Halloween

We had a house full of crazy creatures this Halloween.  The boys all wanted to have a morph suit and be creepy just like their dad.  That's about the easiest costume possible so I was totally on board with that idea!  Rhen and her friends were M&Ms and planned a party at our house before trick or treating.  And Rease was busy at state band and says she's too old for trick or treating anyway.  So...we had a pretty great Halloween night just strolling around our neighborhood with the boys.  The big boys took off on their own after the little ones were done and came home with bags and bags of candy.  These are the times that we love that Papa Pumpkin comes to our house...

Happy Halloween everyone!

 

Marching band season

We have loved watching Rease this year in her marching band.  They started their competition season the middle of September and had 4 competitions this year.  They have done incredible especially since this is just the 2nd year Mountain Ridge High has been a school.  They have improved so much each time I see them and it has been so fun to watch!  Rease is completely into it and has been working so hard.  Each time they have a competition, she is determined do do better for the next one.  They have place 1st in a couple of the competitions and 2nd in the others.  They were one of the top teams going into the state competition.

State this year was at American Fork High and was on Halloween day. These kids have done so much to get to this point and I'm so proud of each of them. 

Their performance at state was AMAZING! It was by far the best they had performed all year and I knew they they had given their all in those 7 minutes. We watched a couple other teams in their division perform and they weren’t near as good or precise with their performance as we had been. I was so happy that they did so well! It wasn’t until later that evening that the results were announced and the team was together to hear the announcement. Mountain Ridge High took 1st place! Rease and her band are state champions! She was so excited and called me immediately in tears of joy. The team celebrated together and celebrated some more as the bus pulled back into Herriman. They got a police escort as they drive down the street and pulled into the high school because they were state champs  they got to take pictures on the field with their trophy and Rease has been on cloud nine ever since. We’re so proud of her and this amazing accomplishment!

 

Delta

The kids were out of school today so we took a road trip down to Delta for the day.  It was so fun to be there and just bum around the town for a few hours.  We stopped at the rock shop and found lots of cool rocks, threw rocks into the Res, ate at Leo's, and stopped and Justin and Steph's new building out on their property.  It was a fun little day trip and the kids and I had a great time hanging out together.

 

Move, no-move

Josh had this crazy idea to take our fall break and do a "move, no move."  The idea was to move everything out and clean and de-junk while we were at it.  And if it was something that we wouldn't put on a moving truck in a real move, then we got rid of it.  I was on board cause I knew we had to de-junk and this was the perfect time and way to do it.  So we took a week and moved everything out of our house including beds, dressers, couches, toys, tvs and cleaned walls, baseboards, vacuumed, and washed windows.   Each night after we worked, we had an activity together.  We went swimming, ate Crumbl cookies, had a movie night, ice cream sundaes, you name it.  We worked hard and we played really hard too!  After the week was over, we had a huge pile to take to the DI and another pile of things to sell.  We scheduled to get our carpets cleaned and Josh surprised me with the chance to get new couches!  Overall it was such a successful week and I'm so glad he came up with the crazy idea!  Now we have a clean, orderly house with no extra clutter.  It feels so good.

 

Grand Canyon

Shelley, Stephanie and I, along with a group of family members, have been prepping and training for a hike in the Grand Canyon.  Our hike to Timp was one of the training hikes that we've done and I think it was a good one to get us ready for Rim to Rim Grand Canyon hike we were about to embark on.  It has been a bit of a mess trying to get it planned and details figured out, but we did actually make it there!  Because of covid and all the regulations that are going on right now, the shuttles back and forth through the canyon are not running.  We waited throughout the summer kind of hoping that they would eventually open back up by October and we would be able to use the shuttle.  But a few weeks before our hike, they called and said that they will officially not be opening for any shuttle service for the rest of the year.  So we went to work finding another service that would shuttle us from the north rim (where we were planning to park our cars) to the south rim (where we would stay overnight and then start our hike back to the north rim).  We did finally find a river rafting shuttle service that would do it for us and since there were 19 in our group we ended up with 2 big vans to take us to the south rim which was about a 6 hour drive.  We made it though and got settled in at our hotel for a quick sleep before we got up early to start our hike.  We figured the hike would take about 12-15 hours so we wanted to get on the trail before it was too late that we would be hiking in the dark the next evening.  We got up at 2:45 and were at the trailhead by 3:30 ready to roll!  

It was fun hiking in the dark for a while and it seemed like the miles were going pretty quickly.  As the sun was coming up, it was amazing to see how far down we had come and the incredible views around us.  

