Your Favorite Passion

So, MoMo and I had a fun adventure today. Her class had a field trip today and I went along as a chaperone. First stop was an archeological site where there are ancient petroglyphs carved into boulders. There is a trail with information posted along the way. Unfortunately I left my camera on the bus so I don't have any photos of that. Oops! But then we went to a nearby alkali flat to search for a mineral/rock called wonderstone. Wonderstone is made up of different layers in shades of purple, red and yellow. You can find some really cool patterned wonderstone in the area. We've got a ton of it that we've collected in the past so I didn't really pick up too many pieces. Also, we know a better spot (inaccessible by bus, though) where you can find lots of really nice specimens that are already naturally smoothed down and polished. Anyway, I did get a few photos of MoMo and her friend hunting for wonderstone. (MoMo is in the yellow sweatshirt)

 After that we headed to Sand Mountain, which is a sand dune 2 miles long and 600 feet high. Normally it is a popular spot for quads, buggies and the like but it not being a weekend it was mostly deserted. And as we didn't have quads or buggies or anything, the main attraction was trying to climb to the top on foot. It is not so easy. After all it is sand. Lots and lots of sand. Sort of like walking 600 feet on the beach, except steeper and higher. Much steeper and much higher.

 See those blackish specks going up the mountain like a trail of ants? Yep, those are people climbing up.

This is the view as I started up.

 Here's the view from higher up but I'm not to the top yet.

FINALLY I made it to the top. That last bit was a killer. I basically had to crawl/drag myself the last yards. It was the steepest bit. See?

Here's me at the top! Woo hoo! I pretty much collapsed in the sand there for a while.

Now you might be wondering, "Where are the pictures of MoMo?" Well, when we first arrived we had lunch. She scarfed hers down and darted up the mountain whilst I ate mine at a more leisurely pace. Also, she went up much more quickly than this old lady did. In fact, she went up to the top, went down to the bottom, then back up to the top again! So, I made my climb solo. But here she is on her second climb.

I wanted to get a picture of the two of us together at the top but I forgot and then she went off with her friends and it just didn't happen. I'll tell you what, though. We were FULL of sand. Like sand in places you didn't even know you had. Like we'll have sand coming out of our ears for weeks. But it was fun.

So, I know it's been a lot about MoMo lately and not too much about Big R (who is officially taller than his Mama). MoMo's been doing her dancing and things while Big R is all about gaming. But I do have a picture of him that I took a few days ago that is a good one. I can't believe how big he is!

And then I made some jam. Everything just came together perfectly and I felt like it was a sign or something. I had seen a recipe for strawberry vanilla jam in a canning book I recently got from the library and knew I'd like to try it. I filed the recipe to make at some future date. Then My MIL brought me some vanilla beans when she came up to visit. (Thanks again)! I was mulling over what I wanted to use them for but hadn't decided on anything. Then I found the most luscious, juicy, tasty, beautiful strawberries (on sale!) so I figured that I HAD to make the strawberry vanilla jam. And believe me it is fabulous! I'd totally share with all of you but the recipe only made 3 pint jars and one half pint jar. It's about half gone already. We've been eating it like crazy. But when I find myself with all the ingredients in hand again I'm planning to make as much as possible. Right now I'm kind of obsessed with it. So delicious! I'll totally share some of my next batch(es)! Maybe...