Surviving Phoenix Summer 2026

We got back from our monthlong epic TN-AL-TX roadtrip last week, and after a lovely under-average week of 100/70 and me deciding the desert was an awesome place after all, the next week has brought us back the 110/85 days. This morning I was desperately perusing google maps and honing in on any green point in a 3 hr radius.

I just canceled our camping trip for July 10, since the prediction said high of 96 at the campsite. It seems June 10-July 20th really isn't the best time to camp, even at 7000 elevation on the Rim. The campsites aren't booked up there, which tells you its just the hard-core campers there. Maybe we shall be them one day. But it's not yet. 

OK, Hannah, no need to re-invent the wheel.

June 10 to July 20th is kinda a deadzone for camping [being honest with myself, its probably more like June 10th to Aug 15 for us]

But  little rangers need to go a'ranging...

Living in the desert means being a Dawn Ranger. Waking to stars and chasing the twilights.

Phoenix in the summer is unbearable. Unless you chase the twilights. Live in the dawn and the dusks. Hide from the sun from 8am to 6/7pm. This handy reference helps, showing dawn times in the year.

HOW WE ARE GOING TO DO IT:

1. Wake them at 4:30 and head out to  Adventures from 4:30/5am to 7am....it starts to look beautiful 40 min before sunrise so  from 4:40 when sunrise is technically 5:20. 
2. Kids must learn to speak in whispers and travel quietly like real rangers when around Birdwatchers and Fishermen.
3. Load up to go home by 7am  
4. Siesta/Quiet Book Time at 10-2pm
5. Family Evenings with water 7:30-9:30pm//8-10pm Family Outside Time. Wet neck rags, and folk dance or soccer. Popsicles. Local Splashpads open till 10pm

Dawn Adventures---Weekday

Remember, always being a gallon of water. If Outside after 7am---Hats, sunscreen, water-bottles!!! 

• OUR NEIGHBORHOOD PARK. technically opens at 6am--10pm but if they are quiet, I think 5am is ok. Sprinklers are rumored to go off 5/5:30am
• Take the kids to the Riparion park, it opens at 5:30am--10pm. 
• Riparion trails, at 5:30-7am (Ranger quiet, stealth)
• Breakfast Picnic at Daddy's work. 6am to 7:30am, I will need to pick up Josh from work later.
• BIGGER ADVENTURES: Get the kids up at 4am. Get your pass here America the Beautiful Pass. So we need to use it at least 12 times to make it retroactively worth it! 
• Granite Reef Recreation area, wild horses at dawn. Go on a weekday, once a week. [look out for rattlesnakes]  @ 5am--7am [fishers?  23 min, L202 at dawn]
• ?Canyon Lake @ 5am [ 1 hr away. Acacia Recreation Site]
• ?Lake Saguaro @ 5am [42 min away]
• ?Pebble Beach
• ?Hidden Valley/Fat Man's pass/South Mouuntain? [no water, just desert. Only right at dawn]
• ?Sears-Kay Ruin (Hohokam)
• Check out more on Alltrails....

Evenings in the Twilights

7-9pm [8-10pm better] you can go outside, if you are wet.... The sun is down (7:40), but it has exhausted itself in pumping its heat into the earth. Here we are constrained by Daddy having a day job. So either we frolic off without him, or we drag an exhausted man out into the heat for adventures after a long day at work.... 

• Soccer/Dance/Wet Tag at the park (plus icecream). "Wet Tag" Play tag with sopping wet rags, you need to actually get someone wet for it to count. Bring along a bucket of waters for refills. BRING A FROZEN GALLON OF WATER and a FROZEN GALLON OF LEMONADE. Bring a boom-box and do English Folk Dancing on the basketball court. (If I can time to when the sprinklers go off, that would be a great time to visit the park)
• Go on walks in the evening around our neighborhood, or our park, wearing the wet cooling towels on our necks. 
• Enjoy dusk together as a family, in the backyard, in some sort of water games. 
• SPLASHPADS and climbing towers---Go to the splashpad at Riverview at 7-10pm, bring towels, two pizzas. Get wet first, then go play in the playground area and evaporative cooling will keep you alive. Have kids stick with their buddies to cut down on the chaos. Maybe you'll pick up some spanish! 
• SPLASHPADS and treehouse slides---Pioneer park is open until 10pm as well! 
• STAR-GAZING and LIGHTSABERS----Riparion Preserve is open from 5:30am-10pm Bring cheerios for the ducks. Riparion Preserve at 7pm on a Friday or Saturday, and stay when its dark to look through the observation telescope. Bring water and snacks, and maybe lightsabers.
• ROSES IN THE DARK---Rose Garden at Dusk. Load up on Popsicles/Icecream bars, and go visit the Rose Garden in the dark 8-9. Make the kids walk the circuit of the little trail with you, maybe 7x
• ANIMALS---??Riparion Trails in the Golden Hour. Trails shut at sunset, gates lock, so this might be a little stressful.... But the Riparion Park I think stays open a bit longer. Walk to the Carl's Damaged Pet Warehouse, with carrots.
•  IKEA EVENING---Feed the kids, and head over to IKEA 6pmish for an evening of perusing the display rooms. End by buying them cookies and Mork chocolate, head home and stop at the rose garden on the way to eat the chocolate and walk the circuit a few times. 

 

 The world can still be explored with highs of 113. Go and do it!!!

