Jack-o-lanterns

We carved pumpkins tonight. When I say “we” I really mean “I.” 😆 I don’t know how pumpkin carving became a thing for kids because it is not kid friendly. I carved everyone’s pumpkins because they couldn’t cut through the thick pumpkin. They designed what they wanted on it so they did contribute. They also tried to clean the guts out but they needed help with that too. Marshall was working late and James was with friends so it was just me going from kid to kid. It was a little madness but we did it. They were all so happy and grateful at the end that it made it all worth it. Lynnlee designed James’s pumpkin and I carved it.

Lunch Date

James is out early on Wednesdays. I’ve been wanting to take him out for lunch but there is always something on Wednesdays or something comes up last minute. We finally had a free Wednesday. James chose Waffle Love. We celebrated his soccer season, cross country, and band concert success.

Band Concert

James had his fall band concert. He moved up to Wind Symphony this year. They played Jungle Dance and The Cave You Fear. They sounded really good! I’m so happy he enjoys music. I love music! I didn’t do band because I felt good with just knowing the piano. Looking back it would have been fun to learn another instrument. 

 

It’s What Fun Is

We went to Lagoon yesterday. We had passes that needed used before Lagoon closes next week. We almost went with Katie’s family in the summer but ended up cancelling because of sickness. James and his friends all had passes so he wanted to go when they could go. Everyone wanted to go to Frightmares so we picked a Saturday with the fewest soccer games that would be missed. That ended up being yesterday when the forecast showed rain ALL day. I was hoping so much that the forecast would be wrong but it was pretty accurate.

We tried to prepare for rain with hopes it wouldn’t be as bad. It started to rain on the drive there Saturday morning and didn’t stop until 3:38. Ponchos and hand warmers got us through the rain. It was kind of comical trying to keep eyes open on the rides while the wind and rain pelted your face. I just laughed through it all and whenever the kids complained I reminded them that we were at Lagoon and to make the most of it.

Once the rain officially stopped everyone changed into dry warm coats. The ponchos covered some but we all had wet sleeves and hoods. Having warm dry coats gave us our second wind.

James’s friends went on the rides they wanted to and were ready to head home by the time the rain stopped. They weren’t prepared with dry clothes so Marshall took all of them back to Lehi around 5:00. I stayed with Kade, Taggart, Sienna, Lynnlee and her friend. They had lots of rides they still wanted to go on. With dry coats they were ready to stick it out til it closed.

The craziest thing about going in the rain was how crowded it was. The rain did not keep people from going and the lines were just as long. 

The kids were die hards. The lines started to shorten at 8:00 and we went on Colossus and Roller Coaster over and over. Finally at 10:00 I told them we had to be done. Everyone got to pick one last ride and then we left. 

It was fun despite the weather and crowds. It is fun having kids that can all do the big rides. It was way easier without a stroller or baby. This is a good phase of life.

We did a lot of walking! My Fit Bit showed 37,000 steps. I did run 7 miles Saturday morning before going to Lagoon but even subtracting that, 27,000 steps is a lot!!! Taggart and Sienna can barely walk and get up and down stairs today. They look like I do after a marathon 😂

They were asleep before we left the parking lot.

Remembering

We remembered our dear aunt Pat who passed away a year ago. She became a huge part of our family after the minis were born. She came every Wednesday to help out and sometimes even more when I worked a night shift and needed to sleep, had a migraine, or date night. She was the best and brought fun activities, treats, and games.  I continue to remember her on Wednesdays and wish she were coming over so we could visit and eat lunch. She loved Taggart's long eye lashes and I can still hear her voice commenting on them when I look at Taggart.

16th

We celebrated our anniversary. It was way more low key than last year. It’s pretty hard to top a celebration in Jamaica....warm weather, ocean, awesome people, fun music, and good food.

We went to lunch at my favorite Thai restaurant, Thai Drift. 

Life has gotten so busy that just going out on a date is quite the accomplishment.

Fall Break Part 4

We went to church on Sunday and then walked around the temple.

Miranda’s family and Bonnie’s family headed home. We had a pretty chill lazy afternoon. I got a much needed nap. It’s hard to get a good nights sleep while camping.

That night we had s’mores and played card games. 

Monday morning I got up early and watched the sunrise during my run.

This is so random and I would love to know the story behind this tractor. It’s on Main Street so we passed it a lot. It reminded me of the Lehi Silver Bans Wagon so I had to get a picture.

We headed home Monday morning and got unpacked right before a crazy storm rolled in.

Fall Break Part 3

Saturday was suppose to be our hiking day in Canyonlands. A poll was taken and a majority of the group wanted to stick around Monticello instead. So that is what we did.

I went for a long run which is hard to do in a small town. I ran all of Main Street, one mile, by the temple, up to Lloyd’s Lake, around the whole lake and back to the camp ground for a total of 8 miles. It was therapeutic and satisfying. Then I took a long, hot shower. I can handle camping if I can sleep in a bed, have a bathroom and shower. 

We spent the rest of the day at Recapture Reservoir. It was 20 minutes south of Monticello. It was very pretty there. 

There were lots of big rocks the kids had fun climbing on.

We brought BB guns and everyone had fun shooting the soda cans, glow stick, random bair brush- whatever we could find- targets.

Around 5:00 I thought we would be wrapping up to head back to camp but everyone started catching fish. So we stayed another two hours.

After dinner we went out for ice cream.

Fall Break Part 2

Friday afternoon we went to Arches National Park. We had not problems getting in gratefully because earlier that day the park was full and they weren’t letting anyone else in. 

We hiked to Delicate Arch. Sienna slipped and fell when we hiked Corona Arch that morning so she went back to camp with Grandpa and Grandma Lowry while the rest of us hiked. It was a bummer not having her with us!

After that we went to sand dune arch. 

It was like a playground and all of the boys climbed all over and couldn’t get enough.