Lassen National Park

Even though we came home a day early, we liked Lassen National Park. Lassen National Park is neat because it has all types of volcanoes in it. The rangers at Lassen taught us about it. We got to use the volcano that they made to see how the volcanoes are different. They also put on a show about pioneers. They were fun.

The rangers told use that there are four different types of Volcanoes and that Lassen has all four. One type is the shield volcano; it has runny lava. Another type is the plug dome volcano; it has thick and chunky lava. Another type is the cinder cone; it has explosive eruptions. The fourth type is the compost volcano; Mt. Hood is an example.

We used a fake mountain to see how the volcanoes work. We used things like toothpaste, shaving cream and Cocoa Puffs as lava. Lexie and I got to help with two of the volcanoes.

We also went to a show where the rangers were pretending to be pioneers. It was funny because they pretended to have a pet cow that was lost. When we walked from the amphitheater to the wagon, we all had to look for her cow. We were yelling BESSIE, BESSIE, BESSIE. After we got to the wagons they shared some biscuits they had made on the fire. I helped pass them out to everyone.

Instead of staying one more night and heading for home in the morning, we decided to head for home at night. We were tired and wanted to sleep in our own beds. After spending the day at the park, we packed up and headed home. Daddy set-up a bed in the car so Lexie and I could sleep.

Even though we left early, we liked Lassen National Park. The rangers made it a lot of fun. Their pioneer show was the best part. I am glad to be home.

Sequoia National Park

We are at Sequoia National Park in California. Even though I got sick and it rained, this park was great because we saw mule deer. We also saw two bears and lots of huge trees. We also got to know our camp neighbors when they came over for campfire.

The trees that are so big are called Giant Sequoia. They named the largest one General Sherman. We tapped on one giant sequoia and it sounded like a coconut. These trees can live up to three-thousand years. When we stand next to one we look very small.

We saw lots of wild animals. For instance we saw four mule deer. We took lots of pictures of a couple of them. We also saw two black bears. The first bear we saw while we were collecting firewood. The second bear was right next to our campsite while we were sitting at the campfire. It scratched it back on a tree and then walked away.

I got sick one day. When I started to not feel good we came back to camp and I went to sleep in the van. It then started to rain. When it rained a lot, Lexie and Daddy had to come into the van too.

That night after the rain stopped we invited the people camping next to us to come over to roast marshmallows. They were the Pitcher family. They brought over graham crackers and chocolate bars for s'mores. The two boys liked to tell stories that would embarrass each other.

Even though I got sick at this park it was still really fun. The best part of the entire trip was seeing the bears. If we had not come to Sequoia we would have missed them. If you get a chance to come to Sequoia, you should because it is fun.

Las Vegas

There really isn't much to say about our time in Las Vegas. We stayed at Treasure Island so we could see the show but it was canceled. The only fun thing was we got to swim in the pool.

We tried to see the pirate show three times but they all got canceled. We showed up thirty minutes early every time so that we would have a good spot. But the shows all got canceled because there was some wind. They didn't want the fireworks to get blown onto the hotel or other hotels and cause a fire.

We even tried to see the show that was supposed to start at eleven-thirty. I stayed awake but Lexie was asleep when it was time to go to the show. Daddy carried her down to the show but she never woke up. In the middle of the night she did wake up. She woke up daddy and asked him why he didn't take us to the last show. He told her that he had and that she had slept through it (even though it was also canceled.)

The only two things we liked about staying in Las Vegas was the pool and getting to take a shower. We played in the pool for about two hours. Because there was a breeze and the pool was in the shade, it was a little cold. being able to take a nice long shower finally got us clean after having been camping.

Las Vegas was not fun at all. Without the pool and the shower it would have been terrible.

The Grand Canyon

Madison Here

We're at the Grand Canyon! At the Grand Canyon we did a bunch of fun things. Here is some of the most fun things.

The Grand Canyon is very big. It would take you six hours to get down and then you would have to camp at the bottom. We did not go down to the bottom but the time it would take to get down shows how big the canyon is.

When we were at the Grand Canyon, the street magician David Blaine was there. He moved the B on a dollar bill from one side to the other. He also had a woman squeeze a quarter and it bent like it was clay. It was totally awesome.

