BUSTING ROCKS

My oldest two recently celebrated their 8th and 9th birthdays. They are now at an age where toys aren't exactly of interest anymore, so I had to get creative with presents. While perusing Amazon, I came across a geode kit. PERFECT. Science meets adventure. My oldest was pretty excited over the gift (his brother received an equally awesome crystal growing kit). We finally tested out the geodes and what an adventure it was. Thinking it would be an easy activity, I grabbed a hammer and we pulled out the instructions. "For a precise cut, use a chisel to score the entire circumference of the rock." What. I have no chisel. SO I ran next door to borrow some from my neighbor. And I attempted to score the first geode. It. Took. Forever. My neighbor came to see our progress and found me rather flustered. So he offered to help by using a saw. Between the three of us (my neighbor, my oldest, and myself), we hardly put a dent into that stupid stone. I got so frustrated that I just threw the rock against the sidewalk and BAM - it shattered to reveal its inner gems. So we all ran back home and used the hammer to shatter the rest. No, not every cut was clean and perfect. But the kids had a blast taking turns whacking the rocks with a hammer. We ended up with quite a few awesome stones. Now to build a shelf in the boys' room to display their gems...

OCTOBER BREAK

Throughout the entire duration of October Break, I referred to October Break as Spring Break. I couldn't get it right, for the life of me. And normally, ANY break is crammed with trips, outings, and adventures - but this one was quite lacking. A couple of semi-sick kids meant everyone felt well enough to play, but not well enough to travel far from home. So we loaded up on Disney movies and at-home activities to stay entertained. Once Friday rolled around, though, I was itching for any sort of adventure. It boiled down to another trip to Prescott (and Goldwater Lake) OR a new excursion, learning about some of Arizona's first native peoples. The latter won out and, on Friday morning with my mom in tow, we set out on an adventure. Our first stop was Montezuma Castle. A park ranger taught us that the Sinagua women built the castle as the men fetched the stones. They also kept dogs, turkey, and parrots as pets. After getting our fill of the castle, we headed north a few more miles to Montazuma Well. A short hike up brought us to the edge of the well, where more Sinagua once lived. The well remains at a near-constant level, having 1.5 million gallons entering daily through an underground spring while another 1.5 gallons escapes through cracks in the rocks. Montezuma Well supplies Beaver Creek and rushing water can be heard on the hike back down. Finally, at the urging of one of the park rangers, we headed a couple of miles further down a dirt road to the V-bar-V Ranch, which contains a huge petroglyph site of the Sinagua. We hiked about a half mile in to see the petroglyphs and they did not disappoint. Another ranger on site was able to educate us about the proposed meanings of many of the drawings. My kids were even asked to demonstrate the method used to make the drawings. Overall, it was a fun day. Not your typical adventure and my kids probably did not find it as exciting as others we've been on, but they still seemed to enjoy it.

BIRTHDAY BOYS

Today, my oldest turns 9. Last weekend, my second oldest turned 8. It's difficult for me to comprehend that they are this close to double digits; I still remember expecting my first as if it were yesterday. I had no idea what parenthood would look like nor that I would have 5 more in such rapid succession. And here we are, two boys who are too smart for their own good. Two boys who are obsessed with Pokemon and Star Wars. Two boys who are so alike, yet so different [that it's almost comical]. My little hiking companions.

BOAT TRIP

Whoa. Dropped the ball on our most recent adventure (slightly preoccupied obsessed with planning our next adventure): a trip to Saguaro Lake with some of our favorite adventurous friends. A couple of weeks back, we spent an afternoon on our friends' boat, enjoying ourselves out on the water. We went tubing. We went swimming. We stuffed our faces with as much food as possible. I love seeing how courageous [most of] my kids are - even the youngest two babes rode on the hammerhead tube.