UPDATE: Basically the kids really need about 10 hours of silence to sleep every night, and the kids under 7 need a 90 min nap on top of that. Aim for complete silence, let the kids sleep, from 9---6am baseline. It will be adjusted according to activities.

• KIDS MUST BE UTTERLY SILENT in their rooms at 9pm 

• If we had a morning adventure (before 6am), Allow for mid-day naps [11/12-2] for everyone (not just the littles)
• If we are planning an evening excursion (8-10pm), let the kids sleep in till 8am the next morning. 

Day Trips with Daddy (sat morn)

Only downside is we need to wake up pretty early for this. 4am/4:30am/5am for most of them. Daddy's work maybe just 5:30... 

• Daddy's Work Breakfast Picnic. The little gardens around ASU. 5/6/7/8am there are no students up yet on Saturdays, We have the world to ourselves. It is beautiful.
• Water Wheel Falls Park. Aim to be there from 6-10. [starts filling up at 9] So need to get up at 4am and start driving. Then come home at 9:30/10 when its getting really hot and crowded, and the UV index soars. Come home, eat, and have a siesta
• ?Canyon Lake @ 5am [ 1 hr away. Acacia Recreation Site]
• ?Lake Saguaro @ 5am [42 min away]
• ?Granite Reef @ 5am [fishers?  23 min, L202 at dawn]

7-24-2026 UPDATE: I just had to cancel our July 24th trip as well. The problem is the heat spikes in July mean that even up on the Rim, the highs can be anywhere between a nice 81, or a high of 98 (unbearable). The only way to camp up on the Rim in July, is not to reserve in advance, and swing it depending on the weather. So, note to future self, don't reserve campsites from June 10th--Aug 15th

Cracking the No-Cavities-Tooth-Code...with Yogurt?

Can I reverse (and prevent) tooth decay with yogurt?

Quick backstory: I have struggled with tooth decay my whole life. From getting my teeth drilled for cavities from 10 years old, to little fillings becoming big fillings, and big fillings becoming crowns. I now have 2 crowns, 8 other fillings, and two active sites the dentists have wanted to drill and I'm trying to remineralize. It got really bad 3 years ago, when I had sensitive spots all over my teeth to the point I started using sensodyne, before I stumbled across Dr. Ellie Phillips, DDS, on youtube, and her advice to ditch the sensodyne (the large tin ions in the stannous fluoride can inhibit remineralizations) swish with xylitol to remineralize your teeth with your own spit, to only use Crest Regular toothpaste (sodium fluoride remineralizes teeth), and to swish with listerine and ACT fluoride rinse. Also, not to rinse after brushing with toothpaste, but instead just spit, and rinse my toothbrush and brush my tongue off, but let the residual toothpaste soak into my teeth. All my sensitivity went away in a matter of months, and I was able to arrest the cavity's development. My bad breath and 'tooth fudge' (that white stuff that used to grow on my teeth in the morning, and between meals) dissappeared. The dentist said that the "surfaces actually look pretty good" above my cavities. 

So I have seen first-hand what xylitol and (sodium!) fluoride can do. But can it get better?

Drumroll...

I woke up with shiny teeth. As in, very slippery, feel-good mouth this morning. Feeling fresh. Highly unusual for me.

I have seen connection with if after I brush at night I use listerine and ACT rinse, use xylitol, then my mouth is not super gross on waking like when I just brush at night. But this morning it was SHINY CLEAN like JUST BRUSHED AND SWISHED WITH XYLITOL ten minutes ago. After 7 hours in bed.

So what did I do last night?

1. Mostly skipped dinner due to bellyache, alas. But I had been grazing all day.
2. Swished with xylitol during the Bible readings (like....10 min?)
3. THEN ate a few bites of "zero sugar" (stevia yuck) Chobani greek yogurt the kids left on the table so as not to throw it out
4. Two hours later, Chewed xylitol, brushed teeth with Crest. [I don't think I even swished with mouthwash and ACT last night?]
5. Was so tired I fell asleep without kissing Josh :(
6. In the night had allergies & stuffy nose, but kept pressing my tongue to the roof of my mouth to open my nasal airways. I made a conscious decision multiple times waking in the night. But I normally wake breathing through my nose, so unsure
7. Extra data: In other ways my health is bad right now. Allergies, and sleep issues (I woke up at 5 instead of my usual 6:30)

This morning woke up with the shiniest cleanest freshest teeth.

So I'm guessing it was the yogurt, and the lack of mouthwash or kissing meant that was the final microbes that blasted my mouth, then were just brushed and not killed or competed with.

With this hypothesis, I turned to my eagerly helpful and yet often hallucinating research student, Grok. I followed through to his sources to make sure, and found legitimate scientific studies that proved my hypothesis.

Scientific Support for the Yogurt healing teeth hypothesis

Really cool study here that demonstrated yogurt's ability to prevetn cavities https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10338946/

Another cool study, that suggests the yogurt makes a competing biofilm that keeps the cavity causing streptus mutans at bay.

https://karger.com/cre/article-abstract/54/1/68/86011/Effects-of-the-Consumption-of-Probiotic-Yogurt?redirectedFrom=fulltext

More vague but interesting study here https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9305141/  

And a chicago dentist urging plain greek yogurt because of that study https://www.chicagokidsdds.com/blog/2015/07/greek-yogurt-teeth

Meta-study saying yogurt helps https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S096399692200285X

So basically, all of them found that consuming (plain?) yogurt, increased the competitive microbiome in your mouth that competes with the bad cavity-causing bacteria.