Hey Devon, we took your advice and did the fossil walk. It was so fun to look for fossils. Ranger Patrick Ramsey helped us find some fossilized shells, sponges and other things, thanks for the advice Devon.


That is some of the fun things we did. You should really go to the Grand Canyon because what you see in pictures or on television is just not the same as the real thing. The real thing is really awesome.


We stopped in Williams Arizona to update the blog and check out the town with such a great name. If you come through the area stop by the Java Cycle. Jena Lynn will make you a great coffee and you can get reconnect to the rest of the world with the free wi-fi. We also had lunch at Cruiser's Cafe at Route 66. Joel provided us a great lunch.




Lexie Here

The Grand Canyon is very big. If you go down to the bottom it would take you about the whole day. You would have to stay the night at the bottom.

On the second day at the grand Canyon David Blaine came. He did about four tricks. One time he said he messed up but then he changed the trick to make the wrong card turn into the right card.

There are people from all over the world at these parks. We hear lots of different languages. We met Barbra on a bus. She bought a little stuffed animal duck from the bookstore. She told us she was from Taiwan. One of her friends took our picture.

So far Madison and I have become Junior Rangers for Zion and the Grand Canyon. We are supposed to remind people to not feed the animals and to not litter. I am watching you.

Thanks for the comments

We want to to thank everyone who has posted comments.

Papa you always post - we know we can count on you.
Mama we like yours to. They are like Chocolate Ice Cream.
Devon we are getting ready to follow your Grand Canyon advice.
Elli and Emma - you are just silly, your posts make us laugh - lol.
Aunty Laurel - I like your comments, they are really nice You even share with Grandma.
G and G Williams we like that you are reading our blog and you even got someone else to poast a comment.
Ann - Thanks for your post - we noticed that your sisters did not, so we guess you get to be our favorite.
Lee and Mark - your was a surprise, thanks a bunch.

Zion

New photos are available for viewing (I could not get them to connect through the slide-show on the side - I will try later)

New Video available as well

Madison Here

We are at Zion park today! At Zion Park we did and saw a lot of things. Zion is a pretty canyon in Utah that has a lot of fun things to see.

There are a lot of animals at Zion. There are a lot of Lizards there. There are so many Lizards that I couldn't even count them all. When we went to a show we saw a toad too. When we were at camp a deer came by.

On the second day we went to the river. In the river we played around and made a zoo of tadpoles. Some tadpoles had arms and legs. I tried too swim but it was too shallow.

There are places you can visit there. The Weeping Rock looks like it is crying because it has water falling from it. The Riverside trail goes all the way to the end of the canyon. Angel's Landing goes to the top of the canyon but we did not go there.

That is some of the things we did At Zion National Park. It's a very nice place and I'd recommend this place for you to stay at.


Lexie Here

At Zion park there's lots of animals like lizards. The lizard that we saw first was on a tree stump. it was brown and had a long tail. When you have a bag sitting down, the squirrels try to get something from your bag. it is hard to get the squirrels away too. there is lots of other animals too.

The river was close to our campsite. The river had a lot of tadpoles in it. I was the first one to catch a tadpole. The tadpoles with legs were orange. It was fun to catch those tadpoles.

Last Days at Grammy and Grampy's

Lexie Here

On the fourth of July we did 42 4th of July firecrackers. It was the best 4th of July ever. I wished that it would never end.

Lisa is very nice. We met Lisa on the first day we arrived in Kamas. She has three dogs and three cats. One of her dogs is a wiener dog and two of her cats are kittens. The wiener dogs name is squirt and the two bigger dogs names are Sally and Girly. Squirts brother visited one day, his name is Oscar. The cats name is Clause. Ther is a black kitten and we call her Spike. We do not know what to call the other kitten. We would visit her when we walked around the block with Grammy's dog. Lisa gave Madison and me a plant to take home with us.

We are now going to Zion. I think it might be really hot there and it probably is. We are going to have to drink a lot of water so we don't get dehydrated. I hope that it is not too hot that we have to drink too much water because that will make our stomach hurt.


