Xander to the rescue.*

I know I have been really slow with my posts, it has been a crazy time around here. I will get them all caught up soon...I hope :)

What is one thing you do not want to forget when you are traveling...a place to put your very busy toddler on lock down at meal times. We made it a few days without his booster but brokedown and bought one today. Ahhhh.
Grandpa's house is not baby proofed much at all, so the kids have actually been doing a great job of staying out of things they shouldn't be in...well, as great as you can expect from three 4 year olds and a 21 month old. That is not to say when we get home the baby gates and door knob covers will be coming off LOL.

After doing some more packing at the house, we took the kiddos on a fun hike. It was a 1 milk walk through the Lava Cast Forest to see the 'Trees Of Stone'. Jericho walked the whole mile, actually Lily was the only one that spent a little time on Daddy's shoulders. Such big kids! The place is full of tree molds, or lava casts, that were formed by a lava flow through the forest 6,000 years ago.

My kids started out performing, singing and dancing on every "stage" they came to. So funny!

Get down!

A little 30 second video of the entertainment we were treated to :)

There were some trees that were not stone. Grandma showed everyone how if you stick your nose right in the cracks of the Ponderosa Pine it smells like Butterscotch. It really does, which is cool...but now my kids want to smell every single tree they come across LOL.

It was a beautiful day to be outside!

Stopping for a rest in the shade.

We did not know that some of the tree molds were empty of their former trees...leaving some pretty deep holes. The kids had all run ahead and next thing we know Jericho is screaming because Xander is dragging him by his arm. I get up there thinking I am going to scold Xander for not being nice to his brother. As I get closer I hear Xander say "No it's too dangerous Jericho." I join them and find Xander had just saved Jericho from possible serious injury. This was an empty hole...probably 10 feet deep (the deepest one there is 15 feet)...that Jericho was too close to for Xander's comfort and he was pulling him away. Who needs Lassie, Xander was the hero of the day and was given big praise by his Dad and I, and Grandma too. Way to look out for you little brother Xan!

The kids got to explore some of the more shallow holes. Jericho of course had to climb down in every one the big kids did :)

 

A couple of the deeper holes.

Checking out a neat twisted up tree.


A big lava field, and a giant downed tree.

Heading down into the field. Isn't cool how new life can emerge, even from a lava field?!

Hello down there!

Some logs also turned to stone.

I can see your hand Grandma!

Heading back up.

Jericho kept trying to jump off everything. At least he usually asked for a hand first.

Some neat ripples...wonder what made them.

Xander found a stick and started whacking everything.

Just as we made it back to the car, some thunder started to grumble low. Haddie found a chimpmunk and tried to feed him some rocks LOL.

He wouldn't come to her, so she left his dinner on a rock :)

On our drive home we saw a bunch of deer. This is kind of fun...how many can you pick out in these pictures?

It took us about an hour and a half to walk the mile, then it was about another hour or so in the car there and back. We were just about home when Jason notice two familiar looking dogs on the side of the road. Good thing traffic is pretty light all the way out here, when your two shit head dogs decided to bust out the screen on a window you left open to explore the neighborhood.

Jason jumped out to walk them home.

Turds.

A little walk home is actually pretty far out in the country. So Jason popped the trunk and sat on the tailgate while the dogs ran behind. I kept it at about 5mph so the tired mutts could keep up.

Pit Bulls are closer than they appear LOL.

Gangster back home..chilling with Jericho.

Cuties!

Bed time has not been going any better. I just hope this second wind staying up until midnight stuff ends when we get back home.

After the kids went to bed, or at least went to their room, we started going through some more stuff. It is so cool running into old things that parents keep. Jason made this in outdoor school when he was a kid.

An old newspaper from the day Jason's dad was born. The paper was not too PC back in 1945.