BLM & Bannack

I was able to go on field trips this spring with my sons that are in elementary school, and I was so glad! For years, I've been unable to go on all the field trips that I wanted to because I was teaching music and always had performances or rehearsals with students and couldn't go with my own children. But since I wasn't teaching music this year, it made it a lot easier to be able to leave when I wanted (and getting subs for myself as an assistant teacher is a lot easier than getting a sub for a music teacher, too!). 

The elementary grades each have their own set places they go for field trips, and this year I got to go on 2 field trips that I hadn't been on before in the past. The 2nd grade has a BLM field trip that I went on with Kanyon, and the 5th grade goes to Bannack State Park in Montana, that I went with the twins to.

Kanyon's field trip was one afternoon in the middle of May. The second grade goes to 3 nearby BLM locations: the BLM/Forest Service building, the Shoup Campground, and the heli-tak at the airport. The 2nd grade was split up into 3 groups, and each group was at one of the locations for an hour, then they rotated to the next place with the help of a school bus. At each of the places there are 4 stations that the kids go to, so each of the large groups is split up into 4 smaller groups. I was in charge of Kanyon, Hesstyn, Elizabeth, and Jesse. Our first stop was the BLM/Forest Service building. They learned about radio signals, weeds, fire supplies, and Kanyon's favorite station was the fire truck. They got to get on the truck, and put out two fires with the fire hose, too. 

Our next stop was the Shoup Campground. They learned about conservation, being responsible while camping, how to play frisbee golf (the BLM has a local course to play on), and Kanyon's favorite station at this stop was the wild fish. He loved seeing the large fish so close, picking up a fish, and holding a fish. In fact, when we got home later that day, he said he loved the fish so much that he wanted to catch a Salmon fish so he could keep it as a pet!!

Making sucker fish faces

Our last stop was the Heli-Tak at the airport. We watched firefighters practice repelling from the tower, which was so fascinating for me! They come from all over the west to practice here in order to get certified. Then we got to take turns on the helicopter simulators, and took a tour of the heli-tak building.

The 5th grade had their field trip to the Ghost Town Bannack on Monday, June 1. Our family has been to Bannack before, but I wasn't able to go on this field trip with Ammon when he was in the 5th grade. The bus ride to get there takes over 2 hours, so we left before school started and got home after school ended. We got to take two buses because there's so many kids in Jonah and Micah's grade, and I rode on the bus that Josh drove! I think that's the first time I've gone on a field trip with the kids where he came, too! When we arrived, we were split into 3 big groups, and then the chaperones were assigned small groups to be in charge of. The 3 big groups rotated between a scavenger hunt, panning for gold, and having a tour guide walk them through the town, and each activity lasted about an hour. Our group did the scavenger hunt first--which was the only time we had to be broken up into mini groups for the day. In our mini group we had Micah, Jonah, Linden, and Carson.

For the scavenger hunt, we were all given a list of things that we had to find the answers to by looking around the town. We got all of our answers done just barely in time, and we were the only mini group in our large group to get it all done! I was so proud of the kids in our group, because they did it all on their own, too. They read the clues, figured it out, and wrote the answers (I saw lots of other groups with the adults doing it all for the kids).   

Micah on the barber chair inside the old bar

Jonah on the old-time spinning barber's chair

Our mini group on the staircase inside the Hotel Meade

Linden, Micah, Carson, and Jonah on the staircase outside above the school
that leads to the Masonic Lodge. 

Josh and the boys by old mining equipment from the nearby mine.
The hill behind them has the cemetery on top, which is where they found the
answer to the last clue. 

Our large group went on the tour of the old Ghost town next with a really awesome tour guide. He knew lots of interesting information, and it was so fascinating to hear the stories about the people and buildings in the town.

Mrs. Baker's group

I just loved this antique baby carriage inside one of the old homes

Our group inside the one-room schoolhouse.

The whole 5th grade had a picnic lunch together after our second station. There's a nice large picnic area across a bridge that leads away from the town.

When lunch was ending, a massive storm system quickly moved in. Our group was headed down to pan gold on the opposite end of town when we got caught in it. We got soaking wet, and the big hailstones hit the back of my legs as we walked/ran, and really hurt! I was glad to finally find shelter under this covered porch! The other groups had stops that were closer to the beginning, and all went inside when the storm hit. We were the only ones that got super soaked!

Thankfully, the storm passed and we still had a little bit of time to pan for gold and garnets, though it wasn't as much time as the other groups got. Josh, Jonah, and Micah all found lots of little garnets, and we got to keep them. We brought home a little bag half-full of the sparkly little red gems!

I had a fantastic time on both field trips, and I know the boys did, too! I'm also really glad that Josh came on the twins' field trip. I enjoyed spending time with him as well--spring is a super busy, very stressful time of year for him, and I don't get to see him very much in May! I'm so grateful for fun educational learning opportunities like these for my children!

Memorial Day Memories

My favorite part about Memorial Day weekend this year was making memories with friends. I was just so happy to get an extra day off from school and work, and being with people I love was an added bonus! 

On Friday morning, I drove to Stanley to meet Krissy and bring her kids back to Salmon for the weekend. We got to play with Mason and Taylor for several hours before taking them to their dad's house, and we had so much fun while they were here! Jonah and Micah were happy to spend time with Mason, who is one of their best friends, because they don't get to see him very often anymore, and Kanyon loved playing with Taylor (who is so good with little kids!). I am so glad that my children have good friends, and it is so enjoyable for me to see them be physically active and having fun together outdoors!