Madison Here

The last few days at Grammy and Grampy's house was fun. We did fireworks, saw Wall-E, I painted with Grandpa and we visited Lisa.

The day before the fourth of July was very frustrating for me. It seemed like the day would never end and I wanted the Fourth of July to arrive. The 4th of July was sooooooo fun. It seemed to take forever before it would get dark. When it did we lit 42 fireworks. my favorite was the Dixie because it stopped and then started again. It was like a surprise.

We also went to see the movie Wall-E in the theater in Kamas. The theater is really small. There were only fourteen people at the movie. I loved the movie. Daddy laughed a lot during the movie.

Grandpa showed me how to paint on rocks. He has a collection of rocks that he has painted. I painted a rock to look like a lady bug.

We also visited Lisa often. Lisa lives on the same block as our Grammy and Grampy. She is very nice. I liked her pets too. She has three dogs and three cats and fish. Before we left she gave us a monkey plant. the flowers have little faces that look like monkeys.

I will miss Grammy and Grampy. We are now leaving for Zion. It is supposed to be very hot there. We will have fun anyway but we will need to drink lots of water.


Michael Here

I have fallen behind on the photos and videos. I will try to catch-up tonight. However, I can not be sure when we will find another wifi connection.

The girls have really liked reading the comments. they ask me often to go and check to see if anyone has posted.

days eight through half of eleven

Madison Here

Since I last posted we have done more things here in Kamas. We have done, seen and laghed about a lot of things. We have been swimming, visited some my great aunt Dyann, saw some cows and gone fishing.

On June 30th we went to our great aunt Dyann's house to visit her. Before we got there we stopped and bought flowers for aunt Dyann. The flowers were pink with a little American flag.

While there, my sister and I were playing hide and go seek. I went upstairs to look behind the hot tub but when I went to look behind it something changed my mind. There was a wasp on the side of the hot tub. The wasp was huge and alive! That was pretty much the end of the game.

At the end of our visit, aunt Dyann let us pick out a rock. The rock I picked out is blue. It has crystals in it. My dad thinks it is a thunder egg.

Yesterday, we went fishing at Willow Creek. When we got there we grabbed the worms and the poles and went to the pond. My dad put the worm on the hook and I walked upto the pond. I waited for a bite and then reeled it in. Lexie caught a fish too but I had to help her a little. You should really watch the video because I "kiss" the fish and Lexie "kisses" a worm.

Today, we went to the dairy farm to see baby cows. While we were there one of the workers even brought in a new calf. We took a lot of pictures. When we were done looking at the calves we went to the horse that were on the side of the calves. We went over to pet the horses.

It has been very fun so far. I am looking forward to reading your comments. I really want to know what you are doing this summer. I can't wait to see you when I get home.






Lexie here


We went to my great aunt's house. The house had about four levels. The bottom level was the guest room. It had a pool table a TV a bathroom and two beds. The rest of the levels looked normal except for the room with the hottub. When Madison and I were playing hide-and-go-seek Madison checked behind the hottub. She was surprised by a big alive wasp. When she found me she showed me it.

Yesterday my dad sister and I went fishing. We used worms, a rod and a reel. I made my dad put the worm on our hook. I caught a fish. It was fat.

Tonight we are going to do fourty-two firecrackers. It will be fun. I hope you like the pictures we took.


latest video

pictures

videos and pictures

latest photos

video days 4/5

video day 6/7

We will try to make some better videos (these are yawners). While they are not great, they will let you see what we are up to though.

We're in Utah (with too few wireless networks)

Sorry it has been a few days since we posted last. We have had some trouble finding a place to connect to the Internet.

Lexie Here

It has been really hot since we got here. Some of the days it seems too hot but other days it has been just hot enough. It has not 100 degrees here so it must be hotter in Portland because Devon told us how hot it has been. We leave the windows open at night and it still does not cool down enough for me. When we got so hot we wish we can have ice cream.

On the first night at Grammy and Grampy's house Madison and I had to switch beds. Madison was sleeping in the bed but she was too hot. I was sleeping on the floor (on foam pads) and I was too cold. We switched and it worked out just tight. Actually Madison got too cold and had to use the big blanket on one night.