These alternative bacteria possibly contributing to the biofilm on your teeth, competing with the S. Mutans, and that this reduced cavities.

I had thought that since yogurt is an acidic fermented food, it would have hurt teeth. But no, it strengthened them.

AND with my experience last night, this confirms the secret to my super clean oral microbiome seems to be yogurt.

I don't know how to emphasize how fresh and shiny clean my teeth feel right now. Having brushed them 7 hours ago, feeling like I JUST DID.

 When I started using xylitol two years ago, it immediately took away the dreaded morning "mouth fudge."  But there was still some residual yuck, and the teeth feeling a bit softer in the morning (less "clicky" when they tap each other). This morning they feel AMAZING, clicky-hard, smooth, slippery, nothing feeling acidic or soft. (And this is with a few yr old cavity in there I'm trying to reverse)

Hannah's steps to Oral health So Far (what stopped me from getting new cavities constantly)

1. Not rinsing after brushing with fluroide regular Crest toothpaste (just spitting, and brushing my tongue off with a rinsed toothbrush, but not rinsing the teeth after), rather, letting it "soak in". This took away my tooth sensitivity
2. In conjunction with swishing with xylitol (I spit it out after 5 min) 1-3x a day
3. Now...yogurt as the last food in my mouth at night...before the final brush 

I want to try 

Hannah's New Tooth-healing Regimen

1. moving my tooth-brushing-listerine-ACT routine to after lunch
2. a 10 min swish with xylitol in the evenings after dinner, 
3. followed by 1 mouthful of plain greek yogurt (I really hope the dental benefits for me are not unique to this stevia one. I hate stevia. But it stands to reason that I shouldn't do a sugary one)
4. Regular tooth brushing at night
5. Make Josh do this protocol before bed, so I can kiss him and not get cavities

Are there specific yogurt strains that work better?

This paper says lactobacillus rhamnosus . https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12903-024-03893-8 lactobacillus rhamnosus

This scientific paper says these are specifically good to compete with s. mutans. L. Reuteri, L. Rhamnosus, and whatever Streptococcus Salivarus is.

 Specific strains such as Lactobacillus reuteri, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, and Streptococcus salivarius inhibit cariogenic bacteria through competitive exclusion, acidity modulation via arginine metabolism, and production of antimicrobial compounds like reuterin and bacteriocins. 

From Scientific paper here https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/22808000251376427

 Now, looking at my "Chobani 20g protein zero sugar added" stevia yogurt that did this last night, it has got

• S. Thermophilius
• L. Bulgaricus
• L. Acidophilus
• Bifidus
• L. Casei
• L. Rhamnosus

So I think it was one of those, that did this miracle for me last night.

 It had better be one of those guys. And not be the stevia....(shudder)....

(I don't think it was the stevia though, given the fact that I brushed my teeth afterwards, and the fact that pure stevia seems to be about as effective as xylitol, and there was only a tiny amount of stevia in that yogurt, which I then brushed out, I would put my money on the live cultures that could hide in crevices, and re-colonize and reproduce in my mouth.)

Little Desert Rangers plans 2026

 Little Rangers need to get their kits out at least once a month. They need to explore outside, learn valuable skills like tracking, stamina, waking at dawn, building fires, watching the stars....they need SKILLS and they are only going to get said skills by going out and roughing it in the wilderness.

Alas, one skill for a ranger mom trapped in the valley of the Sun, is to reserve campsites far in advance. 6-5 months in advance....

If we were really cool, we'd figure out how to make camp in the site-less wilderness...preferably under bracken where the Crebain of Dunland cannot sight us....but we aren't at that awesome yet. So we'll stick with reserved sites, until our skills are much much better. Dispersed Camping is far far more epic. This year, research dispersed camping and how it works, also scout out places for dispersed camping near our favorite sites.

UPDATE:  IT seems that contrary to my impression, Payson is actually COOLER than Sedona in the summer....So next year we are going to check Payson first for June, July, Aug. Sedona is more for April, May, Sept

UPDATE UPDATE: Driving up towards Heber from Payson gives you 2000+ ft of elevation, and its a little cooler, at the cost of 20 more min driving. BUT mid-June to mid-Aug, even Sinkhole campground doesn't fill up. No rush. And had to cancel the July 10th 2026 camping trip because Aspen Campground predicted to be 96 degrees.

UPDATE: [I need to reserve the Spring reservations by Nov/Dec, and Summer reservations by Feb/March]

UPDATEST UPDATE: I needed to cancel both my July 10th weekend and my July 24th weekend camping trips in Aspen AZ, and Sinkhole Campground (near SEE canyon trailhead) respectively, because the weather (Accuweather's nearest point is "christopher campground cabins". The highs of the weekend were 96 degrees and 98 degrees. In between them there was a lovely 81 degree weekend, but there's no way to predict. SO DO NOT RESERVE STUFF IN ADVANCE FOR JULY. Play it by ear. I think it best NOT to reserve campsites between June 10th and Aug 15th

October and March really focus on my own little piece of earth, gardening, etc.

Remember...

Little Rangers need to go a'ranging...

But in the desert that means being a Dawn Ranger. Waking to stars and chasing the twilights.

