Arizona

 Arizona

The Copper State, The Grand Canyon State

Motto: God enriches

After two very exciting state weeks, I started to wonder if I had the stamina to get through all fifty. But then "God enriched" us with Arizona. Doing things to celebrate and learn about Arizona felt like a much slower paced week, a beautiful enriching week - kind of like watching a peaceful, warm Arizona desert sunset.

For Arizona's desert, we made colored sand and turned it into art. And painted landscapes full of Saguaro cacti -the only place in the world where they grow.

We made our own kinetic sand and played for hours carving out "grand" canyons over and over again. We talked about how long it takes a river to chisel away a canyon - that patient river chiseling away little by little to create a masterpiece. And we talked about how God always enriches with beauty those who are patient.

The homemade kinetic sand was getting weirdly sticky on their clothes, and ironically, I was not patient enough about the idea of washing them later. 

We did a copper experiment for the Copper State, and turned pennies green. God enriched us this week with a science activity that actually worked on our first try(take that rockets and juicicles!).

We played Hiss a lot for all those Arizona snakes. And watched a lot of youtube snake videos. And taught the kids that old poem, "When red touches black, you're okay Jack. When red touches yellow, you're a dead fellow." Now they love trying to identify the poisonous snakes at the zoo by the color of their stripes.

Our service project this week was supporting an Arizona reservation by buying some of their products. But is it really service when the results of your efforts are so delicious?

Big fan of the blue corn meal pancakes. We were supposed to eat it with prickly pear syrup, but anything I could find was soooooo expensive, so we made our own pear syrup, without the prickles(just mashed a pear up with some maple syrup).

For our state dessert we made marranitos(which is a Mexican pig-shaped gingerbread cookie but is apparently really popular in Arizona).

Some people, I won't name names, were very stubborn about not doing a pig shape and insisted on making other animals they deemed as cuter.

The cookies were...not our favorite. But when you find yourself with a bunch of meh tasting cookies, God enriches you with a sister who loves them and eats them all for you(Thanks Morgan, our favorite pseudo Mexican!(also the infamous inventor of saying, "Wel-come to Air-ri-ZONA" every time you cross the border on your way to California.).

For state dinner, we had cheese crisps, grapefruit, chimichangas, and Sonora dogs.

(Writing this a year and a half later, that Sonora dog was drool worthy and I still think about it every time I have a hot dog and wish I had the Sonora salsa topping to go with it(and the bacon wrapped around it). Also, almost every state has a famous hot dog and so far, this one takes the hot dog crown for me.)

God enriched Arizona with the best state drink: lemonade. Which in turn, enriched us by having us do a lemonade taste off.

We have a winner: Raspberry!!!

But please look closely at this fascinating chart with the votes listed by each flavor. Look at how fascinating that every single vote was a 3 to 1 smack down(Mango vs Pineapple was an outlier with a 3 to 2 vote but it was the only one Bridget threw in a vote for before wandering off in boredom and let's be real, mango is easier for an almost 2 year old to say than pineapple so that's what she went with). And what else is fascinating is that every single person had a different favorite flavor and everyone's favorite flavor was one that lost out in the first round. Fascinating I tell you.

We watched some short info videos about Geronimo, and had some short history lessons about how they say Geronimo was "from" Arizona - but was he really? Or was he pushed out of the land he was from and relocated to Arizona? Either way, his was a sad, tragic story. Now when I need courage to do something and shout "Geronimo!" I'm going to remember his story and how much courage one man truly had to have to face the harshness of life.

We did some jumping off of high things while shouting Geronimo in his honor, while listening to "Geronimo."

Arizona week was beautiful and slow and a nice change of pace, but I was starting to feel guilty that we hadn't done anything big or grand or truly memorable. Then God enriched us with a reminder that Tombstone and the OK Corral were in Arizona. So we had ourselves a good 'ol Western shootout.

Rodger was in heaven and you can bet he asked to do a shoot out repeatedly for weeks after this.

My favorite thing we did for Arizona was something I never got a picture of. I made the kids come outside with me every night and look for the moon and make a wish on a star. This was done in honor of Tuscon, Arizona being the Astronomy Capitol of the World.

