Super Sweet

When I arrived home from my trip, the door was locked with a sign that said there was a door malfunction, go to the front door.  When I opened the door, there were streamers and balloons filling the hall.  Ben had made me a gauntlet, complete with treats and flowers.

Ben had also cleaned the house, taken out the garbage, done the laundry and even bought some 9 volt batteries in case the smoke detectors start beeping before he gets home. (It seems to happen every time he goes on a trip.) He can be super sweet!

Conan Gray!

Holly called a few weeks ago to tell me about the Conan concert she went to.  She was having post concert blues.  Somehow in that conversation she convinced me that we should go see him in Texas for the last show of his "Found Heaven" tour.  We snagged some tickets, booked some flights and it was on!  She sent me links to a bunch of his songs, so I would be familiar with them.  Turns out, his music is awesome!  And the concert was a blast!

Slay!  Her Conan vibe was fantastic!
She made these pants and got 
so many compliments!

She did my makeup and
bought me a shirt to match her vibe.  

The next day we visited the 6th Floor in Dallas.  Holly got a crash course on JFK and the assassination.  It was cooler than she thought it would be.  In case you don't know, the 6th floor is a museum at the Texas Book Depository.  Lee Harvey Oswald fired the shots that killed JFK from a window on the 6th floor. 

Then we explored the 
Dallas Museum of Art.

A Walk Down Memory Lane

Our last stop was a detour to Lemoore, California for some family history.  We went to the elementary school that I atrended from kindergarten through 2nd grade.  I showed Ben and Qyntn the path I walked to school and we visited my old house.  It brought back so many fun memories!  I was glad I got to share it with them.  

Go Mustangs!

Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks

Next up was Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks.  On the way there we fished the Kings River and caught nothing.  Afterward, we checked out General Grant.  Then we fished at Hume lake and in a creek at the Lodgepole campground and didn’t catch a thing.  Then we hung out with General Sherman and hiked to the top of Moro Rock.  Afterward we tried fishing again at Slide Rock recreation area and still had no luck.  0-4 fishing today.  

Kings River

General Grant

Inside a giant sequoia

General Sherman
The most massive tree on earth

Moro Rock

Top of Moro Rock

The hike was a bit insane.
350 steps up with steep dropoffs.

A rock with a view!

Tunnel tree

Fishing at dusk 

Yosemite National Park

Our next stop on the field trip was Yosemite National Park.  My favorite part was our hike to Vernal falls.  It is all up hill and was challenging, but worth it!   Unfortunately, Yosemite falls was mostly dry, we're gonna have to go back in spring or early summer.  The boys loved doing parkour on all the big rocks.

Vernal Falls.  
We will have to come back
when there is more water.

Half Dome

Tunnel View

A little trickle on 
Yosemite falls

Great Basin National Park

We took another field trip and covered a lot of ground.  

Beautiful foliage

Lehman Caves

Lehman Creek fishing was a challenge
Q got one brook trout.

Sacramento Pass fishing was fantastic!
He caught 5 trout!

Home School at its Best!

On our way home from Phoenix, we decided to take a detour to attend a Trump Ralley in Prescott Valley.  We got there several hours early and still, there were thousands of people ahead of us in line.  It was fun to see so many supporters together and to hear Trump in person.  

We had to leave a little early to get to our next stop, the south rim of the Grand Canyon.  It was beautiful!  We made a friend with a mountain goat that we named Phil.

GCU Hoop Camp

We made a last minute decision to drive to Phoenix for Hoop Camp at Grand Canyon University.  We stayed the first night in Cedar City with Lyss!  

Fun times at the SUU bookstore.

Then we hit up Hong Kong Buffet

Next we stopped at the
Pipe Spring National Monument

There was no pipe,
and the spring has dried up.

Hoop Camp was a hit as usual!
Ben ran the show.
Q and I were in charge
of assigning the prizes

After camp
we checked out Sedona.

Sedona at sunset is beautiful!

See You In 2!

They both got a little verklempt

He's off on a 2 year adventure!