Branson

Still don't know how to add photos. It isn't liking me but we have a top ten of the trip to Branson!

10 days total (counting driving days)
9 kids in one car
8 hours at Silver Dollar City, and lots of roller coasters
7 hundred bug bites (no official tally but there are a lot of bugs in Missouri)
Six. The concert for the girls night out (awesome!!)
5 trips to the swimming pool (there might have been more, it was an awesome pool)
4 different condos
3 fish caught and released (following the "secret" trail to the water, Sam declares there wasn't any trail at all)
2 days of boating
1 awesome family reunion

Alternately, we could have thrown in number of grandkids (16), hours of games that were played, chess games played (Hannah and Johnny spent several hours one afternoon playing chess), shopping deals found (Tabby wins for her Disney dress), miles driven, states that were driven through and that we all came from (we drove across 5 and all the boys came from a different state), photo ops, photo bombs, desserts concocted, meals consumed, grocery store trips, and of course how many people came home sick.

It was a ton of fun. Even the driving wasn't too terrible, amazingly enough. The resort was a great idea, lots to do close by to help with babies and parents needing naps. Food was amazing (ham, pulled pork, taco salad, all the hot dogs Ben could want, pizza, and lots of ice cream). Stories were shared from childhood and memories made. The whole commune living was fantastic. We got really good at counting kids and double checking that everyone was accounted for.

Is it too early to start trying to figure out where to go next time? (I request a shorter drive this time if possible.)

Cool Google storybook

I do like how Google is throwing together a story from the photos that people have taken at a particular place and time:

https://plus.google.com/109988086975102434606/stories/2488b02b-203e-3146-ae9a-4ebd8253b25a14676239f91/1

Antelope Island Loveliness

Sometimes you live in an area and never really explore all the interesting things that are nearby.  Sometimes there is a good reason why you shouldn't explore all the interesting things that are nearby.  And sometimes both situations apply - such is life at Antelope Island.

First the awesome - there is a big lake with an Island that we haven't really explored with some awesome beaches!

Here Ben is expressing his joy at throwing rocks in the lake!

And here is a cool 360 degree sunset shot!

And finally here is Sam on one of the high outcroppings.

Those were all the awesome things about the trip.  Now on the dark side - the invisible biting gnats!  (Note, the graphic has Cedar Gnats - I think the Great Salt Lake ones were related but weren't called Cedar Gnats - rather the horrible Gnats from hell)

(from http://watchingtheworldwakeup.blogspot.com/2009/05/road-trip-part-3-all-about-cedar-gnats.html)

These guys are horrible.  Luckily for most of the trip the wind was blowing pretty well, which confined these little guys to the bushes everywhere.

However, when we were packing up the wind died down.

A slow buzzing started...

Which turned into a very high pitched buzzing...

And then the kamikaze attacks started...

Luckily I had sent the kids into the van while I hooked up the trailer.  My mistake was thinking that I could manhandle the tent trailer onto the trailer hitch without any issues.

I folded up the trailer with one hand, the other hand being dedicated to wildly swiping the gnats.  I would have preferred being attacked by a cloud of mosquitoes - at least I would have been able to see them and smash them.  These guys are small enough that you don't see them clearly unless you have a microscope.  All you can see in the air are these little dust motes with jackhammers and chemical weapons.

After moving the van into place to hook on the tent trailer, I realized that I would have to again go out and manhandle it onto the hitch.  This would require both hands.  Arrgh!

I took a deep breath, ran out yelling, and muscled the tent trailer onto the hitch, connected everything else, took a good look at everything again because there was no way I was going back out there, and dashed back into the van.  I look down at my arms and feel my neck - it looks ok initially...

12 hours later I'm counting the bug bites on my arms, on my neck, and in my hair!  At least 2 dozen, all within the 5 minutes I was out putting the tent trailer back on the hitch to leave.

Ouch....

Anyway, we all learned a valuable lesson.  Do go explore the wonders near your home.  Don't explore the Great Salt Lake while the flies are hatching.  Do trust all the websites and reviews which say the flies are horrible in May and June at the Great Salt Lake.

We had fun, just won't be back until September or later when all the flies die down.  :)

Random Update

No pictures with this post because my computer has decided it doesn't like doing that I haven't tried to figure out why (maybe tech support can do it sometime).

