Bear Lake - Hiking and Car Trouble

 One afternoon we decided to go on a little hike.

The hike was up the canyon a bit from the lake.

Once we made the steep drive to the trail, we realized that something was wrong with our van.

It had been leaking a little before the trip but now it was like a fountain.

It was our radiator.

We needed to let our engine cool down.

So it was a good thing we had a hike to go on.

We walked the mile or so loop, which takes a long time with curious little kids.

And we just tried to enjoy ourselves and not worry about our van too much.

 

It was over Ruby's nap time but she was a little trooper and just relaxed in the stroller.

 



I put them both on the tree in the picture above because I wanted to get a picture.

But they were terrified of falling so the picture didn't turn out as I had envisioned.

 



I thought my dad's shirt was pretty fitting for the occasion.

 



I can't remember the exact age but this tree is crazy old.

 



After our hike, we drove the van to a local mechanic and ended up getting the radiator replaced. Thank goodness my parents were there and we had their vehicle too

because the boys ended up driving in my parents' car to Logan to get parts for the mechanic.

And thank goodness this happened with enough time to fix it before we went home.'

We got our van back within an hour of check out.

Heavenly Father was definitely looking out for us!



Halloween Weekend

 The night before Halloween we took the kids trick or treating at the Beehive House.

It's a retirement home down the street from us.

The kids had fun but it was more for the residents. The liked having visitors and seeing the kids.

Here's my attempt to get a picture of my cuties.

 

I don't know why Avery thinks opening her mouth as big as she can is a good pose.

 



 

Eli had no clue what was going on but he was excited.

 

Every time someone handed Eli a piece of candy he tried to open it.

He didn't want to put it in his bag.

 



 

My girls were a bit confused what to do when they came to the lady on the couch sleeping.

 

Sean took Halloween off. So he went with me and Eli to Lexi's school for the parade.

All of the kids walked around the gym showing off their costumes to their parents and grandparents.

That place was packed!

 



These aren't the best pictures. I was playing around with my camera settings again.

But I just love how happy Lexi was when she saw us.

 



This is Lexi's English teacher. Ms. McCall. I loved her costume.

I totally want it for me and Ruby.

 



After the parade we went out to recess with Lexi. Eli was so excited.

 



I love the pink bunny costume.

 



 

Lexi was really excited to have Eli with her at recess.

 

After recess we went to Lexi's Halloween class party and then picked up Avery from preschool.

She also had a Halloween party that day.

Then we headed over to Michelle and Justin's house. Jared and Val and their kids were there.

They came up from Vegas for the weekend.

We took all the kids (minus Eli and Austin who were napping) to Gardner Village.

I tried to take as many pictures of all the cousins together as I could.

But they had no desire to be photographed so the result is several hilarious pictures.

The kids aren't looking but I love these pictures because they show off the kids personalities.

 





 

My nephew Devin was really excited to find the Ken Griffy Jr. Witch.

 

 

After Gardner Village we went to Scheel's.

All the kids were excited to ride the Ferris Wheel, except Avery.

Notice Lexi is holding something against her face. It's some ice.

She ran full speed into a glass wall. Yep, she's my child.

And a medical team came and examined her to make sure she didn't have a concussion.

She ended up being fine.



 

 

There's Devin, Addie and Parker at the top.

 



Finally it was time to go trick-or-treating. These kids were so excited!

 



The princesses and bride. They aren't all looking but they're such cute.

 



 

And they're off!

 

Eli went to a few houses but was totally confused.

If there was a pet at a house he just wanted to go in and play.

Eventually he joined Austin in the wagon.

 



These kids were so excited. They were running as fast as they could from house to house.

We kept trying to get them to slow down.

There were a few falls and injuries along the way.

 



These running pictures just crack me up!

 



The day after Halloween we went up to Silver Lake in the mountains.

Lexi rode in Jared and Val's van and got sick on the drive. She threw up.

Luckily she gave Jared and Val enough warning for them to pull over. She's never done that for us.

 

Watch out Justin!

 



Val was hoping to see all the leaves changing colors but we were too late for that.

I still think it was pretty up there.

 



Devin was super helpful with Eli. These two are so cute together. They have a special bond.

 



We saw a moose.

 



Did I mention that it was cold?

Look at that icy water.

 



 

Back at Michelle and Justin's all Eli wanted to do was play in this car

even though it was cold outside. He LOVES this thing.