Phoenix in the summer is unbearable. Unless you chase the twilights. Live in the dawn and the dusks. Hide from the sun from 8am to 6pm. This handy reference helps, showing dawn times in the year.

HO WE WE ARE GOING TO DO IT:

1. Adventures from 5am to 8am....it starts to look beautiful 40 min before sunrise so  from 4:40 when sunrise is technically 5:20. 
2. Kids must learn to speak in whispers and travel quietly like real rangers when around Birdwatchers and Fishermen.
3. Load up to go home by 8am  
4. Siesta/Quiet Book Time at 11-2pm
5. Got the America the Beautiful Pass. So we need to use it at least 12 times to make it retroactively worth it.
6. If staying outside after 8am---Hats, sunscreen, water-bottles 

Dawn Adventures---Weekday

• Get the kids up at 4am. Get your pass here
• Granite Reef Recreation area, wild horses at dawn. Go on a weekday, once a week. 
• ?Pebble Beach
• ?Hidden Valley/Fat Man's pass/South Mouuntain? [no water, just desert. Only right at dawn]
• ?Sears-Kay Ruin (Hohokam)
• Check out more on Alltrails....

Day Trips with Daddy. [ very Early Saturday mornings]

• Daddy's Work. The little gardens around ASU. 6/7/8am there are no students up yet on Saturdays, We have the world to ourselves. It is beautiful.
• Water Wheel Falls Park. Aim to be there from 6-10. [starts filling up at 9] So need to get up at 4am and start driving. Then come home at 9:30/10 when its getting really hot and crowded, and the UV index soars. Come home, eat, and have a siesta
• ?Canyon Lake @ 5am [ 1 hr away. Acacia Recreation Site]
• ?Lake Saguaro @ 5am [42 min away]
• ?Granite Reef @ 5am [fishers?  23 min, L202 at dawn]

Evenings in the Twilights

6-8pm you can go outside, if you are wet.... The sun is down, but it has exhausted itself in pumping its heat into the earth. Here we are constrained by Daddy having a day job. So either we frolic off without him, or we drag an exhausted man out into the heat for adventures after a long day at work.... 

-I think maybe the best option here is enjoy dusk together as a family, at local splashpads, or in the backyard, in some sort of water games. And save the family adventures with Daddy, on weekend camping trips. 

Weekend Camping Trips ---once a month

Feb --Really this is time to get the summer garden started. AZ Desert dawn hikes, Stay in Lost Dutchman campsite. 

• Lost Dutchman for Isaiah, to hear the coyotes
• Feb-March I really focus on my own little piece of earth, gardening, etc. 
• October/Nov is put the winter garden in. 
• February/March is put the summer garden in. 
• July--Sept you kinda pull the plug on the garden [grow yams and basil?], focus on keeping the trees alive

March--AZ Desert dawn hikes Stay home and focus on yardwork etc.

April -- AZ Rim-country/Sedona Oak Creek--- AZ desert Dawn Hikes 

• THE MINE Morenci, AZ
• Yavapai, White Spar (Prescott) is open [but terrible bathrooms] not alot of trees 
• Sedona/Oak Creek stuff is Open
• [too hot to camp in AZ desert]
• [Mingus Mountain and Mogollan Campground and Aspen AZ not open till May]
• Maybe....Payson IS ALL FF IN APRIL [Christopher Creek] and Ponderosea (AZ)... kinda cold
•  Houston Mesa [Payson near Water Wheel, Flowing Springs] are FF in April...  kinda cold

May --  Prescott, Payson, Sedona/Oak Creek stuff is Open  (Payson is open)

• Cave Spring! in Sedona/Oak Creek stuff is Open(Pine Flatts) [We had a great time at Cave Spring Sedona in May] Manzanita campground?
• Mingus Mountain! 
• Ponderosa AZ ??
• Christopher creek has a little flowing stream in it. See Canyon glorious. 75-90 day, 45-50 at night
• Houston Mesa Campground NEAR Water Wheel Falls (Payson) 
• ??Horton Creek Trail looks cool, someone said "camping througout", is this a Dispersed camping?  UPPER TONTO CREEK CAMPGROUND [if it ever opens again]

June  or the Water Wheel at 4am daytrip plan. [leave by 10am] OR SPLASHPADS 8pm-10pm

• EARLY JUNE (Before June 10th)---
• past Payson towards Heber, up on the rim, elevation 7000 ft higher on the Rim near Woods Canyon Lakes---Sinkhole Campground (7560 ft), Spillway campground(7500 ft), Aspen AZ (7000 ft) Mogollon campground (7700 ft)
• ??Horton Creek Trail looks cool, someone said "camping throughout", is this a Dispersed camping? UPPER TONTO CREEK CAMPGROUND [if it ever opens again]
• Houston Mesa Campground (5200 ft) NEAR Water Wheel Falls (Payson) NEAR Flowing Springs (too hot?)
• Maybe Sedona & Oak Creek Canyon Too Hot
• Payson--Christopher Creek [bit too hot only 5640 ft elevation]
• AFTER JUNE 10th---
• Lay low, do evenings at the splashpad. Plan out of state trips and just do the leave-for-Water-Wheel-at-4am routine. OR do as the Mexicans do. Nap mid-day, and at sundown take the kids to the park with splashpads, get wet, play at playgrounds 8-10pm.