We have had a great year so far, Justin and I got to go to England for a bit (just over a week for me and three weeks for him-work and what not). That was great. We have lots of cool pictures that I would love to be able to share. We went to Stonehenge, Wales, castles, some more castles, a cave/mine, more castles, secret WWII tunnels (not so secret anymore but still cool), saw old churches, old buildings, some cathedrals, walked around London, several museums (most museums are free in London, it was great), drove in the countryside, walked in the city, and saw Wicked. It was awesome. My new knowledge of England: no stop signs, some lights and LOTS of roundabouts; the countryside is full of sheep; London is crazy busy; after a couple of days all buildings look old and it is hard to care as much. I will try to put up some pictures at some point.

We got a dog (finally as the kids will add). We found a black lab/collie mix for sale. He is just over one year old and is an outside dog. The kids love him and he is a great dog. He does have a lot of energy and sometimes knocks over small children with his exuberance. He loves it when the kids come out to play. He follows them around and often just sits and watches them play, unless tennis balls or sticks are involved and then he has to be a part of their activity.

Hannah was baptized. She was very excited and I really need to post some pictures of that event. It's a big deal for her to make that decision. She received a journal and now writes in it every Sunday. She is a very talented and smart girl. She loves to draw and she loves being the leader of any imaginative play going on.

We had another bout of asthma/respiratory problems for Ben during spring break. Four days in the hospital (where we learned he loves to paint with water, who knew). Justin and I alternated days at the hospital and days spent with family for Amber's wedding. Her wedding was a lot of fun and it was fun to hang out with family and see old friends and neighbors.

Coming up we have soccer, piano recital, end of school, summer activities (Sam is set on doing concession stand), hiking and camping, and whatever else fun we can fit in. There is a brief update, sorry no pictures, hopefully someday.

Year in Review

Here's a glimpse of our year in review in photos.
 

This is the whole family one: we went to San Diego, played in the snow, went camping, explored Goblin Valley, and had a massive garden among other things. 

Hannah's year
 

Ben's year
 

Michelle's year
 

Sam's year

And we look forward to a fabulous 2014!!

Sam's First Coding Experience

We're going to do a more extensive post later on regarding most of 2013, but Sam (now age 9) wanted us to put this up so that he could share his first coding experience.  It's from Khan Academy, which he really likes so far.  This specific one is the hour of coding.

It's the Three Snowmen wishing you all a Happy Holidays!

Here's the coding behind it:

fill(68, 117, 0);

textSize(25);

text("Happy Holidays, Everybody!", 49, 56);

noFill();

ellipse(52, 133, 10, 10);

ellipse(77, 133, 10, 10);

ellipse(182, 133, 10, 10);

ellipse(206, 133, 10, 10);

ellipse(313, 133, 10, 10);

ellipse(337, 133, 10, 10);

ellipse(64, 312, 100, 100);

ellipse(64, 219, 86, 86);

ellipse(64, 141, 70, 70);

ellipse(195, 312, 100, 100);

ellipse(195, 219, 86, 86);

ellipse(195, 141, 70, 70);

ellipse(325, 312, 100, 100);

ellipse(325, 219, 86, 86);

ellipse(325, 141, 70, 70);

fill(0, 0, 0);

ellipse(64, 190, 10, 10);

ellipse(64, 215, 10, 10);

ellipse(64, 243, 10, 10);

ellipse(195, 190, 10, 10);

ellipse(195, 215, 10, 10);

ellipse(195, 243, 10, 10);

ellipse(325, 190, 10, 10);

ellipse(325, 215, 10, 10);

ellipse(325, 243, 10, 10);

noFill();

ellipse(200, 50, 385, 70);

line(103, 127, 152, 82);

line(240, 127, 256, 82);

line(286, 127, 249, 82);

ellipse(194, 159, -27, 15);

ellipse(65, 159, -27, 15);

ellipse(325, 159, -27, 15);

fill(0, 255, 140);

textSize(25);

text("From the Elliss family.", 49, 387);

Halloween Fun!

We have had an adventurous month it seems and I will try to get some photos up of our activities. But up first, Halloween! I quite like Halloween. Pumpkin carving, Wilson family pumpkin party, costumes (which in my mind means time spent sewing and designing) and candy.
Here are a couple of our pumpkins. These are home grown this year! Sam's is on the left and looks a tad creepy since it is slightly out of focus and he had pushed the mouth piece back in. Michelle's is the middle on with the fringe hair on top. The one on the right is Ben's with Dad's help (a lot of Dad's help). 

