Beautiful Weather for Hiking

Because we don't anticipate many more days of nice weather, we thought we'd take advantage of it and head up to the mountains. My dad had

asked me if we wanted to go up to Silver Lake and do the boardwalk around the lake. I was leery at first because when my dad says something is easy and should take half an hour, that usually means it will be strenuous and take 3 hours. He came through on this one though and was true to his word.

The walk around Silver Lake was a nice easy stroll on a boardwalk, with a beautiful view. The hike started terribly when Kodi cried the entire drive up the mountain. I hoped that

this wasn't any indication of what was to come. Kris had to pull out the ear plugs that he conven-

iently keeps in the car. The crying didn't stop as we headed out on the trail. We put her in the backpack and the tears strolled. it really made it difficult to enjoy the peace and quiet of nature. Once we took her out the backpack and let her walk, the crying ceased and the rest of the "hike" was quite enjoyable. There were many opportunities for beautiful photographs and we saw a chipmunk, some ducks, and a lot of trees that had been eaten by beavers. Because this hike was so successful, we decided to do one more before heading back to the city.

Donut Falls is a very popular hike in Utah. I've done it, but it has been years. I remember it

being disap- pointingly short. This time, it didn't seem so short. Kodi was getting very tired and was a pretty good sport until half way through.

The entire hike back down I had to carry her and try to console her by singing songs from Tangled. Kyson was a little irritable by the end too, but I still feel the day was a success. We got to have some family time, enjoy the weather, appreciate God's beauty, and take some great photographs.

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, We Love Pumpkins

This is the first year we've gotten pumpkins to celebrate Halloween. We figured that Kyson was old enough that he'd want to do something like

that. Picking pumpkins is quite the science:

Step 1: Go to a real pumpkin patch, not a grocery store

Step 2: Be sure to get your wheel barrows - kid size preferred

Step 3: Find some nice pumpkins

Step 4: Take advantage of the photo opportunities with tractors or other farm equipment at the pumpkin patch

Step 5: Go through the free corn maze that really has no paths except the one that will get you out.

Step 6: Try not to get angry at your children while they make the entire experience difficult when they won't cooperate.

We executed each of these steps perfectly, except the last. By the time we left the pumpkin patch, we were pretty irritated with the kids' behavior. It's frustrating when you try to do something fun for your children and they are difficult.

Once we got the pumpkins home, we started carving. Kodi was still crying from losing her wheel barrow at the pumpkin patch so we put onMoulin Rouge, gave her a sippy cup, and and blanket and she didn't move the rest of the night. Kyson was a good sport with us. He cleaned out

his pumpkin, but it took some convincing to stick his hand into that gooey mess. Eventually he did with with some gloves, like Daddy. Then we picked out the pattern. Kodi's was too small to use a pattern that we had, so I made one up. Kyson wanted "monster man" who was the Grim Reaper. I think Kris did a great job carving that one. After it was all over, we baked the pumkin seeds, cleaned everything up, and Kyson was quite the happy camper.

A Fun Run

We've had a very eventful weekend, so I will be having more than one entry on the same day. It's been so much fun though. Saturday morning we started by going to a Stake 5K Fun Run. They had a 1 mile walk, a 5K run, and a 10K bike. Because Kyson loves riding his big wheel for long distances, I thought he'd enjoy this race, so I asked if he could ride his big wheel for it. It was approved and I got excited. When I found out that they only expected runners to do the 5K and no walkers, I'll admit, I was disappointed. But I figured a 1 mile ride for him is better than nothing. He prefers to do long rides - 4-5 miles. He's even ridden his big wheel to my sister's house.

When we arrived at the race, he was so excited he was riding through the parking lot and dodging people. He kept going and going, right up until the official start. When we did line up for the start, he was so excited he could barely contain himself. After the race, we made it back to the parking lot where it all began and Kyson was so good cheering for every person that came in. He also

drove through the finish line at least 20 times to relive the moment. We started the race with Kris and Kodi. Kodi was pretty upset when she Kyson and I getting ready to go for a walk. She even sat on her little bike that she can barely reach the peddles and wanted to join us, so we grabbed the wagon so she could come too. Unfortunately, she got pretty cranky shortly into it, and because the route went into our neighborhood, Kris just walked her home.

After everyone had finished, they gave out awards and treats. Kyson got a candy bar for being so energetic and a great sport. George Holt stole his big wheel and ran through the finish line with it. Kyson went running after him, laughing the entire time. I wish there were more opportunities like this for him. I think it was so much fun for him and maybe if we can move him to a bike, he'll have many more opportunities to come.

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