On Monday afternoon, Josh and I took a road trip to Idaho Falls to have dinner at Stockman's, the restaurant we went to for our anniversary earlier this spring. We loved it so much, we were willing to drive 2 1/2 hours to go back just to eat there! It was our friend John's birthday earlier in the week, and since he'd never been there, we wanted to take him as our gift.

I was extremely disappointed when we arrived in Idaho Falls to find Stockman's closed for Memorial Day (it said NOTHING about being closed on their facebook page or their website either, because I checked beforehand!). So, instead we went to Texas Roadhouse. John had never been there before either, so the trip wasn't a complete failure! 

(p.s. I have an obsession with taking food pics, and Josh absolutely hates that I do it when we're at restaurants!)

The food was good (I especially loved their rolls and green beans with bacon), but the best part of the trip was actually talking and laughing and being together on the long car ride to and from Idaho Falls. Time truly passes quickly when you're with good company, and I was fortunate to be with some of the best company!

I am a lucky girl to spend time with these two handsome men,
who are some of my favorite people in the whole world! 

After the extended weekend was over, I felt a renewed desire to return to school to finish up the last two weeks until summer break! I like how sometimes a little extra time off rejuvenates the mind, body, and soul, especially when it is filled with quality time with friends! 

Kanyon the Cub Scouter

Since February, when Kanyon turned 8, he's been going weekly to Cub Scouts. He's liked making projects, going on field trips, and learning new things. I think out of all 4 of my boys, he's enjoyed it the most. There's only a few boys in our troop that go, so he invited his friend Keagan to go with him several times, which made it even more fun (until baseball season started and Keagan couldn't come anymore because of schedule conflicts). 

Cub Scouts is on Wednesdays right after school, and since the church is right across the street from the elementary school, he just walks over when school is out. One day, after having a pajama party at school, Kanyon was elated to make "Flarp" at scouts. He came home and played with the stuff for hours! He just loved stretching it out and making all kinds of shapes with it!

Our troop isn't having scouts over the summer, so for the last pack meeting in May, we had a dinner at Kid's Creek Pond, and the boys fished in the pond. It was nice weather, and we had a good time. Kanyon was so excited to go fishing!

Unfortunately, the other boys in his troop AND his brothers all caught fish, but he didn't. 

He was bummed. After being at the park for nearly 3 hours, and trying various bait, and several spots around the pond, and praying that he would catch one, we finally gave up and went home because it was getting dark. 

He was determined to catch one, so a few days later (after much begging), Josh and I took him down to Grandpa's pond, but we didn't catch a single bite. A few days later, Josh took him fishing again, this time to Hyde's Pond, and FINALLY Kanyon was successful! He was super excited to catch it and eat it, too!

At the end of May, the stake had a Cub Scout Day Camp at Cockrell Campground. This was the first time that Kanyon was able to go, and he wasn't sure what to expect. The weather was overcast and cold, and I thought it would get rained out, but it surprisingly only sprinkled and the boys had a great time. The theme this year was "Tall Tales", and there was 5 different stations that all represented a tall tale, and an activity that correlated with it. They had stick pony races with multiple stops for the Pony Express, sawed logs using old-time saws for the Paul Bunyan tale (his favorite station), hammered a metal stake into the ground like John Henry, panned for gold for the Lost Dutchman, and a boat was transformed into another activity for the Cremation of Sam McGee.

Kanyon had such an awesome time! He talked about it the whole way home: about all the activities, and the different folklore stories, and what he made for lunch (the boys cooked their own sausages over the campfire and flipped their own pancakes, too). When we got home, he said "I just wish I could go back to Day Camp!". I'm glad he had a good time! I'm so grateful for his scout leaders and the stake leaders who organize and create these activities, because it gives him experiences that he wouldn't get otherwise!

Music Makers

I was approached last summer by a woman who wanted me to teach her daughter piano lessons. I wasn't so sure about the idea at the time. I taught piano lessons back in 2011, so I knew I was capable of doing it, but I was unsure if I could commit myself time-wise between working full time, going to college full time, and all my mothering responsibilities. I thought about it all last summer; I was feeling down after losing my elementary music teaching job, and having the opportunity to continue to teach music appealed to my soul. and since the woman didn't give up on her idea of me teaching her daughter, I decided I would do it. I knew I could only teach 6 students max because of my schedule (one every day after school and two on Friday mornings), and within a few months of starting lessons, I had exactly that many (3 boys, and 3 girls)! It's been wonderful for me to be teaching piano again, and I've enjoyed working with my students and watching them learn and grow. 

I had a spring recital for my students on a Sunday evening in mid-May, and four of them participated in it (Ammon and one other young boy student chose not to). I wanted to have it at the high school music room, because I wished for my students to be able to play on a grand piano. My friend John (the high school music teacher) was very accommodating and helpful, and I just loved how it all turned out!  

I love the quote that's on the original Willy Wonka movie (when he says to the kids who are licking the wallpaper that tastes like snozzberries),"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams", and I incorporated that quote into the gifts I gave to the performing students. I got them all M&M's boxes--representing "Music Makers".

Three of the performing students are in their first year of lessons, so each of them performed two songs each: one memorized song of their choice and one duet with me. The other performing student was a previous student of mine, and has continued to have lessons for years so he is more advanced, and he had two longer, harder songs.

I was proud of my students! They did a great job, and although it was unnerving for most of them to perform for the first time, I was so proud of them for doing their best!

We had light refreshments afterwards, and I chatted with all the people who came to support the piano students. I feel like it was a success and I'm looking forward to many more recitals to come!