Fall hike

It was Columbus Day and lucky for us, Boston decides to celebrate!

Mr. H had the day off from school, and while he was really busy, we decided to go on a little hike to enjoy all the fall leaves.

We headed down to Blue Hills Reservation, and it was beautiful!  

C actually liked being carried in the back pack so that was nice (for me, not sure if it was for Mr. H).  

SO excited to be hiking!

View from the top...it was like hiking up a BIG hill :)

love this boy.

There were all these red dots marking the trail, and that kept C entertained.  That and his apple.  :)

our REAL life...

The following is a catch up post of our real-life happenings:

Getting home from Europe was awesome, in that we got to see C again.  We had a great weekend trying to reassure him that we were back to stay. We celebrated Uncle S's b-day and showed the H family our trip pics.

Memorial Day was really nice.  We were able to go on a fun hike together as a family, and then had a fun time later that night with the G family.  Water guns anyone?

The next couple of weeks were all about getting our schedule and routine back.  I LIVE for our routine.  

We had so much fun playing with our friends again, and being together as a family.

It rained, and we built a blanket fort.  C was nervous, but loved holding the lantern inside of it.

I had a lunch date with my dad.  We LOVE LOVE us some Gourmandies.  

Attended a girl's night viewing of "Penelope" in our village.  I just love that movie.

We've been babysitting a friend's baby this month.  C has been very cute.  He's always giving him his toys, and loves when he smiles at him.

We celebrated our niece's first birthday, as well as Uncle A's.  Happy Birthday!!!

Mr. H and I got the stomach flu, (C did not...hooray!) and started up another free trial of Netflix.

Helped C to conquer his fear of slides.  He now is a pro.

Went on a fun hike/walk with friends to various parts of Salt Lake. 

Enjoyed fire baked pizza at a Ward party.

C practiced his cooking.

Had fun with our bedtime routines.

Climbing to get his binkie. :)

Attended Mr. H's uncle's funeral.  It was really beautiful.

Celebrated both of our fathers.  How lucky we are to have them.

Made smores on BBQ grills in our court.  

Had dinner with my grandparents.  They were so sweet to have us over.

Had another dinner with cousins.  Family is the best.

Made bread in a crock pot---pinterest WIN!

Mr. H played in a B-ball tournament.  They did a great job!

Went to a outdoor concert with C.

We've been attending work-out classes once a week together.  It's been a blast! C has started joining us in doing burpees.  So cute.

Taught church lessons and gave talks.

Took long afternoon naps.

Been battling C on his binkie.  Ever since we've come home, he has decided he has to have it.  

Curious George, or just plain 'George' has become our newest child.  C and George go everywhere together, and C has to have him to sleep.  We often dress him up, feed him the sippie cup, and hold hands all together.

Got pedicures with some of Mr. H's sisters.

Responsibly sunbathed with my mom and brother. :)

Took random pics of our apartment.

We are so enjoying this beautiful summer.  It's been such a blast being together.  

Happy 2nd day of summer!!!

Thanks.

Thanksgiving was awesome this year.

To start it off: Mr. H is done with his college applications!!!! So proud of him!

We headed into Centerville on Wednesday night and made some delicious pies.  It was my perfect ideal: aprons, Christmas music, people I love and making delicious desserts.  

We made four pies: 2 pumpkin, 1 blackberry, and 1 chocolate. 

We learned that in Korean one woman in the kitchen is the symbol for peace, and two women in the kitchen is the symbol for war. :)  We still had a lot of fun together, and it was fun to be together!

The next morning I went on a run, and then met up with miss K for a little hike up our mountain.  It was so fun to have it be like old times, and we had good conversation as usual.

Baby C had so much fun playing at my parents house, Mr. H played with my brothers and I helped make the delicious dinner.  My parents sure know how to do thanksgiving. It was wonderful.  My dad decorated, we all cooked and it was really fun.  

The beautiful table

My mother is the queen of multi-tasking

 Both sets of grandparents, two uncles and my dad's second cousin were able to come this year, and it was a blast.  I love my family.  We were all able to chat and enjoy being together.

Most of the group

Baby C loved the food

We then took everyone on a hike up the mountain again.  Mr. H and I didn't get too far with baby C, as he just wanted to throw rocks, but it was still fun.

picking up rocks with grandma

 Thanks mom and dad for the awesome day and night---it was perfect.

Mr. H, baby C and I then headed down to Moab.  The only mistake we made on the drive was we didn't pack any food, and to our surprise, EVERYWHERE was closed along the way.  ha. 

Mr. H's family had rented out a house just out of Moab, and all of his family were there.  