Michelle was a fairy. I love this dress. Easy to put together but really fun as well. 

Hannah wanted to be a butterfly so we made up this costume for her. She loved it. The face painting leaves something to be desired but we tried it this year. A little too big and too much. 

The Stick Man. At first he wanted to be a ninja again and I convinced him to try a stick figure, but we went for white on black instead of black on white which is what helped convince him. He loves it and still wears it. (It is just duct tape.) 

Ben got to be a giraffe this year because his costume wasn't done yet when he decided he needed to get sick and spend quality time with mom or dad at the hospital. It was cute, cheap and just a tad small but oh well. Jake from Jake and the Neverland Pirates will have to wait (although it is mostly together and would finish up fast so maybe for Christmas).

There is a brief look at our recent adventures. We have more: the hospital visit mentioned above, hair cutting, science fair projects, and a camping trip to name a few. 

Injuries

So we have adventurous children. To sum up a few of the medical trips: Ben has ridden an ambulance twice (respiratory issues), Hannah has broken her arm twice, and this summer Michelle got stitches. I was going to put a picture up but it is on my phone as we took those pictures from the doctors office. Sam has alwasy said, I have never had a cast, That's cool that Ben got to ride in an ambulance, etc. Enter this:

After having a cast for less than 24 hours he decided it wasn't as cool as he thought it would be and wondered how long he would have to wear said cast. Fortunately for him, the answer is only three weeks. Obviously it is not a bad break to have such a short cast time.

What did he do? Fell off his bike. And yes he was wearing a helmet (required at our house or mom takes your bike and won't let you ride it anymore). We have the curbs that slope everywhere, not just the driveways. He was riding right next to the curb (like inches away) and decided to turn into a driveway. His bike didn't make that turn well and he came off. Fractured distal radius I believe is what the doctor called it (small break up by the wrist).

And if you see Michelle she will tell you about the hole she got in her head that required 9 stitches this past summer. Monkeys jumping onto the bed gave her that injury.

And the doctor wonders why I am so calm about my kids injuries. Let's just stop with those okay?

Another look at the garden

This has been a fantastic year for our garden. We contribute it to good dirt and consistent watering (amazing right?). So here are some more pictures so we can brag about how great our garden is.

This tomato plant is my favorite. At the nursery it was called Sweet 100 but the gal who was helping me said she calls them the gardners candy because sometimes they don't even make it in the house. It truly is producing lots of tomatoes so they do make it in the house and then I eat them with everything. This will be planted again next year because if I am ever going to get my kids to eat a fresh tomato it would be like this. 

This was early in the producing time. We got a lot of green beans from our two little rows of plants. Good thing I didn't plant more, no one but me likes them but they are so easy to grow. We did try out fried green beans which Justin said made them more edible. 

Another day of picking. More green beans, lots of small tomatoes, some big tomatoes, several cucumbers, and squash. Oh and some corn (that was mighty tasty) and a few apples (we are still working on the apples, knowing when they are ripe and such). 

Let me tell you about my squash plants. I bought a hungarian squash plant which makes a squash kind of like a pumpkin but bluish in color. I also bought a yellow squash and a zucchinni plant and we planted pumpkins and cucmbers (and later more cucumbers) and we had a volunteer plant growing which we really didn't know what it was. I haven't grown squash in a couple of years because we got squash bugs and they ate my plants. Well we did get squash bugs this year but after my plants were big enough that it really didn't matter. Look at that picture! There is one growing all the way to the opposite end of the box and out of it. They are growing into the tomatoes. They are everywhere. The zucchinni plant is not zucchinni, I don't know what it is but I want to grow it again. And I just figured out what the volunteer plant is: it is a winter squash. Justin's parents gave us a giant winter squash last year and we didn't know what to do with it and it got dinged so it started getting mushy so we threw it out in our garden (maybe it should have gone to the compost bin first). So I have a very hardy winter squash plant (I transplanted it and it still thrived) and really probably shouldn't be picking them yet. I wondered why they were thicker outer layer than the other squash. We also have four pumpkins growing so far. I shredded up 4 of my squashes one day and that gave me 22 cups of shredded squash. I still don't like squash bugs but they can have a go at my plants now.  

