Thursday, July 7, 2016
Ice cube painting
One of the things Savammah added to our "summer to do list" was ice cube painting. So, we smashed up watercolor paints and water in ice cube trays and froze them. One very hot day, we used them to "paint" in a flour sack towel.
Ladybugs
We've always done butterflies as our "grow a bug" summer project. This year...it was ladybugs!! It was pretty cool watching these little buggers grow inside ladybug land :-)
Monday, June 20, 2016
New glasses :-)
Look who got new glasses!!!
We had an appointment with a new doctor to follow up on her eye muscle surgery. All is well. She said that Savannah has an incredible ability to fuse the images she sees from her left and right eyes, which is keeping her from seeing double. As long as she isn't seeing double, she probably won't have another surgery.
Her eye sight also got a LOT worse, which apparently coincides with growth spurts in kids. So, a new pair of glasses was in order.
She loves them!
Savannah's expander
Savannah's dentist suggested that she for for an orthodontist consultation. I fully expected hook to say that she needs braces in a few years. And indeed, she does. But, she also needed to correct her cross-bite...now.
So, the poor thing has gotten an expander. This piece of apparatus is supposed to help widen her upper jaw, and correct her cross bite. So, we have a little key that we use to turn it every day...which expands it by .2 mm everybday. We turn it once a day for 14 days and then we are (hopefully) done. But... Then it stays in for 12-18 months until the bones at the top of her mouth grow together and firm up (much like the soft spot on a bab's head does).
We have had some tears, but overall she's been a trooper. We have 10 days left to go. The morning turn is the worst part, but she bounces back quickly and then if doesn't brother there for the rest of they day. We're going through lots of popsicles and Motrin, though!! I think the days of smores, corn on the cob, apples, and gummy candy are gone for a few years :-(
Elephant toothpaste??
Today, we planned to do A science experiment. It was called elephant toothpaste. A little yeast, dawn, peroxide, water and food coloring was supposed to create a huge foam explosion from the water bottle. Gage was convinced it was a dud.
Savannah was more hopeful.
Turns out...Gage was right!! It was a dud!!!!! But, it was fun :-)
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
New glasses
We had Savannahs eye checkup and found out....her eyes have gotten considerably worse this past year!! So....new glasses were in store for her. 
Camp invention
The first camp of the summer was Camp Invention. This was on the last day...when we went to the kids inventor's showcase.
This is Gage's solar cricket - pockey Von splat. They built them at camp, and when you put them in the sun, they move around!!
Pagosa springs
We spent one day around town, in Pagosa Springs. We drove out through miles of dirt roads. 
None of us caught anything...except mama...she may have caught the attention of the park ranger...and gotten a ticket for not having a fishing license!!!
Stopped at some beautiful spots
Did a little fishing..
Oops. Oh well, the fun most go on. So...we went to a waterfall!
And then went back to our condo to grill elk and mountain lion. And...maybe some hotdogs and hamburgs for the kids. Savannah did try both (and liked the elk). We rounded out the day with a game of beanbuzzled
The game of tasting jelly beans that may be good, or may be flavors like vomit and stinky socks :-/
The Four Corners
Since Mesa Verse was about an hour from the four corners, we thought we should zip over.
It's not often that you can stand in two states at the same time - here they are straddling New Mexico and arizona
And then..we had one kid in each of .four states - AZ -NM - UT - and CO!!
Adventuring to Mesa Verde
We started our adventuring by heading to Mesa Verde National Park - home of the Pueblo Indian cliff dwellings.
We also checked out the museum. While there, the kids took a test as well as an oath - to be one junior park rangers!
Notice...there is no wall in part of the cliff dwelling. It's just a huge drop!
I though this was it...but we drove up another 20 miles of windy roads to get there!!
Our first stop was an overlook. If you look carefully, you can see the houses build into the cliffs.
After that...it was time for our tour of the Balcony House. This is the view from to top of the Mesa. We took some stairs and trails down to the ladder that would allow us to get into the cliff home.
Here's the ladder! 32 feet high. Grammy and Gage were terrified.
And here's the view from the cliff dwelling - which is 7000 feet high!
Below is a picture of the "balcony" that gives this dwelling its name.
And a kiva - a home built down into the ground. This would have had a wooden roof on top (even with the ground. It had a heating and ventilation system too. Amazing these were built in 1200-1240.
The views were amazing!