Fall Break Campout

Last family campout of the season. We invited ourselves along with neighbor-friends. That way Z. didn't miss out on a campout with friends and we could still keep the "no sleepover" family rule. The weather and scenery was beautiful. We got a camp spot with a giant boulder in it before all the deer hunters showed up.

 Fall means a fire is necessary for heat and not just for a fun cozy atmosphere. There was a lot of experiment time, creating fake meals with bugs and pine needles.

 Breakfast in the trailer. The other table is bigger but keeping it a bed is easier, so they all jam onto the little one. Glad we have a heater or they'd all be sleeping jammed together too, for body heat!

 Z. and her friend posing on the boulder. She loves that she finally got to camp with a friend.

 When the rock looses its excitement a tree replaces it. This was filled with kids. Like 7 or more!

 Grandma and Grandpa A came along as well. The little river was a beautiful spot to play.

 Harley joined in on the river play, can you spot her? Love that camouflage dog!

 Grandpa took T. fishing. He was so excited to catch 2 trout. They tasted delicious roasted over the fire.

 Thanks Gpa for gutting those fish, but you seem to have ruined Z.'s "Glamping" trip with fish guts.

 Soaking in the morning sun on the boulder. At this point the trip was over and they were filthy, exhausted and covered with adventure scratches but they still didn't want to leave. The mountain has a special feeling. Magical feeling.

 Mom saving as much of that sunshine warmth as possible for the long winter ahead.

 GoodBye camping for this year! We will be back to those mountains as soon as we can!

Dodge Ball

Veggie ball style. Which ever limb is hit has to be out of play. Till you loose both legs and arms. 

 Its even fun for little arms who can't throw far.

 The enforcer.

 Only 1 leg left!

S. Fork family Air/Car show

Daddy and his buddies. In their Heelies. 

 Happy to be with Aunt/Uncle cousins and grandparents on such a beautiful day.

 Waiting in line. Not sure what this show is all about yet. We are all together so its bound to be fun!

 Firetruck. Nice.

 Airplanes. Nice.

 Heli airplane thingies. Nice.

 Old trucks with skating skeletons. Nice.

 Hangars filled with fun stuff, even teenagers think are cool. Nice.

 Flying above Utah Valley in a Cessna. For free. Awesome!

 "This is the best day of my life so far!" Awesome!

August ends, September begins

 Orem Skate park with the scooters. Now they know if they beg long enough mom will actually take them. T. is very convincing and fortunately also very good at catching himself at the very last second!

 S. was super scared to go down any of the steep cement ramps. She finally spared the butt of her skirt and tried it on a scooter. And loved it.

 N. likes to have a younger sister to tell her she is doing it all wrong. He is a good responsible kid and takes his role as older brother very seriously. I'm not too worried about Z. though, she has some built in caution when it comes to wheels.

 End of August means we get to party for cousin S.'s birthday, and moms. The park is the perfect place for it. Turns out the cousins like heights. They are all smiles while they wait for the piñata beating.

 Happy birthday cousin "Elsa". Adorable happy girls. Wish every day could be this way!

 T. takes advantage of giving the grandparents a heart attack. He has perfected his landing roll.

 September means Anniversary! 18 this year! We went to Park City overnight and were amazed at all the beauty. Fall is magnificent! Thoughts on 18 years of marriage? Love it! I'm blessed more than words can say. Seriously.

 S. is the class clown, and by class clown I mean Dramatic Dancer! She hammed it up for Grandparents day songs and had us all laughing.The kids have all fallen into their schedules now that school is back in. They have super teachers and are excelling! I am amazed at their minds and their example to their classmates. What a blessing they each are!

Bridal Veil Falls and the last Swim of the year

Bridal Veil is super awesome! 

 Andrea and her family joined us to check it out up close. Too close when it comes to the giant trout in the feeding pond.

 Z. seems to think that petting them is acceptable. Gross.

" Lets find the hardest route up the falls", seems to be their motto.

 They made it up and back without too much trouble. They also found out there is a simple footpath not too far from the pond too. Maybe next time.

 Last dip(if you're mom) or throw(if you're S.) in Grandparents M.s' pool. 

 Daddy is such a good sport. 4 against 1 is just so unfair, and so fun to watch!

Silver Lake Flats

We are too cool for hiking. Pshaw! 

 Just because the rest of the family is waiting on the ground to start the trail, N. doesn't feel the need to do so. 

 Oh boy. What have we started? Somehow everyone is having fun, even anticipating this hike to find fall leaves!

 Sitting on the riverbed boulders. Perfect temperature, no mosquitoes, no crowds, plenty of daylight left, picturesque. 

 And from there T. and S. wanted a picture taken of themselves on every rock we came across. Which was a lot!

 "King of the World"

Look, they're still smiling and having fun!

And is that a smile on N.'s face?! Wow! Actually this was when he turned back around after I ran up trail to get a picture of his face. Of course he immediately started to hike Backwards! Teenager!

 So if you see us on the trails around these mountains be patient. We might be pointing out stinging nettle in loud obnoxious voices( to mock dad ) or yelling out "Unicorn" or "Sasquatch" because the word "Bear" isn't allowed. Also don't judge some of our footwear. Flip Flops and cowboy boots are perfectly fine for a family hike.

 And maybe ration your water so that when you come across all 6 of us a little thirsty, you can share. We only brought 1 water bottle this trip. Duh. Makes for like 1 swallow per person. We're learning.

Stewart Falls

Who said you can't hike and be cute at the same time? Notice the running blur of a boy up trail. That's T.  I have less picts of him than the rest and they are almost all of his blurry backside. 

 Once  in a while he will stop. In this case it was to climb the trees. Not much of an improvement as far as energy used but a big improvement as far as picture quality!

 "Yay. We like to hike", said in monotone voice. Really though, they are gaining a great love of these mountains and their bodies and their siblings. I think. I hope.

 Weird. A picture of D. and I and there isn't a little photo bomber hiding out. We Love this trail!

 Made it to the falls. Tman got a few whistles and hollers from other, less brave, hikers for his ice cold shower! Brrrr!

 Daddy and Z. look for treasure.

 Z.'s frozen feet got a break on the cross back over, thanks to Daddy.

 N. keeping his feet dry somehow. Maybe the bigger your feet are the easier it is?

1.75 mi. hike in daylight and 1.75mi. in the dark. Not recommended. I would recommend doing the entire 3.5 mi. in daylight. Although we saw more than 1 person head up the trail in complete darkness, and they weren't headed up the Timp trail. Crazy.