The next morning we got to on an awesome hike up to Double O arch.  (my favorite!).  The kids did pretty well, and it was really pretty.  The snow and fog were gorgeous in the red rock. 

Start of the hike---it was freezing!

The group! (minus Aunt A)

Landscape Arch

Double O Arch

Baby C was exhausted and zonked out for the last part.  Poor kid.

The hikers :)

 That afternoon, some of the group went mountain biking and the rest of us stayed in and napped, chatted and had a good time.  It was fun to have everyone together and let the kids play.  They are getting to be so cute together!!!  Our niece E was a complete doll and it was fun to be able to snuggle her, while our nephew M and baby C played and chased each other around.   

The next day, we rented jeeps and went off roading.  That was really fun!  The trail we picked was on the difficult side, and I tried to act calm during it all, but it was fun!  We all got to drive and it was fun to get some adrenaline going.  

The Crew

Later that afternoon while the boys went mountain biking, Grandpa W took me and baby C on another jeep ride with the two Aunt A's in the other jeep and we did a nice, simple ride to picture frame arch.  It was really fun, and baby C loved playing in the dirt.  

Random cave with a fire lit inside

Baby C with his dirt

Picture Frame Arch

We had a great night, and everyone was able to pack up in the morning and get home safely.  

It was a great trip!  Thank you to Grandma and Grandpa T and W for the awesome time.

Christmas is right around the corner, so today I'm trying to get motivated to get everything clean and ready to decorate.  

Happy 2nd day of December!!!!

a week full of FALL!

Is anyone else loving this October?  Especially this last week-the weather has been GORGEOUS.  

Baby C and I have gotten to take some fun adventures, and it's been a blast.

Beautiful Provo

Tuesday we traveled down to Provo to meet up with Miss K at BYU.  Miss K recently returned from serving a LDS mission, and is one of my dearest friends.  

We attended a forum together (just like old times) and then she treated us to a fancy lunch at the MOA, or Museum of Fine Arts. :)  

It was so great to see her.  We also got to see two other friends during lunch, and that was great.

On our way out, I stopped by my old work and said hi to some of the women I used to work with.

That was neat.  I have been so blessed to have such great opportunities in my life to work with and associate with great people.  

It was so nice to be on BYU's campus again.  I love that place.  Some of my happiest memories happened there.  I really hope that somehow I can make some of my children cougars. :)

Miss K and baby C

Wednesday we met up with Mr. H's mother and sister and her two children and went to Gardner's Village.  Every October Gardner's Village does a Witchfest, and it is so fun!  They have cute witches everywhere, and then there are all the beautiful shops.  

It was a blast. Baby C loved the witches, and loved being with his cousins.  It was such a pretty day too!  Thanks Grandma T for the fun day!!!!

E and cousin M---our Best picture :)

Thursday, we went down to the Mt. Olivet cemetery with some friends in the morning.  It was gorgeous!  I love old cemeteries, and it was fun to find another friend that did too!  Salt Lake is full of gems.  This cemetery houses some of the oldest graves in Utah, tombs, and families of deer.  It was great!

Beautiful!

Then, my mom met up with baby C and I in the afternoon and we headed up the canyon for a fun hike.  My mom and I both love to hike, and we had a lot of fun.  Baby C decided about half way that he didn't want to stay in the hiking back pack, so that was a little tricky, but it was nice to be able to spend some good time with my mom.  The mountain was gorgeous, and we all enjoyed the fresh air.

Grandma S and baby C

Then last night we went to our Halloween party.  We were so excited, all dressed up, but baby C was not having it.  He smeared chocolate over our costumes, cried and pulled fits the whole party.  I think he's teething, poor little guy.  So the party was short lived, but it did make me excited for Halloween.

Here's to a Great Weekend! :)

Labor Day

Long weekends are always very appreciated in our house.  Mr. H had a lot to do, but we still were able to pack in some fun things. One of the highlights of the weekend was a morning hike we took up emigration canyon.  Emigration canyon is the spot where the Mormon pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley in 1847.   It was so beautiful up there!  The leaves were starting to change colors, and the weather was perfect.  C loves being in the hiking back pack and was a good sport.  The hike was about 3.5 miles round trip, and the destination was an old abandoned mine you had to look really close for.  It was a little creepy, but really cool to see.

Beautiful Wasatch Range

Salt Lake Valley

Happy Hiker!

Mr. H in front of the mine---you really had to look!

It was funny-as soon as we found the mine, all the old videos they showed me in elementary school on mine safety flooded back.  My teachers should be proud as I remembered all the safety procedures. ha.

School starting has been difficult for me to adjust to.  Mr. H has so much to do, and it is hard to not have him around to play with as much.  But C is doing great, and we are spending a lot of time outside enjoying the last moments of summer.