Fall Break 2011
How quickly the school year passes. It seems like Katie and Lauren just started school and now Fall break has already passed. What an enjoyable break we had. We headed to Flagstaff right after the girls got out of school on Friday, October 7th. There was so much excitement in them, to a large extent because their good friends, and our neighbors, Summer and Elise (Liesy) got to join us.
We loaded the trailer with all of our clothes, food, and supplies to tow behind the truck since we had two adults, four children, and two dogs to fill every inch of interior space. Pokey and Frito took up the whole trunk area and Summer begged to sit with them since she is such a dog-lover. She braved hot stinky dog breath and drooling. The other three rode in the back seat with blankets, snacks, and games to accompany them. There was never a moment without singing or laughing. Someday when the girls are grown and have families of their own, we will miss the sound of giggling girls and angelic voices.
We made it to the Stewart’s cabin (which they were kind enough to let us use) around 5:30pm and everyone helped to unload the trailer and get settled in the house. After that, we went to dinner at Bun Huggers where we all enjoyed greasy cheeseburgers and fries. Katie and Summer made up a funny jingle that fits right along with our junk food dinner: “…right to your thighs.…”
Saturday morning the girls headed into the forest along a path not far from the cabin and they gathered together for an ELKS Club meeting. Over the summer, the girls had formed their club in our basement, but had to abandon their original clubhouse under the stairs due to a scorpion infestation. Now, the girls were able to hold their first official outdoor meeting. (By the way, ELKS stands for Elise, Lauren, Katie and Summer…pretty clever, huh!) The girls spent all morning creating their clubhouse. They worked as a team clearing brush, making walls out of logs, lining a rock pathway to the entrance, setting up a stage with a microphone, planting a garden with forest vegetation, and crafting a bench. They even wrote “ELKS” with a Sharpee pen on a tree to mark their territory. After hours of work and play, the girls invited Kory and me to attend an meeting of the ELKS where we were given a tour and detailed explanation of the clubhouse and how it came together.
After the outdoor meeting, we assembled our jackets, hats, and gloves and headed out to get some lunch which happened to be at yet another non-nutrituous restaurant, Burger King. We ate in the car as we headed to Lava River Cave, a mile long tube cave formed by molten rock that erupted from a volcanic vent in nearby Hart Prairie. The top, sides, and bottom of the flow cooled and solidified first, after which the insides of the lava river continued to flow, emptying out the present cave. We dressed appropriately for the cool cave temperatures (about 32 degrees inside), but we did not bring sources of light to help us see our way through the tunnel, so we weren’t able to make the trek this day. Knowing that Summer and Liesy’s parents, Brian and Carrie, were going to be joining us Sunday evening, we thought we’d return to the cave with them on Monday to explore it together, this time with proper lighting.
We made the short walk back to the car through the beautiful pine and aspen trees and then drove to Mt. Humphreys. It had been quite cold the week prior to our arrival, so there was a decent amount of snow at the top of the mountain, at least enough to play in. We drove up to the base of the highest lift chair and planned to ride it to the top. When Kory went to purchase the tickets for us, the man at the booth asked him, “Is all of your party dressed like you?” When Kory respond, “yes”, the man advised us to stay at the bottom of the lift so as to not freeze ourselves. For the record, Summer committed the unthinkable as we headed in to the lodge for hot chocolate. As Kory was “innocently minding his own business, filming the girls playing”, she dropped in for the snowball sneak attack.
After we got back to the cabin, the girls headed straight back to their ELKS club while Kory and I enjoyed the warmth of the cabin and read our books. The girls came inside when the sun was setting as they were getting quite cold and were ready for some hot chocolate and dinner. Kory went to pick up pizza from Stromboli’s, which has become a favorite of ours each time we visit Flagstaff. Katie and Summer helped make brownies after dinner and then the girls watched the movie “Saving Sarah Cain” before bed. Apparently, the girls stayed up half the night laughing and planning silly tricks on one another. Lauren and Liesy read all of Gunther’s books. All of the girls laughed hysterically at one of Gunther’s book called “Bye Bye Diapers”.
