Halloween Spooktacular 2014

Carving out time.

Pack's Pumpkin Patch

October 13-19 UEA Weekend

 This week is always a fun and crazy time.  Jeron and JJ go on the deer hunt while us girlies stay home.  We aren't about to sit around and pine away for them.  We always live it up.  It becomes a massive staycation.   The week started out with tending Mac and Keegan.  We hit up two parks.  Both were beautiful.  Elsie had never been to Woodland Park and she thought it was pretty cool.  We had fun dancing on the stage and singing our hearts out.  The Castle Park never disappoints.  It was gorgeous down in the gully.  We were loving all the autumn colors.  Emma sewed her first scarf.  She is loving Young Women.  Once the boys headed off on Thursday morning the fun began.  We went to Gardner Village and saw the witches.  Then we headed up to the cabin to see the leaves.  It was stunning up there.  

The colors were so pretty at woodland park   We loved every minute there.

Elsie and Ellie loved the park so much.  They were in heaven dancing and performing.  Emry, Mac, and Keegan just thought it was a lot of fun to run on.

 Elsie read the littles a story before naptime.  It was so sweet.

 These two have found a secret hiding place under the tree out front.

 The castle park was stunning with all its colors.  Every where  you looked it was like a painting.  

 It was a jolly adventure down in the gulley.

The Witches are always a delight.

 I loved this one.  Hagtag Gardner Village

 We love all the witches. 

These ladies all know how to do sassy.  Holy cow there is a lot of sass in these pictures.  Right before we left we ran into a woman that had lost her dog.  We tried to help her find it but we didn't have any luck.  I certainly hope she finds her. 

On Friday we bought t-shirts to make our Halloween tee's.  Then we went to the movies to see Meet The Mormon's.  It was so good and the girls liked it.  Elsie was a bit bored but liked it.  Then we went to Zupas for dinner. We came home and watched The Fault in Our Stars.  It was really good too.  On Saturday I took Elsie and Emry to the Pumpkin Patch.  They ran around and played in the haymaze and got goofy pictures.  It was a really fun time.  We then made our t-shirts and then I gave the littles pedicures.  Then we made pizza and had a great night together.  It was a great girls weekend.

After we saw the movie I just happened to run into Heather Goddard after all these years.  I was in 6th grade when I saw her last.  We were the best of friends.  It was so nice to see her.  Elsie just happened to snap this picture of us.

Before we headed to the pumpkin patch we dropped Ellie off at mapa's house.  She wasn't up for all the fun we were about to have.  When we got there they spied papa out working in the yard.  They all ran to him...because they lub him.

The best part about the pumpkin patch is that it is FREE unless you are buying pumpkins.  They have so many fun things to do too.  Don't worry we will go back and get pumpkins.  But we have to wait for the fellas.

We made our Halloween tees while the fellas were gone.  I think they turned out pretty cute.  Emry's kitty did jump when we sprayed it so hers is a little off but still cute.

 After we made our shirts I gave Ellie and Elsie pedicures.  They really enjoyed that.  Then we made pizza and ate dinner.  It really was a very fun weekend.

We are always glad when the fellas get home safe and sound but it is always a wonderful girls weekend.  I sure do love my single ladies.

Autumn Splendor at the cabin.

The Great Salt Lake

I will have to say that I really DID think it would be hard to let go of the van.  You know, it is full of memories.  We have had it since 2004.  Ten years in one vehicle is a lot.  I might have shed a tear but then I got into the Yukon with all five of my kids and my hot honey and the thought of getting in the van again quickly faded.  We are so happy to have this new ride.  Even Emry is happy she just doesn't know it yet.

I couldn't let Labor day weekend go by without some kind of fun family adventure.  I had been thinking for a while now that we live in the Salt Lake Valley and we have never even stepped foot into the Great Salt Lake.  I remember as a kid that I went out there and floated.  I figured this would be a fun adventure and if not at least we can cross it off the list of things to do in Utah.

 I will have to say the views are spectacular.  It really is a very beautiful place.  That is if you can get past that horrid smell, and the bugs, and the brine shirmp, oh, and the salt.  Other than those things  It is definitely a wonder to behold.  At first the kids were a bit skittish about going in.  I really couldn't blame them seeing that it smelled so awful.  The water was extremely warm which was a nice change from Pineview.  They started to dip their toes and then walk out a bit farther.  What I found to be extremely interesting is that Ellie got right in.  She won't step foot in Pineview or any lake for that matter.

 Who is this girl?  She wasn't scared at all.  It was refreshing.  Poor Elsie though.  She must have had a UTI or something because the water stung her so bad down there that she couldn't get back in.  Jeron had to take her and wash her off.  I felt bad for her.  She is my mini me and I know she would have loved to feel herself float and play with her siblings.  Emry on the other hand wasn't to sure about it all.  She hung back and stayed in the shallow end.

 Once you got in there far enough the smell dissipated and the bugs were left on shore.  That made it easier to get in.  I will have to say that the brine shrimp did give me the willey's.  

Then it was time to test it out.  Do you really float?  YES!  You really float.  I am still in awe about this.  It is crazy.  You literally feel the water push you up.  There is no effort at all to stay up.  This is a cool feeling that everyone, especially us in Utah should experience.

 There was actually a lot of people there.  The one thing that I noticed though is that they didn't speak english.  I think there was some German and French that I heard.  This made me realize that other people outside of our country think this is a place to go.  A must see...  I am glad that I finally took advantage of a must see that is literally in my backyard.  On top of that we had a great time.

 While we all played Emry fell asleep.  Elsie ate lunch.  Jeron stood by and watched.  The four of us played for a while.  JJ caught a ton of brine shrimp.  Emma and Ellie just played in the water.  It was a wonderful family day.  When you get out of the Great Salt Lake your body is covered in salt.  It is insane.  I probably should have rubbed it off and used it to cook with. Thank goodness the marina has fresh water spouts you can hose of at instead.  We got all rinsed off and headed home.  It was a great way to spend labor day weekend. 

After we cleaned up we headed over to the Hughes for a barbeque.  It was fun to spend time with them and get to know the kids a bit more.

A day at the lake

Today was a great day.  We headed up to the lake to try out our new kayaks.  We hoped that Ellie would venture in but she mainly stayed on the shore the entire time.  

There really isn't a better place to be for us.  This is our spot.  We got there just in time to get prime real estate.  Emry was so much easier this year.  It is amazing the difference a year makes.

These Kayaks are really a lot of fun.  In fact the second JJ took it he was gone and he didn't come back the rest of the time.

Ellie and Emry had a lot of fun playing on the beach together.  

I think she could have stayed all day long

Enjoying some peaceful moments on the lake.  Look at the scenery.  It can't be beat.

Everyone minus Ellie had a great time on the water.  It was the best thing for us to have at the lake.  They played so hard all day long.

My bookends having some fun together.

Paddleboarding babe

Me and my littles

For a brief moment right before we left Ellie got in the water.  She can be a real pill sometimes.  

All in all it was the perfect first day on the lake.  Hopefully we can get daddy out here with us.