Camp Invention

A highlight of Bennett's summer:  Camp Invention!  He got to go everyday for a week to build and invent loads of stuff.  He's wanted to become a scientist ever since.

4th of July and Mt. Whitney

Two days after we got back from our cousin extravaganza in Utah (of which Keith missed most of--the last few days were only planned a week ahead of time and by then his work schedule was already full), we took off an another little family vacation.  We camped outside of Bridgeport, CA and enjoyed the best small-town 4th of July party which included a parade with SO much candy, a rodeo and even a greased pole contest.

We watched the fireworks from the mountainside near our campground where there was a few second delay for the lights and the boom.  So fun.  There was also a river nearby with a natural hot spring seeping into it.  We loved sitting in the hot water which was contained by a little rock wall (which Keith rebuilt and reinforced during the times the water felt too hot--busy much?) but also right in the river.  You could have your body in the hot spring and your hand in the cold river.  So cool!

After a couple days there, we went a little further south to Bishop, CA and camped in the mountains there.  We went on the most stunning hike which took us to alpine lake after alpine lake.

The highest lake we got to was our picnic spot for the day.  We took our time relaxing there.  The water was so blue and crystal clear that Keith and I also dared each other to jump in.  We were wearing a little less than the picture shows but I'm not saying any more than that.  :)  Holy cold water batman!!!

After this, we headed a little further south to Mt. Whitney.  Keith decided to zip up the tallest mountain in the lower 48.  And he literally did zip.  He went up the less traveled Climbers Route and was fast.  But when we got to Whitney Portal the night before his expedition, there were no campsites.  He was climbing the mountain on a Monday so we were hoping the weekend crowd would have cleared out but no such luck!  There were climber sites available though that would allow enough room for a one man tent or bivy.  So the kids and I waved him goodbye and spent the night in a motel in town.  We did lots of swimming, tv watching, and sleeping.  This climbing trip did NOT involve a certain finger and a fish hook.  Perfect!

When we picked him up the next day, we found him sitting in the stream to get a little ice bath on his muscles.  We chowed a famous Whitney Portal burger and headed home.  What a great trip!

Card Family Reunion

The day after Bennett's party, we loaded up the car and headed to Utah.  It was the long anticipated return of Grandma and Grandpa, who had been on a mission in Ireland for the past 2 years.

On the morning of their return, we went to the park with aunts, uncles, cousins and kids and made big signs so we could make a bunch of commotion at the airport.  We were at the terminal with time to spare and we waited and waited until the airport screens announced the arrival of the much anticipated flight.  We waited some more--it seemed like an unusually long time--and wondered where the crowd was that should have been pouring down the escalators from the plane.  After considering the absence of a crowd, we realized---we were in the wrong terminal!!!!  We RAN as fast as we could outside, down the sidewalk and to the next building and got the the bottom of the stairs just as grandma's shoes started descending down the escalator.  Just. In. Time!  We held up our signs and cheered, as if we had been standing there for hours.  Hooray for the return of Grandma and Grandpa!!  (Why don't I have a picture of this??)

We spent the next few days in cousin heaven.  We got to spend a day at Lagoon (with some serious scary ride bravery by Bennett).

Then we all drove to Uncle Chuck's house in Dutch John so we could see adorable baby Truly and float the Green River together.

When we stopped for lunch, we had a MAJOR event happen.  Bennett was eating a cracker and suddenly shouted "My tooth fell out!!!"  And that's how my big boy lost his first tooth.  And on the eve of his real birthday, no less.  What a great day!

These cousins were so much fun!

We had tons of fun playing around at the campground too.

As long as Bryce has his cars, everything is awesome.  Love the dirt track.

Our last day with cousins included some 4-wheeling with Uncle Mark.  

We had two of the cutest little girls to play with and snuggle.  And since grandpa is all opinionated about little girls and things in their hair (He thinks they are ridiculous and won't hesitate to tell you that.  Coming from someone who never had daughters, he can't be considered an authority on hair accessories.) we made him hold his newest granddaughters with the biggest headbands and bows we could find.  :)

And at the end of our trip, Bennett got to have some cupcakes for his "real" birthday.  He didn't get any more presents or a party (although the tooth fairy gave him an extra dollar that morning!) but we did go to the park and sang to him again.

Bennett Turns SEVEN

Birthday parties for kids are the stuff of dreams.  You can't help but be excited for a kid's birthday party after it's all they talk about for almost a year.  This party was highly anticipated for Bennett.  I think it lived up to his expectations.  

We had a science party, complete with Keith the mad scientist.  The kids (and their suddenly concerned parents) were greeted at the door by Keith's crazy antics and bubbling potions.  

We only invited Bennett's primary class at church but even that was over 12 kids!  It was absolute chaos.  :)  We started with some science coloring pages while we waited for all the kids to arrive.

Then we headed outside for the real fun and Keith demonstrated science in action.  There was elephant toothpaste where we talked about chemical reactions, a volcano to discuss rocks and explosions, an asteroid hunt, a discussion of aerodynamics and airplanes....and a change of proper safety gear each time for the mad scientist.

And the biggest and best explosion of all!!!  Coke and mentos, baby.

Bryce discovered the aftermath and did a little experimenting of his own:

  

And finally, the cake!  The cake looked like this going into the oven:

And turned into this when I was done!

I love my big SEVEN year old!  Happy Birthday Bennett!