Fall colors

After church, we ate some dinner and went up the canyon to see the changing leaves.  It is one of the only things I truly enjoy about Fall.  Everything else just says, 'winter is coming and you'll have to bundle up everyone when you walk out the front door and you'll be freezing wherever you go'.

We didn't go far when we realized that the kids were falling asleep without a nap.  We parked and got out for a quick photo in the cool mountain air.  Sydney was being so cute looking at the trees--that are green in this photo...

We think we'll head back up this week sometime to see the Aspen trees that are a little higher in elevation that will be turning all sorts of beautiful shades of fall colors.  (Sydney's smile reminds me of Popeye as a kid--eat your spinach kids and you can smile like her!)

Life is GRAND

Doug surprised me after our date to see a play downtown with a stay at the 5-star hotel, the Grand America.  Doug had entered me into a Mother's Day contest earlier this year without my knowledge. Although I didn't win, we were sent a deeply-discounted stay voucher that expires Oct 1st, so he made arrangements for his mother to stay over just in time.  It was an amazing hotel and so fun to just walk the grounds and see the elaborate furnishings.  Even the keys--they were real, metal keys that were electronic!  The envelope they came in felt like silk.  Crazy luxury.

We snapped a photo in the courtyard in the center of the hotel.  The flowers were amazing for this time of year.  Doug is so thoughtful.  We even got to sleep in and our kids had a blast with grandma!  Thanks again mom.

Our bear cave

I started something extraordinary last week.  I was talking to my sister, Tiffany, about trying to put structure into our daily routine at home and she suggested Mommy Time.  It has been a huge hit.  Friday morning, we cleaned for Mommy Time. Yes, I have two kids that love to dust, vacuum, and clean the bathroom with me.  It is fantastic!  We then colored pages of Nemo from "Finding Nemo"and read a new book we'd gotten in the mail.  It was a book about bears and we built a bear cave afterward on the floor.  (disclaimer: the book had the suggestion.  Unfortunately, I am not this creative.)

They loved it so much that they stayed in it and I turned on Dumbo (they're favorite lately) and worked out using my laptop in the kitchen.  The joys of a small apartment, but man I loved that bear cave!

Go Rika!

Grandma came to play today and Ethan and Sydney have been sick for so long it felt like months since we'd seen her!  They were so excited and I didn't dare tell them until that morning for fear of the "when is grandma coming?" questions.  I got some work done and then we went to a Erika's soccer game.  They loved cheering for Erika and dancing.  We were right in front of the announcer booth that had music blaring and they were in heaven.

They were so excited to feed the carrots to the horses in the backyard.

But they were so excited to see Erika play soccer.  They love her to pieces.

We took our breaks from the game to snap photos on my phone.  What a goofy face he's sporting.

They were content to sit on grandma's lap relax.

They were also content to dance their hearts out!

Haircut

My friend April is at beauty school near us and I was so excited to see her.  I made sure I would see her and catch up by making an appt for her to cut Sydney's hair.  Her hair is wild with some curl and some...not.  I decided to grow her bangs because I cannot stand trying to trim them!  They often are crooked or I miss pieces.  

When I told Sydney that April would be cutting her hair that day she was less than thrilled.  She said, "I want mommy to cut it." I then told her that I wasn't good at it and Ethan said, "yes you are mom!"  It was cute, but not true.

Sydney screamed with April tried to put the cape on her and we quickly made some plans for me to hold her and April got Sydney a spray bottle.  She sprayed the floor length mirror until the bottle ran out of water and there was quite the puddle on the floor--but her hair was cut and oh so cute!  

I only took before photos, funny me. Thanks April!

Kellers are here!

We have been waiting and waiting for the Keller clan to arrive and it happened!  My sister, Sarah, and her family moved to Utah and we went over to help them clean/unpack.  Ethan and Sydney had a great time playing with cousins and found some amazing toys.  They loved this doll furniture and helped themselves to sitting on it.  Their cousin, Grace, who is their age (but much bigger) "sits on it, so it's okay if they did" said their older cousin Ellie.  So happy they are living close-by!

Dirty Dash

Several months ago, Tiffany came up with the idea of doing the Dirty Dash together as a family.  Thanks to Matt and his Boondocks bucks, we registered for free and headed up to Midway to Soldier Hollow to run a 10k in an insane amount of mud.  I told Doug this would be therapeutic for me (exposure therapy) and was nervous to get so dirty.  I had NO idea how dirty I would get...despite the photos and stories.

When we arrived, Matt needed to change and there weren't a lot of options, so he hopped in the trunk.  It was hilarious--especially when my dad popped the trunk mid-change to startle him.  It worked.

We took some before photos in our bright, clean clothes.

Right at the starting line, we had to run uphill in the mud where everyone was slinging mud already.  It was crazy and...nasty.

We had to jump over hay bales, wade though ponds of muddy water (slippery), climb up and over cargo nets, hop over walls made of mud, climb through tunnels in muddy water, and slide down an inflatable slip-n-slide...just to name a few.  It was crazy!

I underestimated the need I would have for a snack on the course when all they had to offer was chocolate pudding.  I decided that an upset tummy would be worse than hunger.

Tiffany and Tyler headed to she showers first before we could get a good 'dirty' photo.  The showers were freezing and Tiff's lips were blue.  We opted not to shower and changed our clothes and drove all the way home before showering.

I decided I look American Indian in this photo with the war paint mud and the bunny ears my mom gave me.  I love that all of us are sticking our arms away from our bodies to prevent the only clean part of our bodies (forearms and hands) getting muddy.