Rockhounding Memorial Day

 

Our Memorial Day adventure started Sunday evening because we pre-loaded the truck with water backpacks, shovels, buckets, etc for an early start on Monday. Sara and kids joined us for our rock adventure this time. The forecast was hot...so we left around 8:30 for the Oregon border. It is only a 40 minute drive to Graveyard Point which spans into Oregon! It was a little tricky to find the correct areas without trespassing (which we did twice) onto private land. After several wrong turns Justin finally found the right bridge and path. Tiny red arrows pointed the way if you happened to notice the arrows. The Ostler's hopped into the back of the truck for the off-terrain roads. The first hill was so, so steep! The kids all slid to the back of the truck bed and the those in the cabin held on for purchase. We found the first area with the help of GPS and the Idaho Rock book. The kids were all quite excited to rummage through the topsoil and find shards of agate. The first location was much better than the second location. Mostly the kids enjoyed smashing rocks and filling buckets with random rocks. I found that most agates were nestled in the roots of sagebrush bushes and churched up by vehicle tires. We set up the sunshade for the kids and a picnic lunch. I spotted a good sized lizard hiding under a sagebrush at the second site. Everett was by far the most enthusiastic rock hounder. During lunch we spotted two heavy diggers mining for something in the distance. We headed that way next to check out the goings on! Justin followed a small, faint road that meandered on the top of a ridge. He spotted the best cache of agates for the day. I found numerous geode specimens and lots of agate, jasper, and conglomerate mixed up. Oliver was leaping off rocks just like a mountain goat! The kids had to wrest our attention back to the fact that they were hot, dusty, and completely done. We came home saturated with sunshine, dust, weeds, and mountains of pretty rocks. What do I do with 100 pounds of rocks? We scrubbed off our finds towards evening enjoying the water and revealing beautiful colors and formations under the surface dirt. I further tortured myself right after we got home with a grocery shopping trip to Walmart. We were all beat down tired after that busy day! My mom and some family went to Heber for Memorial Day to visit those who recently passed away in the last year. I hear Aunt Alice hosted a picnic for those able to stay and visit. 

We spent Tuesday recovering from all the fun Monday brought. I had a nasty migraine from all the sunshine. The little girls and I visited the library for 30 minutes after gymnastics. We had quite a fun time filling 3 tote bags with lots of books. Towards evening I met up with the Potter family for a photo session at the nature park nearby. Wednesday Everett decided he needed to make escape rooms. It was quite hot outside at a toasty 98 degrees, he had to have his room set up in the trampoline. Sara was much more accommodating than I, she brought over some sheets to hang around the tramp, I chipped in tablecloths and clamps to secure the coverings. Everett dedicated an hour making clues by coloring, cutting, and arranging pieces of paper around the tramp. He was thrilled Sara and I participated in his challenge. He carefully thought about math clues, color clues, and of course weapons. We made it out by matching paper colored to match a paper keyhole. He worked hard the next day to make even more difficult challenges using stacks of plastic cups one could twist to find letters that made up words. I am thrilled he found a fun way to entertain himself and involve other people! 

Amelia and Everett had their well-child visits on Wednesday. We had a chat about Amelia's allergies the only concern about those two. We have two healthy kids growing like weeds! Justin hosted the Deacon's activity at our home with a lesson on maintaining bikes. Amelia went to do baptisms with several other young ladies, Brother Wadsworth, and Sister Miner. She was thrilled to get a frosty for her efforts. The girls decided to stay with Sister Minor for the YW activity of drawing welcome signs on new members of our ward driveway's. I quite enjoy spending a swath of time poking about my garden each night to water, prune dead leaves away, and mutter over the ants eating my new plants. Evelyn finished her reading chart all by herself! She read 10 books in about 2 days using the EPIC! library platform. 

Idaho experienced it's first record breaking hottest day of the year on June 3rd at 101 degrees! The next record day was from 2007 at 98 degrees. Yikes! Sara brought out her snow cone machine for a cool treat. I filled up the wading pool in the front yard for the kids to play in.  I didn't want to go find a swimming pool so we made do with what we had. The kids played with the hose and wading pool using city irrigation water for the afternoon. Amelia huddled inside with her new Pickles the Dinosaur reading a new book series. Phillip and Carson played Legos for a couple days! Justin took all the kids swimming at the rec center so I could edit photos in peace. I am reading "Boys in the Boat" right now, it was nice to listen while I worked. Justin started lifting weights twice a week in the morning. He forgot Thursday morning so had a goal to try for the evening. The kids were so excited to swim and play with Justin! 

Friday Evelyn cashed in her reward for reading 100 books with a lunch date at Chik-fil-a with Justin! I hear that was quite the fun event in her life. They stopped to clean up Justin's car at the car wash place. I took off for 24 hours of alone time. Justin booked me a room at the Modern Hotel near downtown Boise. Josie was not happy about that plan, a Disney movie and Koala snuggles seemed to solve her tears. I first stopped at TJ Maxx to return my cat bed swing thing, the line was once again super long a 40 minute wait in line. I booked into my snazzy room, complete with ear plugs to dampen the road noise coming from the busy streets. My time was actually quite boring. I watched some TV, read my nerd books, and walked 5 miles that evening. I found a Greek restaurant with decent lamb kabobs. It was Pride week so lots of colorful characters paraded about. Sometimes I envy those who just let it all loose, the loud voices, the easy laughter, and boisterous body language. My head was aching something fierce so relaxing was not that easy. Justin said his back was aching all night so he did not have a great night either. Next morning I was up and eager to go on a bike ride down the greenbelt following the Boise River. Luckily (?), the only helmet left was a rainbow helmet. I got several cat calls and praise for showing my gay pride. It was heavenly to bike for miles without stopping and going as fast as I wanted. Freedom! Justin and Amelia cleaned up the office Saturday morning! That was an amazing surprise to come home to. Josie gave me koala hugs for an hour after I got back home at 3 pm.  I did not know what to do with myself all alone. I should've talked more to myself. Josie needed a mommy date so she suggested a park visit with just the two of us. Sara and Oliver had the same idea! We enjoyed 20 minutes playing at a nearby park. 

I am feeling the need once again to assess our preparedness situation. There are things I need to get done like fill the rest of our water barrels, order some more dry milk powder, more wheat, and more dry eggs. I want to get a better stockpile of seeds for gardening vegetables. World events are all over the place. Imports and exports are undependable, farming and food production is greatly impacted by drought all over the world, and other global impacts that affect our food supply. It was hard to imagine the life of those during the 1930s impacted by the dust bowl. I sometimes imagine life will never get that bad, but it is easy to see how just a few events can turn our circumstances quickly. As life returns to normal with restrictions eased away I feel like this time is just a lull, the eye of the hurricane. Reading and studying Church History has also brought a sense of "are you ready?" things are coming that no one person can control. I am grateful the past years have established a pattern of family strength and prayer.