The Fifth Grade Heads to Clear Creek

This is the most anticipated event for fifth grade. (In sixth grade, it's Space Camp.)

I was fortunate enough to be asked to go as one of the teachers/chaperones, and to drive Debbie Draper's Suburban loaded to the roof. That saved me the headache of going on the bus and afforded me the opportunity to listen to my scriptures for the 90-minute drive.

When we arrived, the caretaker told us that it had been -27 that morning, but fortunately they didn't expect any more sub-zero temps through our stay. It was 13 when we got off the bus, so we sent everyone to unpack in their cabins and get their snow gear on so they could play for a while. There was 5 feet of snow; the top 2 were pure powder. The boys immediately went to the snowbanks and broke out the sleds.

The other favorite activity of the boys was dodgeball. Griffin didn't want to get in the game, but he wanted to participate so he coached from the sidelines.

We decided we wanted to have our picture taken together on the first day rather than the last one, which we usually do. So from left to right, it's Debbie Draper, Tiffany Hone--and me!

After some play time, we decided to take them to the ropes course. (Unfortunately, the majority of it was under snow.) This is where they get to bury their teachers in snow. Since the school that went the week before us didn't allow their students to go in the snow (go figure), it was all untouched powder. The adults (the 3 teachers and a few dads) were given snowshoes to break the path. That is hard work!

Griffin was plain exhausted after the walk.

After we got back to the parking lot, it was the boys' turn to snowshoe. Griffin and I decided to go and break our own trail. Ellie and I had gone when she was there, but there wasn't nearly as much snow and the majority of it was packed, so it wasn't as difficult. Griffin probably made it 100 feet before having to take a rest, then deciding to turn around and be done.

Now it was time to build snow forts. The boys divided themselves into two groups with a prize of a king sized candy bar (per boy) on the line. This is "phase one" of Griffin's group. We called it "the hot tub."

After that part was finished, Griffin and his friends, Erik and Darrin, made themselves a security force to prevent any spies from the opposing team.

When they were both finished, we took pictures in them. Please excuse the goofy hair. Headbands aren't really conducive to keeping hair in the same place.

Here are the boys in the finished fort: the delicate arch, slide, tunnel, and hot tub.

That evening, after dinner, we broke out the karaoke (which failed miserably due to technical difficulties) and a movie (National Treasure) complete with popcorn, soda and movie snacks. When the movie was over, they returned to their cabins--to not sleep. Unfortunately, we can't go to bed until they are all asleep, so we were up to 1 waiting.

The next day, we spent some time going over the physical and chemical states of matter. (They hadn't done very well on their test.) This is Griffin and a few classmates illustrating the atoms in a solid.

Here they are as a liquid.

And finally, as a gas.

Then, it was time for more activities. This time they focused more on sledding.

The boys before they boarded the bus.

Since the rest of the pictures I have don't include either of us, I'll just include the last one with the three of us after 3 days. I had decided to take a shower (the "Executive Inn" cabin was nicely equipped with them) so I wasn't too freaked out by my appearance.

It was a great few days. I survived without ever being too cold, and Griffin had a great time as well. Bring on Space Camp!