Science Camp at Yellowstone!

Nana has trained the kids well.  They think Science is cool.  So we brought a few experiments to camp with us.

Trayton has been really excited about making a baking soda and vinegar volcano.  The picture was to late and didn't catch the full eruption but the kids thought it was awesome.  (We even had a few kids from the camp next to us come over and participate.)  We also made the alka-selzer rockets again.  So much fun.

You can't learn about geysers without making a soda geyser of your own.  So easy and so cool.  Diet coke and a package of Mentos.  Dad and Uncle Kyle had a competition.  Who could get more mentos in the soda and create a bigger explosion.  Here's Dad's.  I think he got 7 mentos in.

And here is Uncle Kyles.  Needless to say he lost! 

Yellowstone National Park!

We decided that before we leave the beautiful state of Idaho we needed to visit Yellowstone National Park.  Who knows if we will ever make it back to this region.

The only thing I had on my agenda was to see Old Faithful.  She didn't disapoint.  Right on cue she sputtered.  Did you know that the water that spews out of the geyser is hotter than boiling?  And Old Faithful sprays over 100 feet into the air!  Nature is amazing.  By the time the water flowed over to where we were standing it was still as warm as bath water.  Then a ranger yelled at us for touching.  Whoops!  I told him it was okay and that we let Grandpa touch before the children so they wouldn't get burned.  He didn't think that was good enough.

The park ranger at our campsite suggested we go see Black Sands Basin.  So glad we did.  It was even cooler than Old Faithful.

The unique conditions surrounding Yellowstone create this pools of water that are steaming and sometimes boiling.  You can feel the heat being emitted from the ground.  It was like a sauna.  The heated water creates an interesting environment for microbes to grow.  The microbes form these amazing colors around the edge of the pools.

Here are some more of the colorful microbes.

I was so fortunate to have Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Kyle and Aunt Katie come with us.  That meant 6 adults and only 5 children.  That's right, the kids were totally outnumbered. 

Some of our friends joined us also.  Here's Jordynn with her best bud Jensen, Hagan, and Trayton.

The colors of the microbes were so vibrant it was really incredible.  Here's a look up close.

Happy Birthday Trayton Dear!

Can my baby really be NINE years old?  Where has the time gone?  Trayton, you are a delight to have around.  You are an excellent big brother and a super big helper.  The last year has had many changes and you have really stepped up and been a leader in our home.  Thank you for all you have done.

Favorite Color:  I don't know.  Let's just say red.
Favorite Book:  Wolves of the Beyond
Favorite Movie:  Harry Potter
Favorite Toy: Legos
Favorite Food:  Fatty'z Pizza
Favorite Place: Boise Aquarium
Favorite Person (wink-wink): Dad (What?!)
Favorite Thing to Do:  Wrestle with Dad
Favorite Scripture:  Stripling Warriors
Favorite Memory:  Riding Horses with Nana

Agency

Some days I feel like I talk but my children don't hear me.  I beg.  I plead.  I shout.  I get blank stares.  I wonder if my words will ever be understood.  Some days they get it, and my heart soars.
Family Home Evening tonight (6/24/13) was amazing.  I've been pondering a lot lately about the Plan of Salvation.  The war in Heaven wasn't about right and wrong but the right to choose our own path.  There are consequences to every choice.  Good and Bad.  Lucifer's Plan would bind us to one fate.  Our Eternal reward would not be earned it would be forced.  I love my family.  I panic when I think about losing any one of them to sin.  I want to shout at them to just do what I say.  I know best!  I don't want you to experience the negative consequences of making poor choices.  But the more I force the more stubborn they become.  I listened to a speaker in Sacrament on Sunday discuss agency and I realized that their resistance wasn't because they didn't love me or respect me.  And it wasn't because they were defiant children.  It is because they had fought for their right to choose and won.  Growing up I was an easy child.  I aimed to please.  I did what I was told.  I was in college before I questioned my own spiritual beliefs and decided for myself about what was truth.  We are told all the time that this generation of young people were saved for these latter days because of their strength.  I know this is true.  I saw this strength in my own children tonight.
  After lesson in FHE our family has the tradition of providing an opportunity for every one to bear testimony.  I bore my testimony regarding the sacred gift of agency.  I told my children that I would commit to learning how to teach them without limiting their ability to choose.  And then I gave them the floor.  Braelynn shared a testimony that was cute but mostly incoherent.  And then Kade spoke.  Normally, I have to nudge Kade.  Coerce him to speak, until begrudgingly, he feels compelled to share a testimony.  Tonight he volunteered and the Spirit filled our home.  He bore witness of his desire to be good, to be like God.  He said he didn't want to make mistakes but he knew he would.  His tear-filled testimony made my heart soar.  Kade you are a choice spirit.  Your desire to make your own choices comes from your experiences in our pre-Earth life.  At the age of 7 you have more conviction in you then I had when I left the safety of my parent's home and confronted the world.  I often worry that your stubbornness will lead you down difficult paths.  Tonight I realized that you will not be swayed by the influences of the world or even by the pleadings of your mother.  You may not remember life before you came here to me but your testimony is far greater than anything I could have taught you here.  Your Eternal experiences have already shaped your life.  You will make mistakes and I will say many prayers on your behalf.  You have the potential to become like God.  I have faith that you will.  And not because you were told to or even compelled to, but because you want to.  I will learn to not get angry as you exercise your agency and you will continue to use your agency to inspire me to be better.