July--Mountains or Creeks  OR JUST PLAN TO VISIT OUT OF STATE RELATIVES HERE, and do the Water Wheel at 4am daytrip plan. [leave for home by 10am] UPDATE: July is pretty miserable. With the summer solstice, peak UV, and the earth has had a chance to heat up. from June 15--July 30th I wouldn't camp] AND JUST DO SPLASHPADS 8pm-10pm

• DREAM: THE ROCKIES, GORE CREEK
• JULY
• 2026 had to cancel 2 weekend camping trips, that turned out to have highs of 96 and 98 degrees respectively. SO DON'T RESERVE ANYTHING. Lay low, do evenings at the splashpad. Plan out of state trips and just do the leave-for-Water-Wheel-at-4am routine. OR do as the Mexicans do. Nap mid-day, and at sundown take the kids to the park with splashpads, get wet, play at playgrounds 8-10pm. And if it turns out to be a balmy weekend, then gun it for Spillway campground.
• past Payson towards Heber, up on the rim, elevation 7000 ft higher on the Rim near Woods Canyon Lakes---Sinkhole Campground (7560 ft), Spillway campground (7400), Aspen AZ (7000 ft) or Mogollon campground (7700 ft)  UPDATE: Had to cancel July 10th 2026 Aspen AZ camping trip, high of 96
• Houston Mesa Campground NEAR Water Wheel Falls (Payson) NEAR Flowing Springs (too hot?)
• CHRISTOPHER CREEK IN PAYSON (no water in the campsite creek yet, too hot at 5640 ft)
• Maybe Oak Creek Canyon/Sedona [bc of Oak creek. Also Manzanita is COOLER they say, Pine Flats, Bootlegger, Cave Spring], 
• Maybe Mogollon Campground is 2mi from a lake....  Too Hot

Aug--Mountains or Creeks, PAYSON,OR THE ROCKIES GORE CREEK

DREAM: THE ROCKIES, GORE CREEK 

After Aug 15th

CHRISTOPHER CREEK IN PAYSON !!!!!!

Payson-ish Houston Mesa Campground NEAR Water Wheel Falls (Payson) NEAR Flowing Springs

•  Oak Creek Canyon/Sedona... Too Hot 

 

Sept--Mountains or Creeks, PAYSON, OR 2nd half of Oak Creek Canyon/Sedona [Finally Cool Enough!...]

• CHRISTOPHER CREEK IN PAYSON  EARLY SEPTEMBER is PERFECTION
• !!! Houston Mesa Campground NEAR Water Wheel Falls (Payson) NEAR Flowing Springs [fIrst half september 87/57, SECOND HALF OF SEPTEMBER 82/52 sweet spot.

Oct -- Really this is the time to stay home and get the winter garden started. IF you go camping...Prescott, Mingus [may-oct] OR Oak Creek Canyon/Sedona...

• Last chance for Mingus !!!!
• Cave Springs, Sedona
• ??Houston Mesa near water wheel 72/42 range

Nov--Dawntrips Hike the AZ Desert 

• AZ desert dawn hikes,  
• Hidden Valley, 
• Fat Man's pass
• Sears-Kay Ruin (Hohokam)
• Check out Alltrails
• ??Montezuma's well [3 hr drive]
• Pioneer Museum? 
• Lost Dutchman campsite

Dec & Jan--Dawntrips Hike the AZ Desert [Hidden Valley, Pioneer Museum? Fat Man's pass, Sears-Kay Ruin (Hohokam)] Have back-yard fires and toast marshmallows.

So camping season is really May--October 

And how to homestead...when we are in a little quarter-acre lot in a desert, and may move in the near-ish future?

Homestead, but not as the homestead being the goal---as we may need to sell, and later owners destroy it. Plant fruit trees, for the future if owners keep it. And always garden with the kids. Involve my little rangers as much as possible...because its about the memories being forged WITH them, and the skills being forged IN them, and not about the physical garden or home so much. We are traveling, but we can make these way-stations along the way as beautiful as we can. As green as we can. As productive as we can. 

But it should always be about the little Rangers, and not the way-station.

So let's get out there, and go Rangering....

Our New Era---trying to transform our family culture *be* the Morning People

I want to do more than keep my kids alive.....I want to teach the kids how to actually live.

I told the kids this was our new era. We are going to run a clean household, and actually invite their friends over (after me promising 'when the house is clean...' for the last decade)

Each Tuesday in Lent, I will expand on one of these points, which I will hyperlink here.

 OUR NEW ERA

God our strength : put on your own oxygen mask!

Make prayer, worship, and Bible-study the rhythm of our lives

1.      Morning Prayer 

2.      CircleTime Intercessory Prayer

3.      Worship

4.      Bible at night with Daddy (focus, absorb, discuss)

5.      Life Skills

a.      Bible Study

b.     Intercessory Prayer

Now that your oxygen mask is on....

Outward Focus: Be a blessing to others

1.      Intercessory Prayer [Think of others]

a.      VOM prayerlist

b.     Prayercards of others in our lives

c.      Circle Time Prayer style [draw cards out of the deck]

2.      Social Skills [Kindness] Teach it to them rooted in scripture, in real life stories

a.      Think of Others before yourself

b.     Spread Kindness with your mouth

c.      Seek to find why God brings ppl into your life (humility, openness to listening etc)

d.     Christian boundaries, etc.

3.      Functional Sanity---the car needs to run, to be able to go anywhere

a.      Food

b.     Chores

c.      Laundry

d.     Homeschool Basics

4.      (Be a net plus on the world)

a.      Project sanity/youre ok….especially of the little ones!!!

