Telestrations

Some friends blogged about this game a while ago, and I just had to try it out. I got it as a Christmas present and it's awesome! The family had fun. (Best with 8 or more players.) First you write down your phrase or word, then draw it and pass it on to the next person.

This person has to guess what word or phrase the picture is showing. They write it down and pass it on.

And so on and so on.

The end! It's super funny! Had to Share This One If you had to guess, what would you say this drawing of Adam's is? No, don't scroll down and look. Guess first.

This is my guess.

This was the real answer.

STILL looks like a vampire football player doing push-ups to me!

Mom's Pink Stove

Mom used to have a pink stove when she was a little girl. And now she has one for her grand-kids. It's all she could talk about in her letters to me. A good friend, Harold A., made it for her (she traded a quilt for it) and then she painted it. It's the first thing she pointed out when we arrived home.

Zuki likes to take the sink out and pretend she's in the shower. And, she'll play from there mostly too. Silly girl.

Hobo Dinners and Western Campouts

Normally we've had hobo dinners so as to use the fire from the burn pile...but this year we did NO yard work. (I can hardly believe it. But it rained the whole time. What is a person to do?) So we had Hayden's parents over and built ourselves a cooking fire in the back yard.

Below: Unwrapping our dinners. We were banished to the kiddie table. Hmmm.

How to Make: Smananas...Bamores...smoras....Banamores...A smore in a banana. • Slice a long strip from the peel • Cut sections of the banana out • Fill sections with chocolate and marshmallows

• close the lid • wrap in tinfoil • cook

• Unwrap and eat Tip: Make sure the banana is ripe. Ours were too green and tasted like...potato.

Wild West Camp Michael and Adam decided to sleep outside by the fire. It was almost 30°. They begged Mo to join them. But Mo mumbled something about being traumatized from his 1 month trip in the African wilderness to earn his manhood, and went upstairs to a warm bed.

These guys are prepared for anything. "Dude, did you hear something?" "Dude."

Adam said they stayed very warm and even got hot. Meanwhile, the water in the birdbath had frozen overnight.

Geocaching

"Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online." (Click here for the website and an intro video.) There's an app for it too, which is completely worth it in my opinion. We gave it a try and found our first one less than a mile from the house.

It took 25 minutes to find. Mainly we were trying to decipher the clue: "Just because I'm made out of it doesn't mean I can't move." We thought it might be alluding to a tree....wrong.

Dwynne found it and signed our names to the roster. This particular geocache has been there since 2006.

A Cacher's Lament This hunt took us inside the loop of the off-ramp at Greenstone Exit. It's called Casher's Lament because of all the weeds that will get stuck in your socks if you venture there during the summer. (The coordinates came with a poem all about the poor cacher's socks.)

Michael found it!

Inside:

This time we left a hair barrette and took a Bigfoot Documentary which did not take itself seriously at all. We'll leave it at the next geocache we find.

The hunt also came with a set of coordinates to an old well! Who would have thought a well would be in that spot? It was lined with stacked stone and not too deep.

If you're ever bored, try this! Or come over and we'll do it together! It doesn't take long at all. And it's fun driving past those places knowing a secret is hidden there. I agree with Dad and think next time we go home we ought to hide one of our own.

Team Dasolo

One evening we split up into pairs and made gingerbread houses. Dad's teammate went to bed, so he went solo. But check out what he did!

Are you SEEING all this attention to detail?

An inside-out house! So awesome!

He stayed up until 2:00 to finish his—long after we all went to bed. Major points for team Dasolo!

(Where's Dwynnie? She hadn't arrived from Denver yet.)

Team Natagaliso

Natalie and Mo (Mmongaliso) received a regular plot of land upon which they chose to put a quaint little house with a drive.

Looking at all that snow and noticing they felt the need for a chimney, you can tell they're from Rexburg. At least the walk is shoveled.

Team Adanam

The Adam and Anna team received a long narrow plot of land. Enter the modern home.

Complete with solar panels, no windows facing west, and the house is raised above the ground to allow airflow—keeping it cool.

Walls of glass, AstroTurf and bamboo decking complete the back...

...along with a grill and pool.