Wild West Bakery

August 14, 2015August 16, 2015 | Megan

How appropriate that we find ourselves in Wyoming today on our road trip. Forever West, as their welcome signs proclaims. Today we’re sharing a Kiwi Crate project we rolled out last week– a decorate-it-yourself baker’s hat and apron.

We’ve had this crate for a while because I try to stretch out the activities through the month. The kids really enjoyed the decorating process. Better yet, THEY suggested that we use our baker’s apparel to start a bakery complete with a cash register, Hostess Zingers, water, and an Open/Closed sign, of course!

I give you the Wild West Bakery!!!!! I hope you have an awesome Friday and a wonderful weekend.

XX, Megan

Seven Summer Reads (For Kids)

August 10, 2015August 4, 2015 | Megan

We love to read over here at Refined + Rugged. Though I don’t have the opportunity to read as often as I’d like to, I set the goal to read three books this summer and I’m nearly finished with the third. Along with reading for personal enjoyment it is a pleasure and priority to me to read with my children.

Together as a family we finished Winnie the Pooh last Spring, and before school begins again, I wanted to offer up a few books we have embarked upon this summer. What are some of your reading picks for children? Do you have any sensational books you’ve read together as a family?

I hope you have a magnificent Monday!!!

XX, Megan

1. Shel Silverstein (anything, everything)

2. We Are in a Book by Mo Willems

3. Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White

4. Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne

5. The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery

6. On The Day You Were Born by Debra Frasier

7. Everybody Needs A Rock by Byrd Baylor

Bonus: Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

CLEMENS: HUCKLEBERRY FINN. Cover from the original edition, 1885, with illustrations by E.W. Kemble. — CLEMENS: HUCKLEBERRY FINN.
Cover from the original edition, 1885, with illustrations by E.W. Kemble.

Where To Next?

August 3, 2015December 8, 2015 | Megan

Sometimes when you’ve been immersed in canyon country– the red rocks, vermillion cliffs, green veins of copper deposits, solid blue skies, the gorges, and terraces, and plateaus, and arches cut by water and wind and uplift– you feel as though once you leave you are only biding your time until you can return.

I’m not the only one who can speak to this. The pull of nature is felt in many souls in macrocosm across an entire microcosm of different and varied landscapes. Each geography, vista, clime, and character calling to those who have a particular taste for that beauty remembered on their tongues, stamped on their hearts, thrumming in their pulse. So at this point in the year I ask myself where?

Where to next?

What adventure can be chased in the fall? What canyon traversed, what vista awed over, what area of this river-cut iron-rocked landscape should we visit next? I have three canyon destinations on my radar:

1. Toroweap (or Tuweep).

This gorgeous spot is on the Northern Rim side of the Grand Canyon. Some refer to it as the West Rim, and it is reached by 60 miles of unmaintained road. Taking a southerly route near Pipe Spring National Monument on the edge of the Kaibab Piute Reservation this quiet overlook is worth the effort. I visited once in college with friends and have yet to return to the spot.

I’d like to do some further hiking there, as well as just make it out along that practically impassable road once again. A couple of hurdles to this trip are that you definitely need a 4×4 with high clearance to make the road, and you also need some additional TIME to make it to Toroweap. The road is long, washboarded, and unforgiving.

2. The Subway in Zion National Park.

I’ve wanted to do this hike since college and simply haven’t had time or opportunity yet. I’ve heard incredible things about the canyons, pools, river hiking, and roped descents this trail includes. To hike the subway you must have a permit from the National Park, and they are not always easy to come by. You can put your name in for a lottery 3 months in advance of your hiking date, and you can also sign up at the Ranger Station there at the park

3. Moab, Arches, Canyonlands

We visit here every Spring with our boys, but this trip would be geared for more advanced hiking, climbing, and maybe even some mountain biking. Even if you’ve visited one place repeatedly as we have with the areas around Moab, there is always more to see and do. I’d like to camp in Arches National Park, or check out some hiking in Canyonlands National Park which is even more remote as it is accessible only from a byway from Moab.