                                                              i.      Appearance---grooming: hair, smell, clean face

                                                            ii.      Appearance—clothing [nice enough or looks on purpose]

                                                          iii.      House---like the family that hosted the dance---their home was amazing. It exuded little house in the prairie vibes. Or medieval cottage vibes. Because everything was clean, organized, and beautiful even if it wasn't fancy/expensive/fixed. FUNCTIONALITY and USEFULNESS and BEAUTY

                                                          iv.      Outside of House---even more important

b.     Try to bring more food to events than we take

c.      Give generously

5.      Joyful Charity

a.      Go with them to Donate to Foodbanks, buy socks, etc

b.     Visiting those in Prison//for kids: Visit hose home-bound, older people, nursing homes, hospitals, and in hospice

c.      Packs for Homeless people, Feed my starving children, etc

d.     Help them donate money to cool charities (like buy a goat, etc), where they get to put money toward it, by doing various chores for us, etc. So they are working to help others.

Changing our Family Culture

 I want to change our family culture closer to our original vision, of making Rivendell.

Family culture matters, routines and prayers matter. To put a rhythm to our lives, that can give something to fill up the kids hearts, to show them what is important. Habit shapes souls, because it is a continual time-offering of our lives, and our souls exist in time.

 Josh has already drastically changed our family culture the last year, by taking on the McCheyne Bible reading plan every evening as a family. And sticking to it, even when we come home 9:30 pm exhausted from a social event. He is stubborn, in the best way possible.

Josh has also changed our family culture the last few years, with the whole concept of "Family Fun Time" and the creation of the "Family Fun Time Wheel". He urges the kids to finish their after-dinner chores in time, that we take an hour to do something fun as a family. There's a wheel he had me make, with 6 different options to choose from, so that even when we are brain-dead at the end of the day, the options are clearly laid out for us.

[Image of the family fun time wheel]

We also got a little closer to our dream, last year, with our 4 weekend camping trips and 2 water wheel hikes. With the Family Fun Time the kids look forward too every evening, and the nightly Bible time with prayertime, as the girls dance to "He is Lord" at the end, there is a rhythm to our lives.

Five things I want my kids to have interwoven throughout their lives.

Prayer [The God who is here]

Joy [Singing, always singing]

Adventure [camping trips, attitude toward life, challenges unlocked etc]

Love [Kind, gentle to one another, forgiving one another]

The Holy [to see Him, to really see Him. The pillar of fire and cloud, come down to us]

Reshaping family culture through Lent

 Recently I've reflected on how little my daily expense of time reflects my actual ideals. 

I want to live like God is real.

I want to create Rivendell---a place of joy and peace.

I want to show my children, by how I live my daily life, what I truly think is important and life-giving.

Through daily tangible choices, I can change our family culture.

The point is to change our daily routine to where it actually shapes us. Because our daily time-slots do shape our souls, since our souls are being formed in real time. 

"Mental patterns" and all that, as psychologists talk about.

So I want to give the kids a life centered around the rhythm of joy and worship. Josh has already changed our family culture so much, with the evening Bible Readings added into family prayer. 

Now its my turn, to do my part when he's gone at work, to make our home more filled with God's presence. I want my kids to be like the Israelites, growing up with the Pillar of Cloud and Fire.

Another issue is how we treat eachother. There is too much fighting, too much negative talk and gossip and fussing. The change starts with me. I must get right with God in the mornings, and also, reset the family culture of how we treat eachother. Kindness is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.

For Lent 2026 I have changed my plans. 

Family disciplines

1. Family Prayer & Worship
1. Morning Prayer in the Babygarden every morning
2. the 5,7,7 QT in the mornings, five minutes listening to Bible, 7 minutes journaling/quiet praying, 7 minutes praying out loud, Korean-style.
3. Worship songs [Let the kids pick the songs with the lyric videos] at the end of school.
2. No whining, fussing, gossiping, fighting at all. [take it to Jesus] [-5 min gametime per infraction]
3. No sweet treats at all. [Fruit is ok]. UNLESS guests are over, or its a feast day [Birthday, or Sunday]
4. We will eat our way through our split peas, beans, and freezer. [goal empty the freezer]

Personal Disciplines

For me, I've changed my plans. I need a hard reset on how I cope with daily life, and my mid-life crisis.

1. Give up writing my Star Wars story. I think I am turning to it too much, as an escape or another world in dealing with my mid-life crisis.
• Instead fill those gaps of time with doing things with the kids. At the end of Lent I want to have done something significant with each child.
• Teach Isaiah how to draw
• Teach Isaiah how to recite poetry
• Teach kids (esp sarah) how to play the recorder
• Garden with the kids
• Teach the girls how to sew
• Paint iwth the kids, perhaps help them 
• ??Finally illustrate the woodcutter and the wolf-king
2. Give up personal Youtube browsing in the evenings
• [except 15 min max per day with a timer, for topics to research for home-improvement research for classes etc]
• Never change the 7 min internet timer on my phone.
• Instead fill gaps of time with reading books, praying. Read the Ignatius Examen, watch things on Formed, read various religious books I've bought over the years and haven't read. 

