Fun October

We took advantage of Fall Break and headed to St. George. Our favourite Canadian happens to live there so it was especially fun. This time we rented a condo from a family member and that worked out GREAT. I loved that we could have some meals there and go out for others so it was healthier, cheaper, and less hectic. Jaylene and Ellie joined us as much as possible - here at Snow Canyon. Ellie was adorable with Bennett; Bennett said "I don't want a sister".



The weather was PERFECT, Jared & I took our road bikes and biked each morning. They have a nice urban trail system that we could hop onto fairly near the condo.

We all had a great time in this silky sand, despite my forgetting - for the second time - to bring any shovels, buckets, or sand toys.

Just a shot of our little picnic with J & E who were always game for anything. They also showed us the best restaurants and historic downtown so we could try the local fare and spoil the boys a bit.  

This nearby park was a great adventure for the boys. I'm glad parks never get old for them. St. George wasn't terribly busy overall. Although one place I wanted to visit (Red Cliffs Reserve) was closed due to damage from flooding, we enjoyed not having a tight schedule.

This is overlooking the valley on top of Dixie rock. It's part of Pioneer park, a lot of red rock to scramble over. It could be nerve racking if your children didn't listen carefully - or if your husband pretends to throw one off a ledge : /

We have another October birthday to celebrate, our nephew Jack turned 1 this month. He has made incredible strides, despite his pre-mature birth he is right on target. He is adorable, very mobile and was impressive at opening gifts.



His mom and dad are so proud and we LOVE their family so much. And they have a mesmerizing electronic garbage can that Amy can't get enough of.

We had promised Paxton a friend party this year and decided to take them to a local "farm" that's all decked out for Halloween. This corn pit was the surprise hit.

A couple of Paxton's pals here tackled him. One is a neighbor whose family has become quick friends of ours. They have animals and have helped us with our sheep endeavor.
















All the kids loved this giant slide except Paxton.  I would have pushed him down it if I'd had to...even after everyone else went, he kept saying "I don't know about this". Jared said the look of terror on his face as he went down was priceless.

Bennett is far more particular about his choice of apparel than Paxton ever was, so I didn't protest when he wanted his red felt cowboy hat to go to the farm. It made him much easier to spot and no sunscreen required.

Our celebration on Paxton's actual birthday was small but sweet. I had attempted to make a cake in the shape of the superman logo but it was an EPIC fail. Let's just say that Betty Crocker needs to work on the firmness of her "foolproof" cake recipe. Or I need to learn how to decorate.

So Macey's had these cute Halloween cakes that Bennett and I picked out. You can see that Bennett was eager to blow the candles out before we finished singing. He may seem shy to strangers but at home his is full of gusto and opinions. Tonight he told Jared he only likes him on Halloween and on summer nights.

My cousin invited us to their Halloween party, which was nice because we had no other gigs to attend. All the kids get spoiled there with fun prizes and even a hay ride around the neighborhood to show off their costumes.

One of their traditions is a silly string fight, but Bennett didn't get the memo, so when daddy plastered him he was kinda upset. He recovered once he knew it would fall right off of his clothes and face.