Is It Naptime Yet

So here are the anticipated pictures from our Ely trip. Well, maybe not anticipated, but fun.

Friday at Ely

The girls were blowing bubbles outside.

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Lilah was playing fetch with Jack.

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Zarina wanted to wear a backpack like Lilah.

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It was pretty chilly as night settled.

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Carolyn must have had the camera.

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Saturday at Ely and Cave Lake

How many Blake’s can you fit into a sleeping bag?

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Brien and Andrea taking the girls out for the first time.

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Some ducks I noticed while waiting for them.

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They decided to come up on the shore near me.

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This was later in the day. The girls started putting their hands in the water.

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Sunday at Leeman’s Cave inside Great Basin National Park

Lilah crawling through the hole that was about the size Mr. Leeman crawled through and then discovered the caves.

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Jonathan was a good sport and was the first adult to crawl through.

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Us a the beginning of the tour, soon after we were separated and the girls were up front with the ranger/guide.

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Aunt Carolyn with me and the girls.

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Lilah was taking pictures of Carolyn as we walked out.

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The girls with the cave cadet pins they earned.

Ely Trip 2009

So the girls and I went to Pine Valley this weekend with Sam, her daughters Britta (5), Matilda (6 months), and her in-laws. Jon was on call this weekend in case they needed something at UNLV, and Sam’s husband wasn’t able to make it either. It was so much fun and I would go all the time if they allowed me and my family to be there.

1. Grandpa Gary, Sam’s FIL, did so many fun things with the girls and just included mine like they were his own. We did call him Grandpa Gary the whole weekend.

2. Grandma Jackie, Sam’s MIL, was also so nice to my daughters and made us feel like family.

3. Sam for inviting us along, even if it was slightly selfish so Britta would have some playmates and wouldn’t need Sam to entertain her the whole weekend. 😉

4. I’m thankful that I was able to let go and tell my girls to get dirty and have fun. They stayed outside 90% of the time, except to eat and to sleep.

5. The beautiful outdoors that Heavenly Father created. I just wish Sam had thought to invite us sooner in the summer so we could have gone more, of course only if we were invited. I’m hoping to go next year with Sam if she invites us again.

Just for fun 6. Talking with friends till late in the night. I think if the husbands go with us they’ll have to sleep in tents outside so Sam and I can talk. It’s so funny how Sam and I never run out of things to talk about.

A while back when I was at Costco binging on school stuff I noticed they had various classroom sized maps. I was already spending a lot of money so I opted not to buy one even though I thought they were cool.

I didn’t tell Jon about the maps that day but about a week ago we were talking about something and having a map came up. I told Jon about the ones a Costco and he mentioned that a world map would be cool. (I would have bought just a United States one at the time, so I’m happy I didn’t that day, but what really stopped me from buying one was how big the maps are.)

So these maps are big. I didn’t know how big, but I knew they would be large and I knew that we didn’t have anywhere to put it. Jon said a map would be a good teaching tool, and of course I agreed, and we decided that I would buy a world map the next time I was at Costco and maybe hang it in our hallway.

I saw them and knew immediately that it wouldn’t fit on our hallway wall with what he measured, but with Costco they change what they have so I knew I needed to buy it now anyways, so I did. Jon, being the lover of knowledge he is, decided to hang it on our bedroom wall since it was the only place large enough.

Just looking at the map made me feel smarter. I didn’t feel smarter because I knew so much already, but because what I had learned about different countries in the world had faded and I enjoyed reading over it again and relearning things. I’m so happy that Jon had me buy the world map because the world is such an interesting place and I think I get caught up in knowing just about the United States when teaching the girls, but there is so much more.

I think it goes rather nicely with our blue wall and nothing matches decor. Maybe we’ll put it in the girl’s room when we finally get around to moving the bunk bed around.

Like I said, it only costs $6.59 at Costco and I think might be one of my better home school buys.

I feel smarter already and I know my girls will learn from it too.

So this year there almost wasn’t an Ely trip since we went camping in Caliente with Andrea and Brien in May. Jon was going to consider that our “Ely trip” since we traveled two-thirds of the way to Ely and saw Andrea and Brien, but since we were unable to make it to the family reunion this year and I was bummed that I wasn’t going to be able to see Andrea and Brien and have our girls go to the Hoggle Zoo together or have any awesome sisterly fun driving to the reunion with Carolyn, he felt bad and said we could go to Ely. I thought he meant just me, Carolyn, and the girls, but he came along too and it was lots of fun.

We went up on Friday the 7th of August and did the normal visiting thing, except there was lots of teasing Lacey this trip, and it all started Friday night. Andrea and Brien made us dinner, though I can’t remember what we had this night. Brien made kinda an upside down cake, but with apricots he picked off his neighbors tree. Don’t worry the old lady neighbor said they could pick as many apricots as they wanted and it was also the first summer in like 20 years that it was summer long enough for the apricot trees to produce apricots in Ely. The cake was delicious, and made even more delicious by ice cream, something I asked if they had to go with it earlier, but was told  “Jeez, do you think we’re a buffet?”, though this was also after I said apricot cobbler would be good but Brien was just making a spice cake with apricots in the bottom. So Brien baked the cake and then tasted it and decided it needed ice cream, so he then went and bought some and might I add I would have eaten it without ice cream, but he really wanted it and it did help with the tartness of the apricots.

