On to California. (At least to the somewhat sane part.)

So I know all of you are dying to know what's going on in my life.  I'm back in California working at a scout camp.  Tons of fun, but before I get to that part I'm gonna post pictures from our trip driving out to camp.  We got to stop in the Sequoia National Forest on the way out.

We got stuck in a construction zone.  The view wasn't too bad.

I took a picture of these leaves just because I'm from a desert and I think big leaves are so cool.

This tree is one of the giant sequoias.  It is over 200 feet tall.  That black streak in the trunk is a fire scare.  The bark on a sequoia is thick and fibery and protects the main trunk from fire.

These three trees are known as the triplets since they are so close to each other and are about the same age.

Nothing special about this rock besides the fact that a tree fell on top of it and it looks cool.

The whole idea that moss grows on the north side of trees is blown out of the water with these trees.  Moss was on all sides of the tree in this forest.

Some more of the really big trees.

The bricks in the ground represent the 'footprint' of one of the trees nearby.  Needless to say it was big!

Sequoias weren't the only really big trees.  Redwood tress grow all over the place.  Sequoias are the biggest; redwoods are the tallest.

This is the backside of the General Sherman tree.  It's the biggest living organism in the world.  It's even bigger than the blue whale.

This is kind of what it feels like to look up through the tress.  You fell REALLY little compared to them.

The burn in this tree was big enough for me to stand in without ducking.  You can see the edges are starting to 'heal' over the scar.

That's a baby sequoia starting to grow at the edge of a meadow.

A view of General Sherman from the front.

This raven was funny.  I would make a clucking noise with my tongue, and he got closer, and closer...

and closer.  He was only about 2 feet away from me when I took this picture.  Kind of a gutsy fellow. ;)

This is the trunk of a fallen Sequoia.  I could walk through that hole without ducking and I'm about 5' 6".

This is a picture inside the trunk.  Don't know exactly what the hole is from.

These are the roots of the fallen tree.  Big ones!

This is the conservation area that people kept stepping on.

Another meadow.

The forest service was doing a control burn the day we visited.  In order for the seeds to come out of the pine cones,  the cones have to burn.  The fire also removes more invasive plants that the sequoias compete with.

There was a very large meadow that a bunch of trees were growing around.  This creek provided the water for all those tress.  Apparently the edge of meadows with creeks is the ideal place for sequoias to grow.

These bushes had big beautiful white flowers, but unfortunately I couldn't get any good pictures because people had picked all the flowers within reach.  If you see a flower you like, take a picture don't pick so other people can enjoy it!

There were huge beds of these little purple flowers.  They were cute and pretty at the same time.

This meadow was the one with a creek.  That tree is actually two trees that grew into each other. Their names are Fred and Ned.

People are so awed by the trees they forget to check out the cool little plants growing in the meadow.  They're really cool!

The mud here is so high in minerals that it turns red.

Red Mud!

The plants with the really big leaves always make me think of fairy beds.

These leaves are super cool, but they almost look like a plant of an unsavory nature.

The sun turned red by the smoke form the control burn. Did you know that smoke make the sun look red?

Fairy bed plants!! See what I mean?

Don't know who's winning the fight.  The tree or the rock?

More pictures of the control burn.

Pretty pink flowers!!

On to stuff that happened at camp.  The first week at camp I got several bruises that were big and dark.  These pictures were taken about a week after I got the bruises and they are starting fade.

Some of you may be wondering how I got such large beautiful bruised.  Well, I got into several fight with canoes.  Meaning I showed the boys how to safely get out then back in the canoe in deep water without swamping it.  I got better with my methods the second and third week and didn't have any more monster bruises like these.

Kitchen staff decided to hit with a prank.  The were so nice about it.  They even asked for my permission to prank the water front.  Well, at least to be at the water front while I wasn't there.

A gift of flowers really isn't my thing, but a flowers made out of 5 kayaks and canoes is really cool. ;)

Well, there's the pictures of some of my adventures.  Hopefully I'll be able to get a few more within a couple of weeks.  We are now on to Cub Scouts at camp.  Let the mass mayhem and chaos begin!

Aaaaah! First Facebook changed the way their page is formatted; now blogspot.com!  Anyways, the kids at work are getting squirly for the end of school and I'm getting for heading out to camp.  It'll all be okay!

Don't tell Grandpa! (hehe)

So, a couple weeks ago I spent Wednesday night at my parents house and had a camp out in the backyard.  Guess who got to spend the entire night in the tent with 5 kids all 7 and under?  Yours truly.  The kids were actually all very good.  They basically slept through the night and nobody got up crying or mad or too crazy.  The only problem was the neighbors ratty little dog!  It would start barking at the smallest noise and not stop for half an hour.  As soon as someone else shifted it would start up again.  Hmmmm.  Anyways, the next day my sister brought over her two youngest, Lynneah and Kynzie.  Lynneah was sitting her high chair getting fussy while waiting for lunch.  My mom had finished mixing up some cookie dough when she handed me the two beaters.  (I still LOVE licking the beaters!) Mariah said, "Wait, give one to Lynneah!"  Here's what happened next.

Don't you just love that little grin?

She was VERY determined to get that beater as clean as Aunt Sassy could.

The beater was hanging in her mouth for a good 30 seconds by the time I got this picture.

She has a small mouth, but she worked had to get that entire top in.

 Once again, Aunt Sassy has left her mark!!!

Fun in the Sun

So, earlier I realized that I hadn't posted any of the pictures from my summer adventures.  So I will start with my trip to Sedona and Slide Rock with one of my friend Becky.  It was loads of fun and by the end of the day we were both sun burnt and exhausted.

