Hiking To the Timpanogas Cave

Monday, September 5th--Nate and Elise got up super early this morning to head up American Fork Canyon to hike to Timpanogas Cave. Unfortunately, when they went to sign up to be with a group, the group was full and the next group would not head up till much later. So they decided to hike up to the cave but wouldn't be able to go inside. Elise did great! She received an explorer book and used it often when spotting various leaves, rocks, trees, etc. She and Nate had great views of Utah County. It was a beautiful day! They both wore sweatshirts but quickly shed them as it warmed up. They came home and had naps then told me they want to go back again when they can go in the cave and we should all go as a family. Sounds good to me!

A Picnic In the Mountains

Sunday, September 4th--It's Labor Day Weekend. The sun is shining, it's beautiful and a perfect Sunday afternoon to take a drive up American Fork Canyon and have a picnic. We packed a lunch and some snacks and found a great area with picnic tables and restrooms. It was so nice to be around trees! We spotted several curious chipmunks and squirrels, probably hoping we'd chuck a bite or two in their direction (we're not admitting anything!). The air was fresh and the river flowing nearby sounded wonderful! After we ate our lunch we went on a walking trail. It ended up near a visitors center. We went inside and watched a movie on caves. This excited Elise so she and Nate made plans to head up to Timpanogas cave the next day.

We had so much fun! We decided we need to do this more often!

Elise's First Egg Drop!

Friday, September 2nd--Just less than two weeks into the new school year and all the kids in 4th grade are doing the egg drop. I expected it to be in the Spring but no matter, we have been excited to work on this. I got a lot of tips from parents that have done this project with their older children. I sat Elise down and we brainstormed on what she should do. We found a box that is similar to the shape of a shoe box. She had a great time decorating it with colorful markers. While she was in school, I went to the craft store and bought a big box of styrofoam peanuts. After school she and I filled the box halfway then put an egg in a ziploc bag, placed it in, then covered it and filled the rest of the box with the peanuts. Elise sealed it up and then it was time to test. Heck no, I didn't climb up on the roof! We tested it from the top of the stairs leading to the basement. I threw it really hard! Elise retrieved it and opened it up. No breakage! WAHOO! We tested it again and got the same results.

The big day is here! Two of the 4th grade teachers collected all the various containers and then went to the roof of the school where they tossed each of them down. There were cheering 4th graders everywhere! Some of the packaged eggs were just down-right hilarious. Others were quite creative and amazing. The results for Elise? Check it!:

Intact! No cracks, no nothing. Perfectly safe! WAHOO! She was very happy! It seems like the breakdown of kids whose eggs were broken and kids whose weren't, in her class, was about 50/50. So we will be keeping the peanuts and Brady will do the same one when it's his turn!