Thrill Seekers

"Oh…what do you do in the summertime, when your kids are all away?  Do you find a quick ride?  Seek out a slide….and scream as you go by….Is that what you do?  So do I! "

We started out small and headed to the go cart track!  We went all out and did the “Pro Trak”  (Not so pro….I think our 8 year old could have handled that one…oh well..fun anyway!)   Later that evening when Clay and Laura were shopping and trying to figure out plans for the next day, they  heard the word “Zipline”  They both said “Sign me up!”  IT was so exhilarating!  We went to the zipline at Apache Ski Resort.  It is the second longest zipline in North America!  It was amazing.  Now, Clay has parasailed and skydived – so he wasn’t nervous at all..but Laura on the other hand had never done anything like this before – so she was a bit nervous!  But, as soon as she was strapped in and on her way, she was having a ball!  Poor Clay had to keep telling her to go faster – but honestly, Laura was just proud of herself for doing it and surviving!  We not only got a zipline ride, but we also got a gondola ride up the top of the mountain before sliding down…a 2 in 1 deal!  Yipee.  Going down that hill on a line was a thrill to say the least.  Holy Cow…what a rush!

 

 If you look at the guy coming down the zipline and go up the mountain, there is a small structure in the middle of the picture at the top of the mountain...(not the house) that is the platform we took off from and we are standing on the landing area at the bottom when we took the picture.  It was quite the ride!

It was a three part zipline ride.  The first was the longest, this was the second and shortest - but Laura's favorite.

 

 

Standin’ Up Western Style

When Clay and Laura passed by this photo studio that took old fashioned pictures, Laura couldn’t help herself!  This looks like great fun!  Clay was a good sport and went along with it!   The lady first picked out a bodice piece and handed it to Laura and said, “Here, take off all your upper clothes and put this on”  Laura looked at it, and thought, “WHAT? This?  And only this?  Where is the rest of the dress?”  Laura voiced her concern… “um…does this dress come with sleeves?”  “Nope…just that.”  Clay’s eyes went wide and Laura said, “I think I need a dress with some sleeves!”  It took a minute, but FINALLY she got it… and she traded the skimpy little corset thing for a more decent dress…of which Laura could put on without TAKING ANYTHING off!  Whew…that was better!  Next came the gun fighter…no problems there…Clay likes guns!  Whew.  Then came picture time…at first she wanted us to hold up bottles of whisky….um…no again. Again, they spoke up.. ”Do we have to hold the bottle in the picture?”  The answer “Yep, but only for the first few then we will get something else.”  Laura and Clay looked at each other and instantly knew what they were going to say, “No…I think we will hold something else for all of them.”  So we got a fan, bags of money, a gun, and an umbrella….that’s more like it.  The pictures turned out fun – and it was a great experience keeping our standards, even in small instances like a smalltown photoshop!   

 

Sunspot

 

On Day 2 of our camping trip, we took a drive up through Sunspot, where there are telescopes and national sun labs.  We had fun looking at all the equipment, reading and watching people work on their discoveries, and enjoying the view of the Valley below. 

The telescope on the right, is very tall, but it is twice that heighth under the ground!

 

if you notice from the floor... the whole room can rotate! 

Busy in Camp

 

Back at camp we kept busy with  bows and arrows (Clay would shoot the arrow and the kids would go retrieve them!, worked on several cub scout requirments - on was starting a fire without matches (CJ worked with the flint and steele for over an hour - he got very frustrated,  Fail and fail again, but kept at it.... and  he FINALLY, he got it!  we were so proud of him!  I think he was the most proud through.  His hard working efforts made a wonderful fire for us!), cooking 2 meals, and learning to use the "outdoor" potty.  I think the outdoor potty was  a favorite of all the kids!  They were so excited to dig themselves a hole, fill it, and then  cover it back up!  Even Detric was enthrolled!  He aparrently witnessed one too many of us "taking care of business in the wild" and went around mimicing us....it was too funny watching our 2 year old in his little voice say "Poop" and then squat, then walk a few more steps say "Poop" again and squat.  We try really hard to teach our kids NOT to "Potty talk" and that it is very inappropraite, but this scene was hilarious.  Clay and Laura had a hard time keeping it together!

 

Motorcycles in the Woods

 

 

We brought our motorcycles, and fourwheeler on our camping trip, so we were able to ride around an explore.  So, after our 3 mile hike, we decided to take the bikes for an explore and adventure seeking trip.  We rode the motorcycles back to this "perfect camping spot" we found on our hike and built a shelter.   Laura had never done this before, so with Clay's instructions and guidance - we all worked together as a famliy building this fancy shelter!  I do have to say it was pretty shnazzy if I do say so myself!  Even little Detric helped gather long poles for supports.  After the shelter was done, we all got back on the bikes and went for a joy ride.  I think Clay was a little disappointed in his crew on the length of our ride (I think that man could ride for hours and be happy) however, our small troop was done after about 45 min.  they were complaining their bums were sore and wanted to go back to camp.  So...back to camp we went!

 

 

 

 

The 3 Mile- r

 

We went on a 3 mile hike through the woods.  We found some old animals bones - where Clay and the kids played piece the animal together and figure out how it died!  They are pretty good at it too!  CJ found a stick that looked like a lego arm - everything goes back to legos for these boys!  We also did a service project and picked up a whole bag of trash!  Cub scout requirements...check, check...check.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(I am so glad that my boys will still hold my hand when we walk together.)