The Hazard Chronicles

 There is a lot to record this week, mostly in the way of photos. It was a good busy week, with an even busier weekend. Good times all around.

We finally had a birthday party for this girl! (her birthday was in February) She wanted a campfire theme and a sleepover with her friends. Rachel really delivered with the cake, the girls all stayed up until 2am, and everyone had a great time.

Another Vantage day with the family. If you know our family at all, you know this is one of our favorite destinations when the weather is cold around home. As soon as we arrived we ate a picnic lunch on top of a big cliff, looking at the waterfall far in the distance. It was Ev who suggested we abandon our climbing plans and hike to the waterfall. Everyone else was on board, and we were soon scrambling down on a family adventure!

Right after this picture the cliff sort of drops off for a bit of easy but chossy downclimbing. Lindsey was actually near tears. Like any good dad, I reached out to help, but then thought twice and brought out  the camera instead to capture the genuine look of abject terror on her face. She screamed most of the way down, but once we reached the bottom it was just nonstop chatter about how "we are a cool family because we do dangerous things." I'm not sure it was actually all that dangerous, but it's the perception that matters. 

This old car was a favorite point of interest. After much investigation we determined it was a 1955 International pickup truck. There were all sorts of fun and disturbing stories the kids came up with about how it got there. The road where we started is on top of the cliffs in the background, and there were actually quite a few old car wrecks below these cliffs. Combined with the desert stillness and the carrion birds overhead, I felt a little like I had stepped into a McCarthy novel.

We made it to the waterfall!

There were some people who didn't want to make the climb back up the cliff and opted for a long hike around it to get back to the car. The others took the more direct route. I think that we were glad we went the long way.

Jackson had his pinewood derby for scouts. He made a "banana boat car." If you can see around the ribbons and everything, you'll actually see a sail sticking up on it. I'm pretty sure it came in last place in terms of speed, but it was definitely a favorite among the boys. Every time the car raced, the entire room started chanting (in the dorky excited way that only boyscouts can pull off) "Bannana Boat! Bannana Boat! Bannana Boat!"
Side note: How is it even a thing that scouting is a part of our lives? Ugh.

All right- have a great week!