Grammy bought us some butterfly nets. One for Madison, one for me, one to take home and give to Serenity and Genesis and one to give to Haley. I have tried to catch a butterfly but it went over the fence. We have not seen any others. Madison hasn't caught anything yet, but I did catch a damsel fly.

We went to the community pool yesterday. This pool is pretty close to Grammy and Grampy's house. We started out just swimming but then we went down the big twirly slide. We swam for three hours in the day and then came back and swam two more hours at night. We were the last ones to leave when the pool closed at nine o'clock.


Madison Here

We have made it to Utah. Since leaving Nevada we have had more new experiences and done some fun things. We have seen a huge salt desert, been swimming, gone down a huge slide, planted tomatoes, and eaten lots and lots of junk food.


As soon as we got into Utah, the scenery turned into a huge lake of salt. Whatever direction I looked all I would see is salt. We stopped and walked out onto the salt. It was like walking on clay. Daddy said that there is water under the salt. Someone put a chunk of wood in the salt, Lexie and I tried to balance on it. Watch the video and you will see.

There is a swimming pool near our Grammy and Grampy's house. The pool is really cool. It is like Mt. Scott pool but a little better. We got to play around in the pool. We splashed each other, swam under water, did tricks under water (like handstands) and ride down the slide. It was fun. We will probably get to go again before we leave.

The first thing I did when we got to Grammy and Grampy's house was help Grampy plant some tomatoes. We planted seven tomato plants. I dug the holes and placed the plants in the holes. so far they are still alive.

We went to Park City and go on this gimongous slide and roller coaster. The roller coaster was really fun. We went up, up, up until we reached the top of it. Then we went very fast down the roller coaster. We went on the roller coaster one at a time with daddy. I was too big to ride with daddy on the slide so I had to go by myself. It was scary because I thought I was going to fall off. I did not fall.

Another great thing about Grammy and Grampy's house is that we get to eat a lot of junk food. Grammy lets us eat chocolate and cookies. She cuts up the chocolate and leaves it in a bowl so we can just eat it when we want. She always keeps refilling it. Same with the cookies. She also lets us have Popsicles or ice cream after dinner. We have even made Jello and root beer floats.

So far the trip has been fun and exciting. I hope that it will be like that at all the other places we will be going to. I like the suggestions that Devon gave us for the Grand Canyon and we will try to see the condor talk and fossils walk.

day two and three

Madison here

We are staying with Grandma and Grandpa Williams. Grandpa is my dad's dad and Grandma Williams is Grandpa's wife. Grandpa is nice. He shows us lots of fun things. Grandma is nice too. She gives us all the orange soda we want.

Grandma and Grandpa Williams are horse-sitting two horses. One is black and the other is black and brown. We got feed them carrots, apples and this purple grass. When we go in with them they follow us around.

Grandpa has quads. They are motor bikes with four big wheels. When we first got here he showed us them and taught us how to start them. Today, we got to ride them. I crashed and scrapped my arm on a rock. Crashing wasn't fun but riding was.

When my sister and I went to see a snake that was ran over, on the way we saw a LIVE one! When we first saw it my sister jumped, screamed , and ran back inside. We told our grandpa and he went and got it. The snake was yellow, black and four feet long. We got to hold it. We pretended we were fashion models with the snake. It was nice and smooth. Then we let it go so it would eat the mice.

Next we will be heading to Utah. I have had fun here in Nevada.

Lexie here

It has been fun here at grandma and grandpa Williams'. We get to play with horses, ride on quads and play on a poker machine.

There are two horses. One horse is the daughter and the other is the mother. When we were playing with the horses we got to feed them carrots and apple slices. The mother was picky and did not eat as much as her daughter. The daughter bit me a little when I was feeding it a piece of carrot.

Grandpa has two poker machines. Madison played the lower one and I played the taller one. We started out with just plain cards but then we stared to use real quarters. When we played we tried to get good groups of cards like a royal straight. The quarters made our fingers dirty.

We also got to ride on quads. We started out real slow but we eventually went very fast. Madison rode by herself and I rode with grandpa. I was a little scared because it was hard to hold on. Even though I was scared a little I liked it and wanted to ride more.