Well, Arizona, you beautiful state you. Thank you for enriching our lives with your quiet, warm beauty. This mama heart needed it.

Missed opportunities: I really wanted to do art that focused more on the unique cactus, but alas, we did not. But these two looked cute: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/93942342218433811/ or https://www.keepcalmandmommyon.com/cactus-popsicle-stick-crafts/ 

We also didn't do any snake art: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/93942342218433814/ or https://www.pinterest.com/pin/93942342218433816/

Links:

Color Sand: https://momwifebusylife.com/how-to-make-colorful-sand/?pp=0

Sand Art: https://spanishmama.com/nazca-lines-craft-kids/?doing_wp_cron=1567336046.9410500526428222656250

Desert Sunset: https://www.stillplayingschool.com/2016/04/painting-sunset-kids.html

Homemade kinetic sand: https://www.growingajeweledrose.com/2015/01/homemade-kinetic-sand.html

and this one: https://www.happy-mothering.com/2-ingredient-diy-moon-sand-recipe/

Copper Penny experiment: https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/make-green-pennies-copper-penny-science-experiment/?epik=dj0yJnU9U3J5ZkNjUjQ3RExycjZWV3lUX1plUXEwSjM2a04tN2smcD0wJm49cER4ajZBQUlfSGM5TUdIVUpiNEoxZyZ0PUFBQUFBR01uOU9B

Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82IyCUbG2dc

Snake videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOHFt15eVD4 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Chgih5FqSE and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ7QfIUHvKU and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yDoFJx0P3w

Geronimo videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUjyOTEHUKg (follow links to see all there parts) and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JukBVfMe3GM

Tombstone videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYm5KKoDIZE and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjOl7bosWT0 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60jUIO0a54I

Romona Farms: https://www.ramonafarms.com/

Blue Corn Meal Pancakes: https://underwoodgardens.com/blue-corn-flapjacks-with-prickly-pear-syrup-2/

Marranitos: https://www.isabeleats.com/marranitos-mexican-gingerbread-pigs/

Cheese crisps: https://www.everydaysouthwest.com/classic-cheese-crisps-recipe/

Chimichangas: https://www.munchkintime.com/easy-30-minute-chicken-chimichanga-recipe/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=pinterest&utm_campaign=tailwind_tribes&utm_content=tribes&utm_term=864893378_368627&utm_source=pinterest&utm_campaign=tailwind_tribes&utm_content=tribes&utm_term=958222848_42731010_217307

Sonora dogs: https://damndelicious.net/2012/06/17/bacon-wrapped-sonoran-hot-dog-sunday-supper/

Lemonade ideas: https://www.onelovelylife.com/8-flavors-of-healthy-homemade-lemonade/

Books/Movies:

Raising Arizona

Cowboys and Aliens

Wyatt Earp

G is for Grand Canyon by Barbara Gowan

Desert Digits by Barbara Gowan

Geronimo Stilton: Flight of the Red Bandit

When Wood Turns to Stone by KS Tankersley

Alaska

 Alaska
The Last Frontier
Motto: North to the Future!

We were not sure anything could ever be as fun as Alabama. But we faced our future and went north, to Alaska - to unforgettable adventures and memories.

We watched Balto, so many nature bear videos on YouTube, and Iron Will(which twist, in my head he was from Alaska - turns out he's from...South Dakota? Looks like we might be watching this again later in the year - so yet another way we were looking (north?) to the future!).

We read a picture book about Alaska that had a whole page of illustrations of what poop from different Alaskan animals looked like. (Even as I type this a year and a half in the future, my kids still talk about that book. If I had known that was going to be my future, I might not have gone north.)

We listened to Jewel. And Frozen.

We made Northern lights, had a Northern lights dance party every night, and camped under the Northern lights one night.

We built igloos and made crystals and topiaries and cut snowflakes.

Unfortunately this week, Sarah's family went north to a future of covid and quarantining, so for our service project we walked their "sled dog" for them.

We climbed snowy mountains as we yelled, "North to the future!"

And we hiked to a "glacier" waterfall and scaled rocks as if they were the mountain cliffs of Denali.

We played Inuit games - games that led us north to a future of pulled muscles and sore bums.

This one was a shoulder push one, it was pretty fun.

