Grand Canyon

Friday we went to the Grand Canyon. I've dreamed of seeing it for years! When we first entered the park, it looked like the entry to a zoo--you, know, visitor center, gift store, picnic area, etc. "Where's the Canyon?", we wondered. We followed the trail, then, between the trees, we saw it.



It took my breath away. I've never seen anything so awe-inspiring in my life. It really struck me how much water it must have taken to cause such a thing. Suddenly the enormity of the Flood hit me as never before and I began to weep in awe of our God.



Enjoy the photos. I hope they will begin to convey the beauty and vastness of the canyon.

Living History

After a good night's sleep "car-camping" and a big breakfast, we're off again. We entered the Mohave Desert just after nightfall and drove until almost 2 AM before we had to stop. it's very interesting--we just finished studying about Jedediah Smith's exploration of the West, the Colorado River and the Mojave. Now we're driving through, seeing it for ourselves. I'm surprised at how scrubby it is. For some reason I pictured it being more barren. The land is mostly flat with occasional mountains and mesas in between. The thing that strikes me the most though is the vastness of it. We've been on the road for half an hour this morning and are still in the desert.*

It's funny--the kids think we're on vacation; we've discussed the history of Route 66, are reviewing American history, and studying geography experientially. All of the kids are tracking our progress on the map. And we're still listening to J.R.R. Tolken. I think this the most productive week of "school" we've had in a while!

* The desert land continued on until just before we entered Texas.

We're Off!

We left around 2 PM for our biggest vacation ever! We're driving from the Silicon Valley across the South all the way to Mississippi to visit family. It's the first time we've seen much of Thom's family in 4 years. We're taking two weeks and plan on taking our time to tour on the way.

First stop is the Grand Canyon. None of us have ever seen it and we're really excited. This first leg is nearly 13 hours. We plan to drive as long as we can, napping in the car this first night, then spending tomorrow in the canyon. We'll spend tomorrow night in a hotel.

It's good to be on the road. I was determined that the car would be organized, that I would check all the kids' bags so that nothing would be forgotten, and that the house would be left clean. The house is fairly clean, so far we haven't noticed that anything was forgotten, and the car is pretty orderly. You may think that a 15-passenger van would afford plenty of room, but with nine people, suitcases, diapers, strollers, and food, it's pretty full! We did manage to pack lightly however. We're all comfortable, enjoying the gorgeous California scenery, and listening to The Fellowship of the Ring on CD. The baby is even asleep!



We stopped to stretch our legs at an almond orchard just off the highway.






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Making Laundry Soap

One of the most frequent questions I get about having a large family, especially living in the SF Bay area is, "How can you afford it?" So I thought I'd share more of the things I've learned.

Today I made laundry soap. Here's how:

You will need Borax, bar soap (I use Kirk's Castile; we like it for bathing and laundry soap and order it by the case) and washing soda or baking soda (washing soda is supposed to be better, but baking soda works great).

Shred the soap.

Add the soap slowly to a quart of boiling water. Use a large pan as it foams a lot! Stir occasionally with a  beater until the soap is fully dissolved.

Meanwhile, add 1 C of baking soda and 1/2 C of Borax to several gallons hot water. I use a 5 gallon bucket and fill it nearly full. When the soap mixture is dissolved, add it to the bucket.

 That's it. After a few hours, the mixture will gel on the top few inches. It won't gel completely, so keep a beater on hand to mix it before use. I use about a 1/2 C for a full load.

All of this is very flexible. The five gallon bucket costs approximately $2. I've found that it works as well as the pricey name brands and much better than the discount versions.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Last night we went to see the San Jose Giants play the Visalia Rawhide. We're not big sports fans (we do like soccer), but every few years we go to a game. It was a fun treat to do something unusual and since Dad has been working so much lately, it was great to have a night out together! BTW, our team, the Giants, won 4-2!

KidSpeak

As I've mentioned previously, Lucas (above on the right) loves weapons. Everything is a gun (even once a piece of pizza)! Last night he was making a gunboat out of a box and a stick. A little exasperated, I asked him, "Lucas, is there anything that doesn't shoot?"
He thought a minute, then answered, "a sword!"

End of School Parties

It's hard to believe that this school year is nearly over.It's gone so quickly! This week we had two End of the Year parties: Math Club and our homeschool group. The weather was cold and rainy for the earlier half of the week, but cleared up just in time and we had two beautiful sunny California days!

Yesterday was Math Club Party/Awards Picnic. As usual, the team earned tons of awards. Thomas earned a patch for ranking in the top 50% of the country. All the kids had a math scavenger hunt and then some of the kids made shapes with geometric shapes with ropes.

Today was the EOY Picnic for our homeschool group. Mr. G stepped up to do the grilling for the whole crowd (three cheers!) and we all contributed side dishes and condiments. Four lovely hours of playing and chatting in the great outdoors with good friends (who could ask for more)?!