I hiked with Bryson for most of the morning and we chatted back and forth keeping each other company.  I loved seeing the different foliage around and could not get enough of the views of the canyon all around us.  

About 9 miles in we got to the Colorado River and it was so cool to see that big river cutting right through the canyon.  It was big and deep and so pretty to see!  We walked across the river and got to Phantom Ranch which was a good place to stop and rest and refill our water.  We took a bit of time at the ranch hanging out and renewing our energy, but we knew we had to get going before too long so we didn't get stuck in the middle of the canyon in the hottest part of the day.

After Phantom Ranch the next stretch is known as "The Box" because it's basically walls straight up on either side of the trail.  We wanted to be out of the box before the sun was straight overhead and the heat would get pretty intense.  We made great time and didn't have hardly any sun on us, even towards the end of that part of the trail.  It was a warm day, but in the shade it was totally comfortable.  We were logging lots of miles and getting tired, but we kept on!

The last stop that had fresh water to fill up our packs was Manzanita and we rested there for a bit as well.  By this time, I was tired and my ankle was getting pretty sore (I had just sprained it that week and it was still pretty tender).  So I didn't stop too many more times after that, just because it hurt more to stop and start again.  I kept a slow steady pace and the others would catch me and then we'd walk together again.  Overall, our group stayed together the whole way which was pretty amazing!

As we started our ascent up the north rim, the trail was so fun and cool to be on!  We traversed along the side of the mountains and crossed bridges, climbed switchbacks and went through tunnels.  It was sooo cool to be there and see all the different stages of the trail and how the plants and geography changed depending on the elevation we were at.  

And the view....Breathtaking.  Really.  It was incredible.

We were tired and sore and hot and sweaty by the time we finished the 24 miles from one rim to the other.  But what an amazing journey and so fun to see the canyon from top to bottom to top again!  We had the best group and such a fun time and I would do it again in a heartbeat!  I mean...after a few weeks of recovery that is...

 

Family Pictures

 

Principal's Pride Keen

Keen got the Principal's Pride award this week in class!  Mrs. Kelly says he is so helpful in class and works hard at making sure he is doing his work on time.  So proud of Keen!

 

The Whole Enchilada

Josh and Andy and a small group of friends went to Moab this weekend for a bike ride.  They rode the trail "The Whole Enchilada" that was 26 miles long.  It took them all day to get through it and Josh said it was the hardest ride he's ever been on.  He had trouble with his tires and had to change them 4 or 5 times along the way cause they kept popping.  Lots of different terrain made for a difficult ride, but they made it and he was happy to say he was done!

 

Gardner Village

We took a girls night and saw the cute witches and halloween decorations at Gardner Village tonight.  It was so fun!  Melissa, Izzy, Morgan and Brooklyn came with us and it was the perfect night to be out and about!

 

Muffins

Liev has been placed on quarantine from school cause he was exposed by a classmate of his.  He's home with me for the next 2 weeks!  Today I left to go play basketball and came home to some homemade banana muffins.  He was so cute and wanted to surprise me with something he had made.  I asked him what he put in them and he said, "1 banana, a little bit of sugar and lots of flour."  Delicious.

 

4-wheeling

We took a 4-wheeling trip up to Midway today and were hoping to catch the colors up there before it was took late.  It was an absolutely gorgeous ride and we saw plenty of colors up there!  Chalks, Hammers, Browns came with us and we had such a fun beautiful ride together!

 

Canning

 

Hale Center Theater

We have season tickets to Hale Center Theater this year and it has been fun to see so many different plays!  We've been trying to take each of the kids when we can.  We do have to wear masks which is kind of a pain, but at least we still get to go!

 

Murder Mystery Party

We were invited to a Murder Mystery costume party at our neighbor's house and had the best time!  We were each given parts and ideas for costumes and a role that we had to play for the night.  Josh and I were Frankenstein and Bernice (Frankenstein's bride).  I haven't been to a costume party for so long and it was super fun to put together our costume and get all dressed up for the night.  And...I won the best costume award!  It was such a fun night to get together with neighbors and friends and do something fun and mysterious for a night.

 

Pickle Ball

Josh and I have been playing lots of pickle ball these days, especially during the pandemic it has been a good pastime for us.  Josh just ordered us new and improved paddles and I'm hoping that it ups our game as well!

 

Band night

The marching band competition season is about to start and Mr. Densley (the director) planned a friends and family night for everyone to be able to come see the band's performance. Due to covid (words I'm so sick and tired of hearing) there will be a limited amount of tickets to the competitions so he wanted the community to be able to see them perform.  Such a good idea and so fun to gather to support them and all the hard work they've put in! They did great and I think it was good for them to be able to perform in front of an audience to get some practice in before the competitions begin.  