This one was hilarious, you were supposed to jump, kick the rope, and land on the same foot you kicked the rope with - so hard, and so entertaining.

There was even one where you had to do it crouched down and holding onto one of your feet.

You can see in this one that Rodger thought his shirt was holding him back from his best performance.

We made Eskimo ice cream out of snow with cousins(weeks later due to very little snow during Alaska week and I refused to go north to get snow from the mountains in order to avoid a future of giardia(being now able to identify various poop from woodland animals, I was very aware what could be found in snow from the wild)).

We ate trail mix for days.

We attempted and failed a few times to successfully make a juicicle science experiment(if you think of going north in hopes that juicicles are in your future...maybe brace yourself that it might all go south every single try). *too frustrated to take pictures

For our state dinner, we ate: salmon, creamed salmon, berries, "reindeer" dogs, sour dough bread, and had a beef jerky taste off. And of course, Baked Alaska for dessert. And at some point this week we also made "Alaska" cookies.

At the end of the week we realized how bright our future truly was - it was the week where David had promising job interviews, the week we started seriously discussing the possibility of another baby in our family, the week the end of covid restrictions seemed in our near future. And if that's the future we could get by going north(according to Alaska), I'd go north every time. Except next week. Next week we go south to Arizona.

Missed opportunities: Making totem poles, a glacier experiment, fishing(or even just a cute fish craft), and going on an actual dog sled ride(I wanted to do this(https://www.lunalobos.com/kennel-tour) so badly, but I promised myself(and David)I would not spend a million dollars in the name of the states project. Maybe if I keep looking north, it will one day happen in my future.)

Links:

Favorite youtube videos: 

Pretty - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr284c-q8oY

Facts - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-3iNqQ1QEY

Animals - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIkzjc8XtLM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6uBkbgStTw

Bears - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mphg2feuAPo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSSPDwAQLXs

(basically any bear documentary on youtube or disney plus)

Moose Fight - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M26ug8MGYlY

Northern lights chalk art: http://elementsoftheartroom.blogspot.com/2017/12/4th-grade-aurora-borealis-landscapes.html?m=1

Igloos: https://thecraftyclassroom.com/crafts/native-american-crafts-for-kids/inuit-crafts-for-kids/sugar-cube-igloo-project/

Crystals: https://www.deliacreates.com/snow-and-ice-activities-for-kids-part-i/

The fish craft I wish we did: https://nurturestore.co.uk/foil-fish-craft-ocean-theme-preschool

Totem Poles: https://www.cindyderosier.com/2016/08/totem-pole-craft.html

Crafts: https://3boysandadog.com/alaska-crafts-for-kids/?epik=dj0yJnU9N2pHWWFPTGlWMEFuTUhWNl9EekVPc3F4NC03aUJZUGcmcD0wJm49akQ5alB1ckNmUEFZeUhEWDAtbm4zUSZ0PUFBQUFBR01kWnFR

Juicicles(all lies): Tried it this way from a random site: "Fill plastic soda bottles with colored water. Hang them from tree branches using yarn. Puncture the bottom of the bottles with small holes. As the colored water drips out, it freezes, forming bright icicles. Keep adding different colored water to the bottles to create rainbow icicles. If the icicles stop forming, make the holes larger or poke new holes."

Tried it this way but with juice: https://kitchenpantryscientist.com/rainbow-icicles-winter-science-for-kids/

Tried it again using paper cups with yarn hanging through the hole so the juice could form on the yarn. Nothing.

Baked Alaska: https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a54800/best-baked-alaska-recipe/

Alaska oatmeal cookies: https://www.alaskafromscratch.com/2011/10/08/wilderness-lodge-cookies/

Books/Movies/Songs:

Balto

Brother Bear

The Proposal (impossible to say Sitka, Alaska without saying it in Sandra Bullock's voice)

Northern Exposure, anyone?

Molly of Denali

Christmas Under Wraps

Inuit Games by Thomas Anguti Johnston (awesome book that taught us all the games)

Up on Denali by Shelley Gill(the poop book)

Anything by Jewel: The Shape of You(best one), You Were Meant for Me, Hands, Somewhere Over the Rainbow(better than Judy Garland, I will fight you), any of her yodeling

Not Iron Will