My general usage of time should be

1. Morning Prayer
2. Breakfast,
3. Devotions
4. School with big kids
5. When Big Kids do busywork, then go and cuddle little ones, Hide 'em in your heart playing. Go back to help big kids as needed.
6. Lunch
7. Worship God
8. Freetime---[This is where I will try to do those things with the kids]
9. House projects
10. Dinner
11. Cleanup
12. Family Fun Time
13. Evening Bible and Prayers
14. Time to talk with Isaiah, Josh, or read, or pray.

Our Grand Adventure --Roadtripping 1650 miles with 8 kids in 2 days--updated

And back. So that's 3300 miles

update: we survived. I updated this with what actually worked

Before the trip...

• PLAN OUT THE STOPS with the exit numbers, with Josh. Print it out and save it.
• Paperwork [insurance, ID, registration.]
• Window-Tint is up [retape where kids have peeled it]
• Window Curtains [?] <--Shortcut, Duct tape and sheets!! A simple and effective way to do it.
• Water bottles and 2 gallons of water in jugs.
• Train oldest 4 in situational awareness, wide berths, keeping witnesses, planning routes of escape, and how to pepperspray.

TO PACK UP

• Ear plugs!! 
• Leather driving gloves
• sunglasses
• Toiletries accessible during the trip
• Aloe vera & sunscreen
• toothbrushes & toothpaste, xylitol mints
• hairbrush and hair elastics
• Car Phone Charger
• Laptop, charger
• Switch
• On Phone (with auxiliary cable)
• LOTR (Phil Dragash), 
• Voyage of the Dawn Treader, 
• Magicians Nephew, 
• Horse and His Boy, 
• the Silver Chair. 
• CHRISTMAS CAROLS. 
• And Star Wars music.
• Pack car up 72 hours in advance.
• 4 warm outfits, layers.
• 4 underwear, 4 pairs of socks
• 4 leggings
• 4 long sleeve [cotton)shirts
• 4 jumpers/dresses/tunics
• fleecy pajama pants to wear under skirts in real cold
• Puffy winter coat, jacket/hoodie
•  Boots and sneakers. 
• Sunday outfits packed by mom
• Backup bag of socks packed by mom
• Hats
• CAR POLAR FLEECE Blankets
• Snacks limited to Apples, Cheese sticks, and Water. Remember hte horror that was the rotting stepped-on oranges, and the temptation that was the yogurt on I-40.
• Vomit trash bags on each aisle, including the passenger seat
• Working trash bag hung on the back of the passenger seat. Extra trash bags in reserve for emergencies
• Baby Wipes and Paper towel roll in the car, to clean up stuff

THE DAY BEFORE

• Car has to be all packed up at least 24 hours before go-time
• Kids go to sleep in their travel clothes, have all the waterbottles, hoodies, and shoes piled up by the door. [wake them up, drink water, use the bathroom, get in the car]
• eat low carb, save candies for later. Do 3 HIIT workouts. 
• Lights out at 8pm, go to sleep at 9. WEAR EARPLUGS Remember you are waking up at 6am.
• Go to bed at 9pm, wake up at 6am. Start driving at 6:20am.

TIPS THAT KEPT YOU AWAKE ON THE TRIP

• Eat Keto during the trip. Even half a waffle and you were falling asleep. 1 slice of pizza max, and that after the sauerkraut. Remember how sleepy you got on carbs.
• Don't have snacks in the car. Remember how you were tempted to try to eat and then not focus on the road.
• Combatting sleepiness
• COLD AIR. Stuck on cold air blowing on you, just a little uncomfortable, helped keep you awake.
• NO SUNGLASSES Squinting in bright light wakes your brain up
• LORD OF THE RINGS, or Patrick. Stories keep you awake much more than music. Especially if you are explaining Boromir's motivations or Aragorn's sense of duty to the kids.
• ABSOLUTELY NO CARBS (Remember how much carbs made you sleepy)

FIRST DAY---speedrun to OKC. 16 hrs when being efficient, assuming no problems. 

• Don't stop other than bathroom stops than Sams Club or FlyingJ/Pilot/Loves
• Get 2 pizzas at a sams club at Lunch time and gun it. 
• Only apples and cheesesticks and waterbottles in the car.

SECOND DAY

• Free Breakfast---up by 6am. Hannah does a HIIT workout and chugs caffeinated tea
• Hannah Does Not Eat The Free Carbs
• out the door 7am!!!
• early lunch---Conway AR samsclub, get 2 pizzas. Eat these the rest of the trip, plus water.

******************

Day 1 Eastbound

Start: Home

    Holbrook, AZ (175 miles from home), just BATHROOM Maverik gas station / McDonald's

   Refinery, NM (I-40 exit 39, 288 miles from home) GAS Flying J travel center

     Alternate stop: Moriarty, NM (I-40 exit 196, 157 miles from Refinery) Pilot travel center

   Sam's Club Albuquerque, get 2 pizzas and BATHROOM & Gas

    Sam's Club in Amarillo, TX (I-40 exit 64, 241 miles from Moriarty) [cafe closes at 7 though. Nice potty]

 Alternate: Amarillo, TX (I-40 exit 74, 252 miles from Moriarty) Love's or Travel America travel center

Alternate stop: Amarillo, TX (I-40 exit 76, 254 miles from Moriarty) Buck-ee's

Alternate stop: I-40 East mile 128/129 (65 miles from Amarillo Sam's Club)Rest area with playground, no gas

    Comfort Suites OKC, OK (I-40 exit 145, 248 miles from previous primary stop)

