Tolman Family

For our first full-fledged family vacation in several years, we took a trip to beautiful Northern California! We drove out there, and it was quite an adventure. The kids had several seating arrangements to choose from in our tiny little 15 passenger van! -- We actually took out 5 of the seats, so there were only 10. We have 8, so I guess there wasn't too much extra space to move around, but there was enough that the kids could mix things up and move around. Our first stop on the journey was actually a little place Danica and I found quite a few years back. We were up at the Utah State Capitol Building and noticed a giant tower way out near the Great Salt Lake. We wondered what it was and decided to go out and find out. On this trip, we showed the kids what we had found.  It's actually the Kennecott Garfield Smelter Stack. It looks rather impressive up close, and also from far away. The reason is that this smelter stack is the largest free-standing structure...

It's FALL! And you know what that means. Cooler weather, leaves changing colors, and all the fruit is ripe for the picking.  We decided to take advantage of fruit-picking season and head out to a local farm (Riley's in American Fork) to pick some apples and peaches. We took some friends along to join us in the fun. When we got to the farm, we grabbed some boxes and loaded up in the wagon to make our way out to the orchards. Everyone was really excited to get out and pick some fruit. Desi and Matthew got an early start on the day by finding some on the ground and just eating it, because, why not? Joshua was really the only one not too excited about the trip. As you can see, he was a little upset. We got off the wagon a little earlier than we should have and had to march quite a ways to get to the trees that still had fruit on them. Joshua was still upset by the whole thing, so we passed him around a little. Apparently Dad does not have the touch....

Another adventure? They wouldn’t… Well of course we would! This week’s adventure was quite a trek. It was so brutal and difficult that only a handful of our faithful crew made it.  This week’s journey was a pilgrimage to a holy site revered by our clansmen. It was hike to the Y. The Y-hike is a little too grueling for the youngest Tolmans, so Matthew and Joshua stayed home. Beyond that, Dad was at work and Cameron wasn’t feeling up to it. So the hike became a bonding moment for Mom and just half of the crew, Jessica, Minnie, and Desi. In the heat of the blistering September afternoon, the brave party embarked on a journey of faith, hope, bravery, and courage. You see, this adventure had been attempted before, but without success. The hikers had underestimated the fierceness of the climb and had set out too late to complete the trek.  This time, our adventurers set up while the sun was still high in the sky, giving them plenty of time to complet...

For this week’s adventure, we discovered that an evil villain had captured Minnie, Desi, and Joshua. A countdown was set to 999 seconds. Jessica and Cameron had to free Minnie and Desi, then make their way through the a series of 6 challenges to free Joshua before the time ran out. Minnie and Desi have been handcuffed! — And Matthew is very concerned. The “bomb” strapped to Joshua is set to go off in just a few minutes. The first thing the kids had to do was free Minnie and Desi from their handcuffs. But how!? The keys were hidden somewhere near by. As the precious seconds ticked away, they searched and searched.  Finally, they found the keys, but the locks were a puzzle! After some careful maneuvering, they freed the captives. Once Minnie and Desi were free, they all looked around a bit and found a strange box with a key it. Obviously the key was important, but how were they to get it out? Another search uncovered some tools that looke...