Tiger Hike

Justin and Danny on a hike with his Scout Troop.  They went to Tilden Nature Area.  They hiked for 3 hours, had a picnic, and then they rode a steam train twice.

Halloween 2011

 

This year Danny wanted to be Super Mario Brothers' Luigi.  I thought it would be fun to all get dressed up and go in a theme so I bought a Mario costume for Justin but it was made for someone who was 5'9". We couldn't even get it up over his shoulders.  I went as a Gumba, the bad guy who tries to get Luigi.

MY DEAR SWEET VADAKKAN FAMILY IN KUWAIT

My dear friends Joy, Simi, Jenny, Catherine & baby Angela 

We miss you so much and look forward to the day when we will be together again.

We love you!

JOG-A-THON

 Today Danny participated in the school Jog-A-Thon.  Grandma Rydin bought him the Luigi hat so he could run faster like Luigi (Super Mario Brothers).  Danny ran 16 laps which is 3/4 a mile. 

TIGER CUBS

Danny joined Tiger Cubs.  I know as I type this Russ & Alex are rolling their eyes but he went to his first meeting last week and had a great time.  He learned a magic trick where he put a pin in a balloon and it didn't pop.  The other magic trick he learned was that if I blow up a balloon and don't tie it and he lets it go that it will fly around the room.  He is so cute! 

Danny's Tiger Cub uniform came today in the mail and he was so excited and wanted to put it on right away.  Today I bought his Luigi Halloween costume and he didn't really care about it, just the Cub uniform.  Justin went through his old Scout box and found his old brag vest and other Cub Scout goodies but the best part was that Justin was in Den 6 and Danny is too so I am going to sew Justin's patch on Danny's uniform.  He was really excited about that.  They looked at Justin's stuff for about a half hour and decided that the books haven't changed that much.  Thinking about it, that's almost 30 years ago.  Boy are we getting old!

I'M BATMAN

  Danny likes watching the T.V. show Batman (old school with Adam West).  His favorite word is "SOCK".  Every day he and I watch an episode before going to school. 

We got this costume for $5.00 off Craigs List. The utility belt talks, makes noises, and lights up.

THE MONKEY BARS

WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU DANNY!!!

Danny crossed the Monkey Bars for the first time all by himself on August 25th.  He crossed it three times that day.  On August 31st he also crossed the HARD bars that didn't move three times.  He couldn't practice yesterday because with all of his practicing, he got blisters on his hands and one popped. 

WAY TO GO DANNY!!!

Danny's First Day of School

Danny wanted to wear his Country Club Cougar Jacket, his Angry Bird Shirt, Flip Flops & Sweat Pants.  The sweat pants weren't my first choice but it was his big day.

The Big Top

On Saturday we saw Circus Vargas.  It was a really small circus with no animals but several smaller acts.  Danny got his face painted during the intermission. Grrrrr

Our Final Day

The Hot Springs

On our second day we saw the hot springs.  As a kid Mom and Dad took us to French Lic, Indiana to see a hot springs.  I was pretty young but I remember having a soak on a hot spring tub which smelled like sulfur.  They thought it would be good for my health but instead it felt like I was going to have an asthma attack.  It smelled like rotten eggs here too.  Once you got used to it it wasn't so bad.  If you look closely, you will see a bird in the bottom right picture.  I was surprised that birds could walk on the hot ground.  I would have thought it would be too hot for them. 

The Paint Pots

The Paint Pots were pretty neat.  The reason they pools of water are different colors is because in different temperatures, different colored bacteria live.  The hottest water is blue and the coldest is red.

Unfortunately on the walk from the car to the pots Danny had his hands in his pockets and fell, scratching his chin. Justin carried him back to the car for about 1/4 mile and we got him all bandaged up.  He insisted on holding my hand while we walked around the pots.  He was such a trooper.  We were very proud of him that he didn't want to give up and go home.

There is Beauty All Around

 

Us

More photos of us.

My Commentary On Man

So as we are driving through the park there are big areas where you could see there had been a fire.  So, I got this brilliant idea to photograph to be used as a commentary on man's carbon footprint or something like that that a tree hugger might buy.  Anyway, this is the photo but it didn't turn out the way I wanted it to.   