Saturday we went canoeing at Cave Lake. We made a sandwich stop at Subway and enjoyed the fresh air as we ate. I left our state parks passes in our suitcase at Andrea and Brien’s so we did not get them stamped, though we didn’t really see anywhere to have them stamped, so we’re still gonna just check that off. We will probably go there again because canoeing was so much fun, despite my dislike of natural bodies of water, and Brien was also trying to talk Jon into getting a canoe. I’m just happy to know that we have a long list of other saving projects before this can ever even remotely become a reality.

Brien and Andrea took the girls out first on the Lake. Jon and I went out alone so we could practice in the canoe. It was my second time canoeing, with the first being about 12 years ago at girls camp one year. Lilah would say that I needed to put my paddle into the water more, but this was something she heard from Brien as he made fun/ teased me some more.

After our practice run we  took the girls out on the water with us. We then switched back and forth, with Zarina only going out once since she didn’t like her life jacket and Carolyn also avoiding it till the last run. She doesn’t like natural bodies of water either, but thought it would be fun to let my girls play in the water and get a little muddy and wet. This was while Jon and I went out our last time. Of course when we returned they said the fun was over to the girls since Mommy was back and it took a lot of will power to let them continue to get wet and muddy. I know I can be a little uptight about dirt and messes, so I was trying to relax since the damage had already been done.

We then headed home and after some naps and showers had a delicious turkey dinner that Brien and Andrea made.

Sunday on our way home we decided to take a little, but long, detour to Great Basin National Park and take the Leeman’s Cave Tour. We’ve been to Great Basin twice, but had yet to take the tour. I called the week before to purchase the tickets in advance, something I recommend so you don’t have to wait an hour if a tour is full and ours was. Since Eden is only 4 we went on the shorter 60 minute tour and someday may go on the longer 90 minute one which includes one or two more caverns.

Before we entered the caves the ranger/ tour guide gave the challenge to crawl through a cement hole that was about the size of the hole the 70 or 80 year old Mr. Leeman had to crawl through to find the caves. It was a part of becoming a cave cadet. The girls both went through and the other children, then he gave the challenge to the adults and I challenged Jon to go through since he was the slimest adult. He did and since he went through so easily the guide challenged another adult and one other man did.

We started off the tour together, but as it got narrower, the guide had the children up front with him, and we were in the back, so I have no idea what happened after we were separated.  We had areas that he was able to talk to us directly, and then at other times it was just through the grapevine. The girls seemed to have a lot of fun from what we could tell at the end and we entertained ourselves with them gone. It was a cool tour and I recommend it to anyone who might pass by Great Basin National Park.

After the tour we enjoyed some of the yummy homemade ice cream the cafe makes and then hit the road to return to Vegas.

We all loved seeing the Park’s and getting to see Zarina. They grow so fast and it’s so hard when you don’t get to see the small children often enough.

It was a fun little trip and the girls enjoyed Aunt Carolyn’s company. I also enjoyed talking with her and being able to chat.

This will be the fourth year we’ve made a trip to Ely and I hope we continue the tradition as long as Andrea and Brien live there. Brien said we could come back anytime after it snows, but I don’t see us visiting till after it melts away next year.

Hello there, this is Lilah. Well, I’m just letting you know that I’m selling bookmarks.
They’re $.50 each or three for $1.25.

I’m selling the bookmarks to get a Nature Set and I’m also going to donate 1/3 of the money I make to a charity.
Please let me know if you want any of my bookmarks.
I’ll be calling you soon to see if you want any bookmarks.
Please tell any of your friends who might be interested.

Thanks,
Lilah Blake

Please leave a comment if you’re interested in purchasing some bookmarks from Lilah. She’s been wanting to make and sell these forever since she would like to earn money to purchase more things, and now to also help others.

1. I am so grateful to have my car back, though as I drove around yesterday evening I think I can see tape and paper lines where they taped my windshield only halfway to paint and the paint is on the windshield just barely. You can’t see it except at the special twilight hours. Will be going back to show them….not so grateful for that.
2. Visiting with my mother-in-law. We don’t see them nearly as often as we should, so even though I should have come home and cleaned or made cookies,  I stayed and visited and let her feed me and the girls lunch. It was a nice morning and afternoon.
3. Well visits. I’m so thankful our insurance covers well visit check-ups 100%, even if they’re tripling our deductible…ick.
4. Thankful for little girls who seep in, Eden, but not so thankful when one starts yelling from her room “It’s time to wake up Mommy!!”, Lilah.
5. I’m thankful to be in Windows for at least today, and we’ll see if I get any pictures uploaded or edited. I’m not so thankful for the chores that were neglected yesterday that I have to do today so we can have plates to eat off of for lunch and can’t be neglected anymore.
6. I’m also thankful to have food and a home. We helped feed the homeless last night and it makes me thankful that I can also choose my food and I have enough money to buy good healthy food for my daughters.