A new video


More pictures

Pictures and a video

pictures mostly taken by the girls

video of the girls

Lexie Here

Today we started a big trip. We are going to Nevada. While in Nevada we are going to visit Grandma and Grandpa Williams. They live in Spring Creek which is near Elko.

While we were driving we did things to pass the time. We watched a movie. I even tried to take a nap but Madison kept bumping my head.

We saw things while driving too. We saw lots of cows and goats. We passed a lot of mountains that were al rocky. We even saw a big herd of prong-horn deer.

We stopped at a couple of places. One was a canyon. The sprinklers were on and we got wet. Madison and I played a small game of tag. We had to walk though because we each had a camera and we did not want to drop them. We used the cameras to take pictures. It was fun.

The camp were we stopped at is called Crystal crane Hot Springs. It has a pond with hot water. We swam in the pond even though it smelled bad - like fish. Good thing the camp also has showers because after the swimming we smelled really bad. The Showers were really small but it was good any way.

Tomorrow we will make it to Nevada.


Madison Here

Today we started our big road trip. We planned on going to Nevada today but we changed our plans. We were not going to make it until late so we split the trip into two days. This allowed us to do some fun things today.

We stopped to look at things a couple of times. Two stops were at two different small canyons. Lexie and I got to use our own cameras to take pictures. The canyons were huge but I think the Grand Canyon is a lot bigger than the ones we saw today.

While we were in the van we tried to pass the time. We watched Alvin and the Chipmunks on the laptop. We also read for quite a while. I finished my Jewel Fairy book and will have to start a new book tomorrow. I tried to take a nap but I could not fall asleep.

We finally stopped at about 2:30 in the afternoon. We stopped at a place called Crystal Crane Hot Springs. This place is a really cool place to camp. It has a pond that has really warm water. It even has a room were everyone can come and watch TV. I watched a Sponge Bob episode while daddy tried to load the video onto Youtube.

Tomorrow we will finish the drive to Elko. I hope that my Grandma and Grandpa Williams are nice and that I will have fun.



Michael here

The photos and video will not upload from here so they will be posted later. - Ya'll come back now. Ya hear?

Devon's Birthday Party

Madison here

Devon's party was the BEST party ever. We had great food. She organized a lot of fun and games. And we all had a great time at Oaks Park.

Devon's parents took seven of us to Oaks Park for the day. When we went on the spider Kelly and I got stuck at the top. Later, Devon and I also got stuck on the top of the Spider. The Disco is a new ride that was real fun. The best part of the roller-coaster was the drop offs.

The food at Devon's party was good too. For breakfast we walked to a donut shop and had donuts and hot chocolate. For dinner, we had nachos. They were good even though the beans made me gaaaaaassy. After Oaks Park we made root beer floats.

At the party we played lots of fun games.I liked watching the talent show. Gabe and Devon's were the best parts. The dance contest was fun too. Devon earned first place and I earned third.

I loved Devon's birthday party. I hope we can get together often during the summer vacation.

The Farmer's Market

Lexie here

Yesterday I went to pick up one of my friend's. Her name is Emma. We were going to the Farmer's Market.

On the way there we so people dressed as pirates. The pirates had puffy shirts and a pirate flag.

At the Farmer's Market there were lots of things to see. We saw wreaths, flowers and vegetables. But we bought pizza, cookies and sausage sandwiches. We enjoyed all the food we had.

After we got our cookies, we headed back to my mom's van and we took Emma back to house.

Introduction

Hi my name is Madison and I'm going to tell you about the adventure my dad, sister and I will be going on. We will be taking a car and visiting Nevada, Utah, Arizona, California and Oregon. During the trip I will get to see my grandpa Williams and my grammy and grampy. I will also visit many national parks.

While I am on this trip, I will write about what I see and do. I hope to tell you about all the amazing sites I will get to see. I will also take pictures and share them with you here.

I hope that after you read on this blog about what am up to, that you will post a comment telling me about your adventures that you are having this summer. Since I will be away from you, this will be the only way I can talk to you.

Please check in often. I will try to post a new message every day once we leave. We will leave June 24th.