Halloween

I know it is almost Christmas and I am just now posting about Halloween. I am slowly getting caught up and I need all these posts on my blog so I can make another blog book and have them in it. Our Halloween celebration seemed to last for weeks with various carnivals and activities and then we didn't do anything on the actual day of Halloween. First, the weekend before Halloween, we went to the Spooktacular in downtown Price. There were games to play, a costume contest, and a chance to ride on the famous little blue train. We alway chuckle when we see it because this thing is at every event in this area; the fair, International Days, the Spooktacular, you name it, I don't know how many pictures we have of the kids riding this thing. I don't think I have ever included any on the blog though so here we go.

Instead of carving pumpkins this year we decided to take the easy way out and get Mr. Potato Head style facial features to stick in our pumpkins. It was a lot less mess and they lasted a lot longer which was good since we went to Boise to visit for several days right before Halloween.

My nephew Camden got baptized on October 30 and we were very excited for a good reason to go to Boise to spend time with friends and family and visit our old stomping grounds. We got there on Thursday afternoon and took the kids to Linder Farms. It is a farm in the Boise area that during the fall has a pumpkin patch, corn maze, petting zoo, concessions, and a hayride just to list a few things. We didn't take the kids in the corn maze but they had a blast at the petting zoo and on the hayride. They also went in the little hay bale maze they had set up and LOVED the "corn box" (a sandbox style box filled with corn kernels instead of sand).

The hayride must have frightened Haylie.

"Dr. Doolittle"

Zander wasn't that impressed.

Corn Angels!

As for the rest of our visit in Boise, Dave spent most of his time with friends mountain bike riding and hanging out at two different Halloween parties in his awesome Bob Ross costume (bummed we didn't get a picture). I got to go out to dinner with Kristi, Laura, Alynn, and Jenn on Thursday night. The kids and I spent Friday hanging out with Alyson and her kids. We went to a really fun place called Bounce, basically a room filled with bounce houses and other inflatables. It was a great example of the kind of day I miss about living in Boise--hanging out with my sister at a fun place for the kids. Alyson and I even raced each other in the obstacle course! On Saturday I got to meet up with one of my old coworkers Monica for lunch and then went to Camden's baptism. Since he was baptized in our old stake there were quite a few people at the baptism that I knew and was excited to see. Alyson and I took the kids out trick or treating that night to a few of her neighbors. We traveled home on Sunday and were all Halloween-ed out so we didn't go out trick or treating. In fact we didn't even get any trick or treaters. I guess that is what you get when you live in Utah. We had a fantastic time...too much fun to waste time taking many pictures...oh well.

Moab

My parents and brother Darin decided to visit Moab this October and Haylie and I went along with them. We are only two hours away from Moab so they came down and stayed overnight with us and then we got up the next morning and drove to Moab. We decided that Zander wouldn't really enjoy the trip so Dave decided to stay home with him and have a boys weekend. As it turned out, Dave got sick and didn't get to do much of what he had planned for he and Zander to do. Haylie turned out to be quite the adventurer. She hiked around anywhere we would let her and declared that she was "made for hiking". We visited Arches National Park on the first day, and then had dinner at the Bar M Chuckwagon. Haylie out ate everyone and then had fun listening to the cowboys (and one cowgirl) sing. One of the most exciting parts of the trip for Haylie was staying in a hotel. She had been wanting to stay in one for quite a while. It was the first time she had stayed in one when since she was a baby. Unfortunately, the pool was down for repairs, but everything else certainly lived up to her expectations. After the night in the hotel we did some shopping for souvenirs and then drove to Dead Horse State Park to check out more scenery. Several movies have been filmed at this location and we even passed another one in the works on our visit there. It didn't look like it was too big of a production. That afternoon we headed back to Price and Mom, Dad, and Darin headed back home too.

Haylie and Grandpa

She thought it was fun to find little seats for herself.

I think this was called Double Arches

Pausing for a rest on the climb.

Look out at Dead Horse State Park.

Grammy Patti's Birthday

Dave's parents came down for a visit in September. They had trouble with their truck on the way here and ended up having to leave their truck here to get a new engine and take Dave's truck back to Wyoming. The good news was that they came back down to pick up their truck and give Dave's truck back on the same weekend as Grammy Patti's birthday! We gave her a surprise party although I don't think it was a very big surprise by the time my helpers finished with the set up. It was lots of fun and the kids always love a party!.

Funny Kid

Zander has always had a a good sense of humor, even when he was a baby. He also has a way of saying things that just cracks me up. Tonight we played a game together as a family and then when we were done and we told the kids it was time for bed Zander did not take the news well. He told us, "Go away. Go outside and find a new home." When we just laughed and didn't appear to be leaving anytime soon he said, "I'm going to go to my other home." What a little turkey!! I am always afraid that he will grow up too fast and that I won't remember some of the funny things that he says so I had to post this one.

Labor Day Camping

Coaching volleyball has put me behind on my blogging so I am slowly starting to get caught up. We decided to do a last minute camping trip to Scofield Reservoir over labor day. We went up after church on Sunday and set up our tent. We ate tin foil dinners and s'mores. After dark the kids got glow sticks and had a great time running around the tent and bouncing on the air mattresses. In the morning it was windy and freezing. Our campground only had a fire stand instead of a fire ring so it was difficult get much warmth from it. We ended up eating breakfast in the tent to be out of the wind and then we bundled up and headed down to the lake for some fishing. It continued to be really windy so we didn't get much fishing action. We ate our lunch in the back of the truck and them packed up and headed back home. I remember camping and fishing many times with my family growing up and we always had a fun time. It occurs to me that Haylie is now old enough that she will have a memory of trips like this. I hope that we are making some great memories.

I thought I would feel older...

I turned 32 this August. Somehow, when I was younger, I thought I would feel so much older in my thirties. I don't feel like an adult that should be taken seriously (maybe I shouldn't be). I have noticed a few gray hairs and a few more laugh lines. I have also noticed that I am just a little bit more stiff after playing a good game of volleyball. It is amazing how time just keeps ticking away and everyone keeps growing and changing. Here are some pictures of my birthday celebration. We went to dinner at Wingers (the only place in town) and then came home and had some cake. Nothing too exciting but it is always great to spend time with my little family.

Frustration

We found out last night that a house we were hoping to rent in our ward is going to be rented out to someone else. Once again I got my hopes up, only to be let down. It's not like it was our dream house or anything but it would have had enough room to have all our stuff out of our storage unit. It also would have had a dishwasher and a backyard for the kids to play in. I am just so tired of being crammed in this apartment! There are very few houses for rent in Price, and we have finally decided that we don't want to own a house here. We don't plan on being here for too many more years and the thought of having yet another house that we can't sell helped us make the decision to rent. We looked online at the houses for sale in Boise in our price range and it made us sick to think of buying a run down, 30-40 year old house here. I am trying really hard to be grateful and count my blessings. I know that we have a lot more than most people, I am just ready to move forward.