Finding Dinosaurs!

 One of Tim's best childhood memories is going out to the desert with his dad and rockhounding. He was taken all over Utah to find different minerals and rocks that he could keep as souveniers. He was really excited to bring his kids along for the ride. Most of our kids are huge rockhounders like their daddy. They love the desert and get excited when we take them out on adventures.

 In June of 2013, Tim and I decided to recreate this experience for our nieces and nephews. We organized a rockhounding excursion and invited all of our brothers and sisters to bring their families. We got a really good response and was able to plan an epic trip!

We chose the place and the rocks we were going to look for. Tim thought it would be fun to show everyone where they could find dinosaur bones. He found a dinosaur when he was younger, and thought the kids would find this absolutely amazing! We set up the camp, let everyone know where we were, and thus the adventure began.

It was a great family reunion! The kids were excited to see their cousins. They helped set up camp, explored the area and got everyone settled in. After the first night of camp songs and smores, everyone had a difficult time sleeping because of the excitement of looking for dinosaur bones.

The first morning, Tim loaded most of the kids in our Suburban, Zina (my best friend) loaded a group in her truck and off they went into the desert to find themselves a dinosaur. Now, if you know anything about Tim, you know that the desert speaks to him. He drives until it says stop and digs where the desert tells him to dig. He drove to an area and told everyone that this is where they would find something. He explained that dinosaur bones are not white, like you would think, but more purplish red or black.

Everyone started searching. It wasn't very long until my nephew Justin and my sister Aimee thought they might have stumbled onto something. Tim came over to verify...sure enough! They had found a dinosaur bone. Tim asked all the kids to back up, because he didn't want them to ruin the site. He carefully started digging around it. What we soon discovered, is that this was a full blown dinosaur vertebre! They hadn't just found bones, they found a full dinosaur!!!!

Everyone was so excited! Tim taught the older kids how to carefully dig around the bones to prevent damage. He dug far enough to verify the dinosaur, then he called the state paleontologist to find out what to do next.

The story got picked up by the local news station and everyone got to be on TV. (Click here to watch the news cast) The dinosaur that we found, was a juvenile cephelapod. I can't remember what the full name of it was, but I know it was a long neck. I took the kids to the Museum of Natural History shortly afterwards to show them which dinosaur it was. (Not that ours got put there, just that they had the type on display.)

Now, unfortunately, being on the news and having all this excitement, put Tim in a sad predicament. He had federal officers come and arrest him. Apparently, it is illegal to gather dinosaur bones and a fragment of one was shown on TV, so they suspected that we gathered a lot of them. They confiscated all the small fragments that were found in the wash, and Tim had to go to court.

Fortunately, the judge decided that there was no malice and dismissed the case. It was really scary to think that Tim would have to go to jail because of our desire to share our adventure with the world. Thankfully, everything turned out okay.

We still rockhound, and have found several more dinosaurs with our little family, including a T-rex. Ara has found a raptor tooth and Tim has found a T-rex claw. We don't gather anymore, just take pictures, but it's sad that the kids can't keep their little momentums. Rockhounding is a dying art, but if you're ever in the area or interested to see what we found, let me know. We might be able to arrange a rockhounding excursion for you!

Life Update!

 Here I am after 8 long years of ditching my blog. I have decided to start anew. Our family moved again to a tiny little town in central Utah. I have 4 children that have graduated high school, and one left to graduate this year.

Orion lives on his own now. He has bought and sold his first house and is working at Peppertree with his dad. He builds the cabinets, and then Tim installs them. He isn't really dating right now, and is still trying to figure out where he fits in this world. I'm very proud of him! He is a talented musician and he has been working on an animated show that is music themed. He is a wonderful example to his younger siblings.

Vega is living in her own apartment. It is upstairs from our home, but it has everything she needs to live on her own. It's nice that I can give her the space she wants and needs, but I can still have her close by if she needs me. She does janitorial stuff for the company I work for. Vega works 2 days a week and really enjoys her job and the people she works for. She loves being independent, even though she has her sisters as roommates.

Centauri has been working from her computer. She designs different things for Minecraft and sells her designs online. She doesn't make a ton of money doing it, but she loves it. This also seems to be a lot of people's dream job, because she gets jealous comments from everyone it seems. She is living in the upstairs apartment with her sisters too. She remains a very talented artist and wants to do more with her talent.

Ara has been working at an animal rescue in Salina. She was recently promoted to afternoon manager and does a lot for the company. She designs their website, Fullmer Menagerie Animal Rescue, and creates the schedules. She is so good with animals and loves them a lot. Ara has been coming into her own, showing people her strong work ethic and making herself valuable. She lives with her sisters in the upstairs apartment and acts like the manager there too. She tries to make sure that her sisters clean up after themselves and do their fair share. She will still give you the shirt off her back, but she's a little more jaded now.

Rigel is being homeschooled right now. He is teaching himself German and enjoys learning new things. He has really changed a lot since he was a child. He's mellowed out and has become really laid back. He still doesn't like to be around people much, and he's still a home body. He surprised us recently by showing us some of the drawings he's done. He went from drawing stick figures to full blown characters with movement and shading. I was absolutely amazed at his talent! If he wants to figure out how to do something, he just does it. He's a lot like his dad in this manner.

Tim and I have been doing amazing! Tim works up north and stays there during the week, which makes me love and appreciate him even more on the weekends. We have been remodeling our house and he has made some amazing progress. He built the apartment space that the girls live in, he created a master bathroom for me, he remodeled my bedroom, remodeled Rigel's bedroom, and is now working on the Butler's pantry and kitchen. He works so hard for me and the kids, I just can't help but love and adore him.

I have a job working with people with disabilities. It's pretty much the best job in the world. I get to hang out with some of the funnest, happiest, and wonderful people in the world. They make their choices and live their lives, and I am allowed to be a part of that. I tell people that it's the funnest, most easy job you'll ever do, with some of the absolute most difficult moments of your life. It is pretty much the toughest job I'll ever love! 

Our family dynamic is a lot different now. My children are now mostly adults. They make their own choices and do their own thing. It's been very different for me to have the space and freedom to do what I want to do. This is the reason I now have time for a blog again. Hopefully, I can still have good adventures with my family and be able to write about them. I'll delve into some memories of past adventures, and I will create my own adventures without the kids. I hope I can maintain my audience and you all will enjoy my writing.