The next morning, Sunday, we had a time of worship in the girls’ clubhouse. Katie opened us up in prayer and then Kory led us in a study and discussion of Matthew 5:16 which says, “…let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” We talked about standing out as Christians and being aliens, not part of the world. We discussed Joshua 24:15 which says, “…then choose this day whom you will serve.” And Kory stood with Joshua in stating that, “as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Liesy led us in a song titled “……….” and Lauren led us in singing “This Little Light of Mine”. Summer gave the closing prayer. The girls stayed in the clubhouse and played after that and Kory and I read books, took photos outside, and explored the trails nearby the cabin.
We all gathered for lunch back at the cabin and enjoyed grilled cheese and turkey sandwiches, chicken noodle soup, carrots and chips. Katie and Summer spent time moving all of their belongs out of the master bedroom and into the office area, to prepare the room for Brian and Carrie. We then all went on a hike through the trails behind the cabin. Kory drew arrows in the dirt on the ground with a stick to help us guide us back in case we got lost, and we strategically placed logs along the path to point the right direction. The sun was shining beautifully through the trees in the late afternoon of the day.
Brian and Carrie pulled up around 5:30pm. Carrie was so generous to bring up a full dinner for all of us that she had made ahead of time. We warmed it it the oven while we said our hellos and headed off to the ELKS clubhouse where we watched the girls present their clubhouse to Brian and Carrie and explain how it all came to be. Then, Carrie and I worked in the kitchen to do the last minute dinner preparations while the guys talked about electronics and discussed movies that have good family values. Carrie’s meal was fantastic: poppyseed chicken over either white or brown rice, green beans and rolls with butter. The poppyseed chicken was so good that I requested the recipe. After an easy clean-up, we all got comfortable on the couches and floor and watched the movie “Facing the Giants”. Katie and Summer helped me make s’mores halfway through the movie. After the movie, everyone got ready for bed and Katie and Summer snickered because they had secretly hidden all of the books that Lauren and Liesy had been reading. I don’t think they even knew because they made a discovery of a new pile of books to enjoy while falling asleep.
Monday morning we all spent time doing our own things before breakfast and then we filled up on eggs, sausage, toast, fruit, and cinnamon rolls before heading back to Lava River Cave. Once at the cave, everyone was handed a headlight and put on their coats and gloves in preparation for exploring the cave. It is a beautiful part of creation inside. The lights helped guide us through to the end and allowed us to see cracks and crevices, large rocks and melted lava all over. It is a fascinating cave and well-worth exploring. We had one mishap the whole time. Lauren tripped on a rock that was ticking up out of the ground and fell in the cave. She got a small cut just below her kneecap but apparently it hurt quite badly because she insisted on Dad walking her (and partly carrying her) the rest of the way out of the cave.
The Smith’s treated us to lunch at Chili’s after the cave hike and then we went back to the cabin. The girls, of course, headed back to their ELKS clubhouse and us adults lounged around and read books and enjoyed the cozy Treehouse. Brian and Carrie left around 4:30pm to go back to Mesa. Kory and I watched a little of the movie “Love Comes Softly” together while the kids were busy in “creativity land”, and when they when it was too dark to see anymore, they came inside and ate macaroni and cheese and leftover pizza. We then watched “Amish Grace” before bedtime. This was the favorite movie of all.
Tuesday morning was busy with lots of chores to be done by all. Each person was assigned jobs such as cleaning bathrooms, changing sheets, emptying trash cans, packing up clothes, laundry, mopping, vacuuming, loading the trailer, cleaning the patio, etc. My good husband even went to Walmart to get supplies we needed to replenish the one’s we had used at the cabin and he got a nice “thank you” card and fall floral basket to leave as a gift for the Stewarts. We locked up the cabin and headed home early afternoon. We were graced with more singing and laughter on the way home, but I assure you everyone was tired and not quite as energetic as when we first left. We all got a good night’s sleep upon our return.