 

Cleaning the bike

Beck likes to take extra special care of his wheels and cleans it pretty often.  Taking care of the thing that gets you around the neighborhood is very important...

 

Bball friend bike ride

A group of my basketball ladies also ride mountain bikes!  Imagine the fun we had doing something else that we love! 

 

Tilly

Tilly has become part of the family just like that...

 

Lake Powell

Josh and I decided that it's time that we take the plunge and get our family to Lake Powell.  We've each been as single kids, but it's been years and years.  We've wanted to take the family but just haven't found the right time or way to do it until now.  And honestly this is the first year that all the kids are old enough that we can actually take them all without worrying too much about tiny babies.  So the planning and packing began.  We knew we were going to camp but wanted to take the right stuff without overpacking too much.  We got some good ideas about meals and gear from friends that have gone and started getting prepped.  We did a trial pack of the boat to make sure we knew how much space we had before we actually packed the coolers and bins.  We had a pretty good idea of what we would need.  And off we went!

We drove down after work on Wednesday night and stayed overnight in the hotel near Bullfrog Marina.  We crammed into one hotel room but were so glad to just have a place to sleep that we all fell asleep instantly.  We woke up and had a quick breakfast on the go then headed to the dock to load up and get on the water.  By the time we got in the water it was about noon and it took us about an our or two to find the perfect spot.  We ended up in a canyon called Iceberg Canyon and found a great spot that backed up to a big cove.  The sand bar had a rock ledge all the way around it so it was easy to anchor the boat right up next to the shore and get our stuff out.  We felt so lucky to get such a good spot.  It was pretty much the hottest part of the day by the time we anchored and unloaded so we went back out for a couple hours and got some water time in.  When it was time for dinner, we were all hungry and ready to eat and relax.  The evenings were the best there and cooled off a little bit but never got too cold.  We all slept in a light sleeping bag and tent except Rease who set up each night in the boat.  Rhen started out in the boat with her the first night but got afraid of the bats that flew around so finished the week in the tent with the boys.  The nights became one of the most magical times there with stars the filled the black sky and a dead quiet that was so relaxing.  We were mesmerized by this place that we had all heard so much about but were just starting to experience!

Right around the corner from our camp was a great little cliff jumping spot.  The kids found it first as they were exploring and swam around the corner to find these awesome rocks to jump off.  They came back and got us and we cliff jumped there every day from that day on.  We usually spent most of the morning hanging out at camp, skipping rocks, playing games and reading.  Our camp was shady until almost 11:00 every day which was amazing!  We loved relaxing in the mornings and exploring around there before we got out on the water.  

Once we were out we skied and wakeboarded in the canyon and then just out into the main channel there was a good spot up near the wall that stayed pretty calm usually.  We were always on the look out for spots to jump and we found a cool little spot that the kids instantly named "Gru's nose". 

The kids have had quite a bit of boat time this year and are all feeling pretty comfortable with their wakeboarding, kneeboarding and skiing.  They are all getting really good!  We were usually in the water for most of the afternoon and by 4:00 or so we would find a shady spot to let the boat just float and we'd stay cool.  I loved this time of day - we had dance-offs, played cards, guessed songs, had snacks and sometimes just sat there enjoying the incredible surroundings.  

Evening at camp was always fun.  We had good food and someone was in charge of dishes each meal.  We washed in the lake and took baths a couple of times.  It was the best (and I wish I would have gotten a picture of it) when Josh told the boys to strip down cause they were going skinny dipping.  They all took their clothes off and then I promptly made them put life jackets back on before they got in the water.  So all the boys had life jackets and bare bums as they scrubbed and washed and swam across our little cove.  Desh still talks about how much fun he had "skinny dipping" at Lake Powell!

The last day we were there the boat had a hard time starting.  It was a little freaky cause we had no way to get back if we actually were broken down.  We did finally get it started (after a prayer and lots and lots of trying) and once we did, we didn't dare turn the boat off again.  So we let it idle while we packed up the camp and then left our gear so we could spend the day skiing.  We did all we could and all we wanted to do before we headed back to camp in the late afternoon to pack up the boat.  

We had to say goodbye to our camping cove and I may have shed a tear or two as we drove away.  We had the most fantastic and magical week on the lake and all agreed that we want to come back every year.  September turned out to be the perfect time for weather.  We were hot during the day and just perfect at night while we slept.  We luckily had no wind and no big problems with our boat.  We may have gotten lucky on our first trip there but it got us good and hooked.  We all officially LOVE Lake Powell!