thumbs up!

Loading the van with all the goodies. 

Preparing the soil with a tiller donated by a tool rental company.

Here's Parker directing the work to be completed. 

How did Parker feel about all this?  SO TIRED!

End of the day!  So tired and sweaty and happy with the results! 

Stats:

2 flower beds 

400 sq ft

200+ plants

dozens of bulbs

lots of seeds

40 bags of dirt

water bottles

granola bars

pizza

20 volunteers

and one little snake

Now all that's left is the paperwork! 

Mimi is smart

Mimi recently had her worst allergy attack, but it still didn't seem as bad some people suffer.
Mimi, "why is my eye watering?"
Me, "you have mild, seasonal allergies"
Mimi, "Mild?"

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While watching Little House on the Prairie, Mimi saw a female character plowing a field, "She should just wear some of the men's clothes."

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And here's Yoda reading in the backyard...

On the walk home from school