    

Day 2 Eastbound

• Start: Comfort Suites, OKC – get gas at OnCue around the corner
• OK-315, Nice rest area with good bathroom, kids played when I took a quick nap
• Alternate stop (past primary stop): Roland, OK (I-40 exit 325, 180 miles from OKC) Pilot travel center
• Conway, AR 129 (I-40 exit 129, 315 miles from OKC) Sam's Club – also ALDI
• Alternate stop: I-40 East mile 234/235 (108 miles from Conway Sam's Club) Rest area with trees, no gas
• AR-161 PILOT
• Lamar, MS (US-72, 203 miles from Conway Sam's Club) Exxon gas station
• Corinth, MS (US-72, 250 miles from Conway Sam's Club)---Several gas stations shortly after entering town (Exxon, Mobil, Shell)  ALDI ~3.5 miles further down the road, close to LCP – intersection of US-72 and Harper Rd
• Brightly lit Love's travel center. Muscle Shoals / Tuscumbia, AL (Take ALT US-72, about 1 mile past where US-72 splits north to cross the river [DON'T GO LEFT/NORTH ON REGULAR 72!]; 307 miles from Corinth)  
• End: Huntsville, AL (50 miles from Muscle Shoals)

The Foundations of Female Attraction

 I wrote this for my teenage son, who is now very curious how to impress girls. Right now it mostly seems to involve fantasies of building massive muscles and strategically losing your shirt so she'll notice. 

So I felt the need to clue him in on what actually impresses the female half of the population. I put this up here in case it is useful for anyone else clueless how to impress a woman.

Foundations of Female Attraction

 LEVEL 1: Faith in Something greater than himself. Having Convictions, Principles and the Courage to act on those convictions----The girl is picking her LEADER. If he doesn’t know where he’s going or what he’s doing, or what he believes in---she’s not going to want to follow. It would be like you signing up for an army you have no idea for what country or what rules they follow or what religion.

2.       LEVEL 2: Mental Discipline. You must master yourself. A girl wants to know you have mastered your emotions and your anger. So that you are in charge, not your emotions. That she is obeying you, not your whims. Also that you work hard, can push yourself to do hard things. She wants to know you have mastered yourself, so she knows she she can trust you with herself and your future kids. 

3.       LEVEL 3: Kind to the weak. Having strength, but not being a bully, but a protector of the helpless. This is huge. How a man treats those who cannot reward him. Not in how he treats the boss, but the old penniless lady. Small children. Protects the weak and does not prey on them. Unselfish. Fearing God. Knowing that strength was given to him, as a trust. With great power comes great responsibility. In attractiveness: Spiderman > thug.

4.      LEVEL 4: Comportment & Posture. How you carry yourself in relation to the world. Slouching aristocrat or an alert soldier? This is self defence 101. Who do thugs choose to jump in parking lots?[link here] For most people, it is subconscious. People will decide what you are, who you are. It's how you know someone is ex-military. It's one of the factors when girls swoon for men after they go through bootcamp. Often their physique actually hasn't changed that much---but their comportment has. Soldiers hold themselves like they know what they are doing---like they are men. With a purpose. And know that they are a force to be reckoned with. Criminals aren't the only ones who notice your posture.

5.      LEVEL 5: Hygiene. Be considerate of not grossing people out. Girls are even  more grossed out than boys. They have been guardians of the home for millennia and lost children to disease. FIGHT NURGLE. Wash your hands, don’t pick your nose. Don’t make weird scraping sounds with phlegm in your throat like you’re dying of whooping cough. Blow your nose with proper form, and wash hands afterwards. Smell NOT-BAD. (really, Axe, stinks. It's a triumph of modern marketing that young men still think it works)

a.       Breath---xylitol after meals. Brush teeth, floss, ACT

b.       Underarm, vinegar, deodorant. Change clothes every day

c.      !!!! If you work out or labor or sweat---shower. Rancid sweat smell is like a dead animal. (usually only gets to that point several days in, I think based on my memories of my little brother)

d.       Scalp Care [Scalp wash routine, Vinegar rinse, keep dandruff away]

6.       LEVEL 6: Physique. Having muscles, looking strong enough to protect her and your future kids, is a definite plus. Having good posture (level 4) really helps maximize this. That is, a skinnier man who stands with good posture looks better than a slouching muscular guy. Girls in general aren't as impressed by strength just existing, as strength with purpose. Important note! While having a good physique is a plus, a man who is constantly taking selfies of his abs is a major turn-off for a lot of women. A girl wants you to want to look at her, not the mirror! Narcissus and Echo did not go well.

7.       LEVEL 7: Style. Hairstyle--- keep it relatively short (obviously male) and out of your eyes. Hair Gel can help. Clothing---Pick clothing that flatters you, AND sends the message you want. [e.g. medieval, loves certain movie, etc]

        Girls aren't irrational after all. These foundations of attraction really all boil down to---will he be man enough to protect me and our children, and man enough to love me and our children even when its hard.

She's signing up to follow you, after all. It's like signing up for the marines, but for your whole life, and to follow a specific sergeant till you die. You want to make sure that commander is up to snuff before you swear on.

And coming back to "Level 1" and why it is the foundation of everything else. She needs to know this sergeant is following the same General. 

And even when storms come, and when you fail, she needs to know that you will be man enough to repent, and turn to follow your God even through suffering.