RAWHIDE - HEE-YAH!

Wednesday night after our Camelback Mountain hike, we took a trip to the old west to Rawhide.  There were all sorts of activities that we did, including:

The kids did some panning for "gold" and found a few nuggets.

We went on a "train" ride (though not on tracks) through the old west.  On the ride, we got to see a beautiful sunset!

One of the kids favorite activities was the rock climbing wall.  Jacob did the wall over and over - trying from the different sides.  He especially liked ringing the bell at the top.  Claire also did the wall a few times - she was a great climber, too.  The bell was a little high for her, but she enjoyed climbing 15 feet or so.

 

Claire, Kate, and Liam all got to ride burros, too.  They all thought it was pretty cool!  Meanwhile, Jacob was busy climbing the wall.

They had a mechanical bull that the kids loved riding, though half of the battle for them was just getting on the thing!  Jacob was super enthusiastic, and Claire was funny to watch - there were a few times where she was basically off the bull, but was still barely hanging on with just her legs.

Dani and Jared even took turns riding the bull.  Dani was pretty hot stuff - she even stayed on a couple seconds longer than Jared.

It was a lot of fun for all of us!

Spring Training 2015: Scottsdale

We decided to have our family's spring break in Arizona this year, and we packed a lot of activities into the 6 days we were there!  

Traveling with 7 now (including 6 who need plane tickets), we decided to start spring break a day early - and given that Jacob and Claire were only scheduled to be in school for 1/2 day, we thought that would be worth the less expensive tickets we bought!  

After getting in super late Tuesday night, Jared and the kids went to the movie Cinderella while Dani  and Torin caught up on sleep (Dani wasn't feeling well).  Afterwards, we went to Scottsdale to McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park.  It was an awesome park! We got to ride on a mini train (which Liam was particularly excited for - it is what he had been telling people we were going to do in Arizona for weeks), and it was a surprisingly long ride through the park.

The park had a newly constructed model train museum.  It was so new that not all of the train tracks had been completed.  It was interesting to watch all of the trains and other model railroad decorations.  Jared could have stayed in there for hours! 

The park also had a little carousel, and all of the kids enjoyed a ride on it.

After the train park, we took a trip to the Sugar Bowl for some dessert before dinner (gotta love vacation!). It is an old-school ice cream parlor with decor and was frequently featured in locally-written comic, Family Circus, so they had a few comic strips up on the walls.

We located a Cafe Rio and ended our day there and looked forward to day 2!

Lawn mowing buddies

Jared invited Kate and Liam to help him with the lawn recently, and now every time he mows, he has little helpers.  He let's them push it themselves - with a little guidance.

While Liam is not pushing the real lawnmower, he is running around with his own lawnmower.  They love to be part of yard work (most of the time, at least)!

Jacob and Claire asked if they could now the lawn this summer, so they will get a turn this summer.  That should be fun!

Pinewood Derby

Pinewood season snuck up on us this year, but fortunately we were able to borrow a scroll saw.  It was pretty funny - we cut the car in our kitchen on the island then had to clean up sawdust, then we painted in the kitchen too.  How manly.

Fortunately, the car finished the race (always goal #1).  He got 2nd and 3rd a few times, so that was a victory too.  Jacob brought his car from last year to race it against his car from this year, and the 2014 car was the winner.  Beginner's luck?

Playing in the backyard

The weather has been so beautiful this month!  That means that we get to put out a blanket on the lawn and let the kids all play.  It is cute to watch Torin play with the kids.  The love to involve him in their games.  Torin stays put on the blanket because he doesn't like the grass!

Another afternoon, after church, we had Trevor over and put out the cornhole set and played cornhole with the kids.  Liam played without his pants, of course.

Ryan and Jessica have been living at Jessica's parents house since they moved back from Houston, and Kate and Liam have had a chance to play with Cason and Evan, digging in the dirt (Liam's favorite!)

Liam is a man of many outfits!

Selfie girls

One of Dani and Kate's favorite things to do is to take selfies together.

Many times, the selfies are taken right after Kate's nap (and during Dani's resting time).

I love these girls

and Liam too!!!

Biking and Hiking in Champoeg

It feels like we've had spring for weeks, and we are loving it!  Whenever there's a nice sunny day in the winter time, we make sure to spend it outside.  Jacob was in charge of making us lunch for a Cub Scout requirement, and he grilled hot dogs.

Meanwhile, Kate and Liam picked the (very abundant) abundant dandelions.

Afterwards, we took a bike ride in Champoeg.  These little boys squeezed into the bike trailer - Liam was Torin's little buddy!

We rode over to the other side of the park, and then took a short hike.  As usual, Kate and Liam found some walking sticks.  On part of the hike, we got to see a little gardener snake slithering through the undergrowth next to the trail.  I was very impressed that no one (including Dani!) freaked out!

 

The hike led to a great view of the river!  Torin sat still long enough to take some cute pictures.