So I ask you: where should we go? I’d love to hear about some of your favorite canyon excursions. Have any of you visited Tuweep, Zion, or Moab? Have you an opinion of one you enjoyed most? Or an array of reasons you like all three? Or pros and cons to any or all? I’d love to hear your experiences. Right now we’re still pouring over internet searches and canyoneering guides hoping that one will stand out.

Cheers to chasing adventure this Monday!

XX, Megan

Science Friday: Moon Views

July 31, 2015July 31, 2015 | Megan

We have a new member of our stargazing team over here at Rancho Refined + Rugged. My husband picked up this awesome 6 inch reflector last week on KSL (the Utah equivalent of Craigslist), and we’ve been waiting for an opportune time to take it out for a spin.

I have a 10 inch reflector that I made in High School, but it needs some extra love and attention (read a mirror cleaning and calibration) to be usable. So it’s been great to have this new little telescope for our summer star gazing.

We took our star and constellation viewing activities of last Science Friday and tried out the new telescope in our backyard this week! The boys were ecstatic to be able to use the telescope for the first time. The pictures of the moon were shot by my husband with his iPhone through the telescope lens, and I think they are pretty cool!

Little P also had an exciting breakthrough that night when he sighted his first constellation, Scorpius! Low on the Western horizon, boasting the bright red star Antares on its back. He ran up to me from across the yard, “Mom! Mom! Is that Scorpius?” He asked pointing to the telltale crest of the scorpion’s head in the sky.

“Yes!” Was my amazed reply.

The rest of our little star party was spent looking at the moon from different angels and with different lenses, and adding a few more constellation sightings to our repertoire like Lyra, Cygnus, and Aquila, whose stars Vega, Deneb, and Altair form the Summer Triangle. It was a really special night for our little family.

If you don’t have a telescope at home, you can look for star parties and star gazing groups in your area. Lots of Universities have small observatories attached to them, or look through your local paper or on the signage at your favorite coffee spot for local Astronomy groups.

Star parties are fun whether you sit in your backyard pointing out constellations, planets, meteor showers, and favorite stars, or join a larger group of amateur astronomers who’ve brought their own telescopes out to share! Above all, have an awesome Science Friday!!!!

XX, Megan

Butterfinger Banana Cake

July 29, 2015July 28, 2015 | Megan

The recipe for this cake came from one of my dearest friends and college roommates. In fact, when dredging up the recipe recently I found an email chain I sent out in 2010 to find out “WHO HAS THE RECIPE TO THAT BUTTERFINGER BANANA CAKE?!?”

Cause, really, this might be my favorite cake of all time! Well, or at least tied with chocolate cake with coconut frosting. One of the reasons I hadn’t made this cake for some time was our second babies severe peanut allergy. We were so careful to clear out all of the peanut related EVERYTHING in our cupboards. I wouldn’t have let Butterfingers come within a mile of his proximity.

Now we have been cleared by his allergist to bring back the peanuts! In fact, at the reintroduction stage we were actually supposed to make sure that he was eating peanuts fairly regularly. Anyway, we whipped this cake up this weekend, and it was basically out of the oven and into our bellies!

When my little friend and I made our cake together, it was a REPEAT. Her most memorable comment was, “That batter kind of looks like barf!” She was right. I could have laughed for days. While the batter may appear less than delicious looking, I assure you that the final product is SO WORTH A TRY!

Moist, candy filled and topped. It really doesn’t get much better than this! You should really give it a whirl this fine Wednesday!

XX, Megan

Ingredients:

1 yellow cake mix (plus ingredients for the mix)
2 bananas, mashed
1 package (fun size) butterfingers, crushed, roughly 10 for the cake and 6 on top
1 container vanilla frosting

Directions:

1. Crush the 10 Butterfingers for the cake mix. Open packages and put them in a dish. Set aside.

2. Mash the banana in the bottom of the bowl you are planning on using to mix your cake. Then prepare cake according to directions on the box.

3. Once you have mixed up the cake mix. Add 10 Butterfingers. Mix well.

4. Pour in greased/floured 9 x 13 or 2 round pans. Bake according to directions on box, though your bake time may be a tiny bit longer. I baked this cake for 35 minutes.