Yes, this has been a good garden year. Anyone need some squash or green beans? 

First Day of School

We survived the summer and have headed back to school. The older kids started last week so we have settled into our routine there. Get up and out the door. They were excited to start school.

Here we have Sam. He started fourth grade. If you flat out ask him he will probably tell you he doesn't like it but I think he does, at least a little bit.  But, it is "the hardest grade I have ever had." To which he is told: "And they just keep getting harder." We are supportive like that. 

Hannah is way excited to go back to school, after all, her teacher does this thing called super Friday. She doesn't know what that is entirely except that everyone else loves it. She loves going to school and learning and at recess she says she has started playing raquetball. Not sure how that works exactly but she loves it.

And here we have Michelle who started Kindergarten. She was very thrilled to start school. She had to wait a week after the other kids but was excited to go. And I am excited for her. Kindergarten helps my kids like each other again. One goes to school for a couple of hours and when they come home they are ready to play with the younger one without as many arguments. Here's hoping it works for Michelle and Ben. 

Camping Trip

We did manage a camping trip this summer and it included two hikes! This came as a dismay to some kids and was fine for others. It was fun to be up in the mountains for the weekend. Here are pictures from the first hike which was Silver Lake and Lake Solitude.
 

 

I don't know for sure who took the above pictures, but from this picture we can narrow it down. Every time we came to a big rock Michelle and Ben wanted their picture taken.  This was fine for the first quarter mile or so, then we tried to get them to just keep moving.
 

And this is what moving looks like for the little ones. They alternated who was on Dad's shoulders with Mom carrying one sometimes. And yes, Michelle wore a skirt the whole time, but then that is nothing new.
 

I believe this is Lake Solitude but don't quote me on that. We did this hike two years ago for Justin's birthday and there was snow on the ground (the kids remembered the snowball fight) but there was no snow anywhere around here.
 

But there was a cave. This was also remembered and this time flashlights came with us so they could check it out. There are sparkly rocks inside is what I was told (I was playing keep Ben managed).
 

We also hiked to Donut Falls which Sam declared not the greatest since he almost didn't get to climb any rocks. We had to limit how far we went because I didn't need anymore injuries that weekend (there will be a post of Michelle's injuries when I get the pictures off my phone) and my children are part monkey and feel the need to climb and jump over and from everything. It was a great weekend. Fairly relaxing and a dinner of dutch oven chicken and peach cobbler that were both declared delicious by Sam! He even ate the cobbler! Yes I am that surprised. Only a couple more weeks of summer left.

July--Cub scout family camp

First off, before the family camp pictures, here is the trailer Justin bought (it conveniently came with a 4 wheeler not pictured).  The kids are getting good at tying things down and have created their own little play place up there.
 

We have some awesome neighbors we have become friends with who work at scout camp.  They hold a friends and family day and invited us to come.  The girls were thrilled because that meant they got to all the stuff Sam got to do at day camp.  Including BB guns!
 

And Dad had a turn (I had one when I went with the boys the week before).
It's superhero related, so here we have Bat Michelle.
 

They have an awesome obstacle course that leaves everyone very dusty and dirty.  (Think dusty base camp and then crab walk and army crawl and get under the "lasers" kind of dirty).
 

 

We put Ben in charge of keeping the bars swinging as they had to run around them.  He loved it when Justin ran though and just about nailed him with the bar.

And then it started raining and then pouring so we all left.  As we left the canyon there was an amazing rainbow.  This is just one of the many I took out the car window as we drove. 

Garden fun

I just have to show off our garden this year.  We are very excited about it.  In our big box we have green beans, corn, and lots of squash (zucchini, yellow squash, Hungarian squash--it's supposed to be a blue color, cucumbers, and pumpkins).  The squash doubled in size while we were out of town.  There is also one small tomato plant, with very small tomatoes which are super good.  The first one was sampled yesterday.

The other box we have contain broccoli which is very tall but not producing yet (we might have missed the window on that one) and bigger tomatoes. 

One box we didn't take a picture of had our peas in it.  This year was not a good year for peas, it got too hot too early.  It now contains two pepper plants and three more cucumber plants that Justin bought recently.  They are all surviving.  Two more pepper plants are out in the yard as well.  And Hannah is growing her own garden of sunflowers in the very back of the yard.  She even waters them periodically.

Here's to more success from the garden!