We had to start driving kind of late in the day because I had to work.  Along the way we stopped at a rest stop with some of the prettiest views I've seen in Arizona.  A lot of people think of flat dry barren sand like the Sahara when they think of the desert.  Arizona has wild, rough, rugged, and beautiful.  The plants in Arizona has fight hard to live in the desert, and have to deal with extreme temperatures (over 100 F in the summer and below freezing in the winter).

We got to our campsite just before it got dark, pulled out the propane stove my parents lent us, and realized that the pipe that goes from the propane cylinder to the burner was missing.  I thought, "Grrrr!"  Becky and I eventually decided to find a restaurant still open and get firewood for the morning.  Kind of hard to find an open restaurant at nine at night, but we succeeded and enjoyed a large excellent Italian meal.

The woke up to a bright beautiful sunrise.  After looking around at the campground in daylight, it looked like it was built on old ranch land.  It was situated on a hill where we could see into the valley below.

Sedona in the valley and Jerome on the hill

Desert scrub in all its scroungy glory!

Pose sexy!  One of my best friends Becky.

That streak of green is where there is a creek going through the valley.

An old building on the campground that leads me to believe that we slept where the cows used to sleep. ;)

We had to drive through Sedona to get to Slide Rock.  Once upon a time Sedona was cute little town with funny little shops all over the place.  Suddenly tourists invaded and turned the town into a trap.  The stores in downtown looked more like the stores you'd find in Beverly Hills rather an old small western town.  Sadness.  The rock formations surrounding the valley are still beautiful.  The rock and dirt around Sedona is full of minerals, so get that wonderful rust color.

  When we reached Slide Rock Park, I saw a bunch of buildings that I don't remember from my childhood visit.  Apparently people could stay in cabins there in the park.  There was also a small orchard; I don't remember what kind of trees they were though. Then the fun part: water!  I'm not sure how long Becky and I were there.  I did pull a couple of people from the water either because they got stuck or panicked and started drowning.  Overall it was a good time.

I would totally go for a vacation cabin like this!!

The way the water goung through the rocks has created chutes that you can slide along, hence the name Slide Rock.

There are big pools in a few places.  There's even one deep enough for you to jump off a 30 foot cliff.  Ever the daredevil daughter of my parents that I am, I jumped.  I didn't even lose my sunglasses in that jump ;)

After visiting Slide Rock we went to Jerome.  Jerome was once a mining town, but when the ore ran out people left.  Apparently a bunch of hippies saw the town and decided to get rebuilt as the little old towns of Arizona.  I think they did very well at keeping the spirit of a little Arizona town.  I loved it!

The view of the Valley from Jerome.

Becky trying to eat her hamburger from the Haunted Hamburger restaurant.

My mouth is almost big enough.

This is the main street in Jerome.  Jerome is built into the side of a hill so parking is extremely limited.

This was a beautiful little church.  The windows had some stained glass so the light inside really added a little something.

There was a shop with lots of kaleidoscopes.  They even let you play with them.  The picture below is supposed to be a video of looking through one of these scopes at a plant.  It was super cool!!

I love this shop!!  I think my mom would love it too.

Half my family would want to get these salt and pepper shakers for me.  Either that or kiss my own frog.  Oh well.

Some of my adventures at home included the monsoon storms.  Right before and right after these storms come through, the Palo Verde beetles come out.  They're big and not so ugly looking.  They like to hang out around Palo Verde trees, hence the name.  So here they are!

They're big little buggers.  I'm not yet gutsy enough to pick one up.

The green tree (Palo Verde) that they like to hang out in.

Oooooo! Cool! or Ick!

And then there was... quiet?

On Sunday we celebrated Mariah's birthday.  She is now a 23 years old.  (My nose just got longer!) Anyways, we had all the grandkids together in one house.  Any of you who know my nieces and nephews know they tend to turn into a rambunctious yet sweet bunch when they all get together.  Well, I was sitting in family room doing something on the computer when I suddenly realized that it had gone very quiet.  Now, those of you who have raised kids or worked with kids know that can either be a really good thing or a really bad thing.  I suddenly realized that not all was silent.  I heard my oldest niece reading out-loud.  I decided to investigate the strange happenings and found this little Kodak moment hidden in a corner.

Oh, the things kids will say.

Conversation while walking through Fry's with 5 year-old nephew:

Him:  Oooooo, doughnuts!
Me: We're not getting doughnuts. We already have bagels.
Him: Doughnuts are fuchie.
Me: (wondering what 'fuchie' means and not even sure how to spell it) Nu-uh. Doughnuts are sugary.
Him: No! They're fuchie!
Me: What?! (swift, yet gentle boot to the rear of said kid) No they aren't.  What does 'fuchie' even mean?
Him: I don't know!  But but it's not something to kick a little kid in the bottom for!


Later that night at the dinner table while eating carrots and home made mac & cheese made with shell pasta:

Him: What kind of animals lived in these?
Me: Lived in what?
Him: Lived in these shells. (said as he plays with a shell on my roommates table cloth.  Fortunately the table cloth cleans up easily.)
Me: Nothing lived in those shells.
Him: No, what lived in them before they died?
Me:  Nothing.  They're made out of flour, eggs, and water.
Him: No, I mean what lived in them when they were in the real world?
Me: Nothing.  They never had anything living in them.
Him: (sounding somewhat disappointed)  Oh, okay.

Getting Ready for da Halloween Fun!!

So my roommate, my roommates' sister-in-law, and I are all getting ready for Halloween.  Becca will be going as River Song while I'm going to be a Weeping Angel.  If any of you have watched Dr. Who, you know who the characters are.  Doctor Who nerds of the world unite!!!  Caitlyn (my roommates' sister-in-law) is going as Barbie while her husband is going as Ken.  So, we had some fun getting things ready for Halloween.  Should have some pictures next week.