Fall Into Winter

Ummm...I started this in like November! I thought I'd go ahead and post it since it was sitting there waiting. I'm not gonna reformat or see if I'm missing pictures that go with the text.

I have to start this by saying that the weather in Salt Lake has been so wonderful this year. Tons of snow at the beginning of the year, a cool spring perfect for new plantings in my yard, a warm but not too warm summer and one hell of a fantastic fall. I think this is the longest falls I’ve ever experienced her. Truly amazing. Now we have snow and I'm trying to accept that winter is finally here. Had a good run that's for sure.

We had a fun September with Robby’s birthday party. I did a good job of not cleaning up as the party was happening like I usually do, which is much more conducive to me actually being a part of the party! I still spent a lot of time in the kitchen chatting up people on their way to somewhere else. Oh, and Robby had fun too.

October was by far the most fun month of the year! We went to St. George to go hiking and visit with our family.

My Uncle Larry and Aunt Jai love to see the boys and as you can see here the boys have a great time too! We brought a bunch of garden tomatoes down and exchanged them for some real beer from Mesquite! Thanks Uncle Larry!

We also visited with Robby’s grandparents. Here’s a cute picture of Robby IV, the boys and Robby's grandad Robert Crosier Morehead II. Sometimes I think it would have been so funny if we called the boys Robert Crosier Morehead the V & VI.

The boys put a couple Spongebob Squarpants puzzles together with Grandad which was fun to watch.

And Zion. Just seeing this picture makes my heart sing. So far, of the places I’ve experienced, Zion is my favorite place and lucky for me it’s mere hours away! We went on the Observation Point hike and it was wonderful. I highly recommend it. The boys had a great time building cairns and looking for lizards. It was so thrilling trying to keep them from falling to their deaths! Okay, that part wasn’t that fun, but didn’t last too long. The hike is varied with lots of stopping points for discovery with the boys. The complete hike is 4 miles up, 4 miles back. We made it 2 miles up, 2 miles back which I thought was awesome considering the boys are still quite small for a hike of that length.

We spent a lot of time playing outside in October with the neighborhood kids. Here are the boys with Zach and Quinn in some leaves that Zach’s sister raked up. Can you believe Zach is Quinn’s uncle? I always get a kick out of that.

Eli and Charlie just love Zach and he plays really well with them, which means he tolerates their pushiness. Zach really rolls with the punches...literally!

This year is probably the best year for holiday celebration with the boys by far. They really got into Halloween and even decorated a couple aloe plants in their room. My mom likes to buy the boys bugs, animals and such which they put to many uses. I never imagined they’d decorate the house plants with them, and it turned out really cute.

Down below you can see my great-aunt Millie's dog bank. When she passed my Grandma had it in her place. When my grandma passed I was able to aquire it. It reminds me of Millie and Grandma and the boys use it regularly to save money.

And Halloween was so much fun because Jackie moved back to Salt Lake City just two days before! We had my mom over too and I made Market Street’s Clam Chowder and served it in tasty bread bowls. Now that I know I can make it I'll have a hard time ordering it! Soup and bread bowls are now a family tradition for Halloween.

The weather held out and the boys went trick-or-treating and had a great time. I sat on the porch drinking wine, hassling the kids who can’t be bothered to dress up! Good times.

At the end of October we also finally got our hands on an Obama – Biden yard sign. I think this was an exciting election and obviously historic for our country. It was great to see the nation get up off its duff and show some passion, no matter what side people were on.

Right before Thanksgiving was my mom’s birthday. I never know what to get her…or rather, I don’t know what I can afford that she’d like. She loves jewelry! So instead of jewels and gold, I thought maybe we’d send her up in a very small plane with a man she’s never met!

Actually, she loves to fly and will say “the smaller the plane the better.” Our friend Scott is a pilot and goes flying all the time so he graciously, under pressure from his wife (smile) said he could fly my mom around for a couple hours. She was really was surprised. Speechless in fact. She had a great time and said it was a dream come true to get to have that experience again.

Isn’t this pic so cool. It’s Annalyn (the aforementioned wife of Scott) holding Charlie, with my mom and then me taking a picture in the background.

Over the past week the sky here has been overcast quite a bit. The other day I was in the kitchen and as the sun was setting it was able to break through the clouds and created quite the dramatic scene outside. I ran out and snapped this shot of my neighbor Libbey’s house. I love the golden sunlight on the trees up against the dark clouds.

And finally, the boys in a rare moment sleeping together on the sofa. And Eli up to his favorite pastime.