Wildlife

Well... here is the wildlife we saw. At the top was what I am guessing is a moose. I'm not quite sure if that is what it is or not. It could be an elk. The one of the trees is suposedly where the bear was. The little bird was at the hot springs and the elk or whatever it is was out by one of the buildings near the hot springs. Like I said, there really wasn't a lot to see except buffalo. There were a lot of buffalo.

Old Faithful

Old Faithful was pretty cool.  Unfortunately we didn't have a very blue sky so it is hard to tell the difference between the water, steam and sky.  The water is on the left.  It was a beautiful day and we got there early so we ate PBHoney sandwiches in our car and then got a really good seat on some bleachers right in front of the geyser.  Old Faithful goes off about every 90 minutes.  They give it a +/- 10 minute window.  They predicted 1:00 and it erupted at 1:10. 



Junior Ranger

The highlight of our trip was Danny becoming a Junior Ranger.  He wasn't very keen on sitting in the car for 8 hours so we hyped up the fact that he would become a Junior Ranger.  He was so excited that He could be one. We went to the Junior Ranger station where he needed to listen to a program which was about Owls and Eagles. He had lots of activities At the end of the second day we went back to the Ranger Station and he got his patch and they had a swearing in ceremony.  He was really excited.  Justin bought him a Junior Ranger hat, a sheriff's badge with his name on it and a Junior Ranger wallet

Bison

After about 15 minutes from the entrance of Yellowstone we were greeted by Buffalo. The upper left was some kind of animal that looks like a squrrell but I really couldn't tell. We saw some wildlife but not a lot. We saw LOTS of Buffalo, one Bald Eagle, I think one Bear (it was too far away to really see it but I saw something moving and others stopped on the road said it was a Bear), what looked like a moose without antlers, a beaver, and some birds.

Rexburg, Idaho

On Tuesday we set out to drive to Yellowstone.  On our way we stopped in Rexburg, Idaho to visit Justin's almamater, Ricks College, now BYU Idaho.  What was really nice was that Cameron was there for the summer semester and we got to visit with him and his girlfriend, Brooke.  They showed us around campus and a lot has changed since Justin was there 14 years ago. 

Fossil Butte Museum

On Monday morning while Justin had an arbitration Danny and I braved the drizzle and went to Fossil Butte National Museum. There wasn't a lot to see and Danny wasn't very cooperative but we did get out of the hotel. On the way into the parking lot of the museum there were signs showing from millions of B.C. what plants and animals started emerging. I guess the area used to be a big swamp millions of years ago and there are many fossils found there. Had we come on a Saturday we could have gone out and helped an archaeologist dig for fossils.

For More Information http://www.nps.gov/fobu/index.htm

Lu Lu and Milo

At the start of our vacation Danny and I flew into Salt Lake City to visit Russ and Carrie and their 2 dogs, Lucy and Milo.  Danny had so much fun with the dogs.  They had a green laser pointer that the dogs loved chasing and he would move it around on the floor from one side to another and the dogs would chase it.  Both Danny and the dogs loved doing it.  Both Justin and I gave it a try and it was fun.  At first I thought it was mean because they couldn't catch it but then I realized they actually enjoyed playing. 

We all took the dogs out for a walk at a nearby park and part of the time Danny was half-dragged by Lu Lu.  He had so much fun playing with the dogs.  Of course now he wants a dog.  Thank goodness I'm allergic.  I think dogs are just too much work.

We had such a nice time with Russ and Carrie.  We stayed over night on Saturday and then on Sunday we headed off to Kemmerer, Wyoming where Justin had his arbitration.

The Art Museum

We took the kids to the Art Museum and got in free -- THANK YOU UNCLE SAM -- and Brandon too.  The Chihuly blown glass exhibit was there and we were able to go see it.  Actually, there wasn't that much to see but they had a neat kids art room where the kids painted and played with colored paper.  It was fun.  Justin and I really like Chihuly's work.  

Two really cool things were the Glass Ceiling Bridge which showcased a lot of his work and then on Friday before we left town we went to the Glass Museum which was sooooo cool.  You go into an actual glass blowing studio and you watch them blow glass and shape it and add color.  The ovens are hot but they have the AC blasting so you don't feel warm at all.  They also had a kids area where each child can draw a picture and if selected, your drawing will be made into glass and put on display.  They choose one every month and they are put in a display area with other projects made from children's art.  You could totally tell that the sculptures were designed by children. 

http://www.chihuly.com/

You should go check it out. 

The Splash Pad Park

                                           The Splash Pad Park