Mount Timpanogos Caves

Ahhh Fall time!



Enjoying the view on the way down!



Cool stalactites and stalagmites everywhere!



I wish you could see how Beautiful the inside is!



Duck girls!



A little nervous at first! (dark and cold!)



Finally! Entrance to the Caves!



Getting closer!



About half way up the trail




The start of the hike




After an hour of straight jumping!!



What a fun, yet exhausting weekend!! Last night the kids and I (and Kylie's friend Jenaka) went to Jump On It in American Fork. It is a fun place with about 50-60 trampolines all lined up together where you can jump and jump until your hearts content! There is even tramps up against the wall so you can literally bounce off the walls! The kids had a blast...and so did I. By the time they were finished ...they were literally dripping in sweat. I didn't get to work as hard as they did because my bladder wouldn't let me. It was a ton of fun though! It was a little dangerous, in fact they make you sign all kinds of waivers before you go. Then when we got home Tyson started complaining his neck hurt. It kept him up most of the night and when he woke up he couldn't move at all. Even me rolling in bed next to him made him start to cry. We put heating pads on it and gave him ibuprofen. He seemed a little better by mid morning but was still holding his head funny. We had planned to hike Mount Timpanogos today because it was free to get into the caves today. Well...Tyson decided to stay back with Aunt Heather, and the girls and I headed up the mountain. It was absolutely the perfect day. The weather was gorgeous and the leaves were changing. Not completely in fall colors...but beautiful none the less! After an hour hike, 1.5 miles and a vertical climb of 1,065 feet...we made it to the caves! What a great hike...work up a good sweat...but not too hard that older kids can't do it! Inside the caves it is 43 degrees year round. CHILLY! The girls' eyes were like Christmas morning! They loved every minute of the caves...and took it all in. They are so cool inside, at times having to duck and squeeze to get through, and other huge rooms with little lakes. It is amazing that it is all formed by water...tooke 1-2 millions years to form. We had a great day...the only bad thing was I had to use Kylie's $30 camera from Walmart, because Brian still has mine on the hunting trip. Some pictures turned out....some not so much. I LOVE the beautiful mountains we live by...I could spend every minute up there...unless of course it is winter! (sorry I am retarded and posted the pictures in backwards order, from end to start...oops!)

Random things

Aloha!


I Love Rainbows!


She'll learn...never mess with Dad!


A few random things from this weekend. Sydney and Brian had their Father/Daughter party for activity days. It was a Hawaiian theme just in case you couldn't tell from the picture! They talked and talked about how fun it was. Kylie got tortured from Dad for taking a marker and writing on his arm. Oh paybacks are no fun! He held her to the bed and drew a mustache and beard on her face. It was pretty funny for us who were watching. We had a rainstorm with a beautiful rainbow that followed. I have a thing for rainbow's..so I took a picture. It was a double rainbow...but by the time I got the camera out only one was still bright. Brian left this morning for a hunting trip, and will be gone all week. We miss him already, but thankfully we are going to be too busy to have time to be sad. He looks so forward to this every year, and was so excited he couldn't stop talking about it. I hope they have a great time. Kylie and Sydney start piano lessons today...so that should be interesting. Better late than never I guess. Tyson's team finally won a football game...but of course I have no pictures. Brenda wanted pictures of Kylie's room (we finished the basement) and Brians new truck...so I was finally ready to do that. I went to go snap a few pictures for you....and realized Brian had taken the camera hunting for the week. YIKES! Hope nothing real exciting happens while he is gone!

Holly Homeaker

Thats right! I have a new name for myself after Tuesdays canning project. Earlier this year I had a ton of peaches so I made fruit leather (roll-ups) and YUM they are soo good. We still have tons left in the freezer to last us the winter. Monday night a neighbor brought over a huge box of apples and suggested I make applesauce. I had never done that before but it sounded fun...and I needed something to do after work, to avoid cleaning. Apparently all the thrifty Utah Moms can, because I couldn't find ANY of the supplies I needed anywhere. Finally I found some quart size jars and borrowed a water-bath canner and a strainer from my friend, and got to work. It was actually a lot of fun and I now want to become a full time canner! You should have seen the mess in my kitchen though. Holy COW! It was bad. I didn't get finished until about 10 pm and I was too tired to clean up. I had to work the next morning and when I came up to the kitchen Brian had it sparkling clean for me. What a guy! Anyway...if you have never canned before, I suggest you give it a try! It is fun and made me feel like a real homemaker! I remember canning with my Mom every year...but I guess I never paid much attention though...because this felt totally new to me. The kids are LOVING the applesauce! It was one of those rare days where you feel a great sense of accomplishment!

Apples Galore!


Boiling Apples


Straining Apples



Finished Project! YUM!!!

Flag Football

So this is Tyson's first year playing Football. I have been putting him off because he is so little. Finally the begging on his part paid off for him! He has a coach who is a little bit of a yeller...but Tyson seems to love it anyway. I didn't get very many good pictures...hopefully next game, but they move so fast, I can barely keep track of them. Tyson didn't notice or care that he was the smallest, and I overheard a few parents talking about the "little kid" and how he had the best arm on the team, and he should be the QB! Go buddy!

Surfin' USA

Brian's new hobby is surfin'! That's right...who knew you could surf in Utah? With a beautiful view of the mountains behind you! He and his buddy go out on the boat about once a week and Brian LOVES surfing behind the boat. It creates a special kind of wake similar to that in the ocean. (So they tell me) He started out holding on to the rope...but now doesn't need it, and he can even do a few tricks! I'm glad he gets a little time to play once in a while. He always comes home and tells me how good he did that time. He can't wait to try surfing in the ocean when we go to Hawaii next month. Somehow I don't think it is going to be the same. I'm not going to crush his hopes though! I'll be right there lying on the beach watching him try, and try, and probably try some more. (Notice I said I will NOT be trying with him!)

To the Mountains we go

I love heading up the mountains. It is so pretty and so peaceful. This time of year is absolutely gorgeous and in just a few weeks the leaves will be changing. Sunday after Stake Conference, Heather and family and Grandma and Grandpa Wade headed up with us for a little mountain beauty. The kids had a blast and we got to lay around and be lazy in the beautiful weather. Not bad for a Sunday afternoon!

lazy bums!



The boys




Sydney


Kylie and Braxton

Clear Creek 2008

Sydney and I went on the overnight campout with all the 5th grade girls at Saratoga Shores Elementary. (Go Sharks!)I went on this campout last year with Kylie's class. The main difference this year is that it was sunny and warm...while last year we had 4 feet of snow because we went in March. We had soo much fun. It is a great camp they put together for the 5th graders each year to get to know their teachers and classmates better. Really no learning involved in this trip...it is strictly for fun.And FUN it was! I am not as tired as I remember being last year...the girls went to bed around midnight and got up at 7 am. Not too bad! I am actually a little sad that I don't get to go back for 3 more years...when Tyson is in 5th grade. But since he is my baby...I can't even think about him being in 5th grade...that is like 100 years away....right?

Las Vegas Trip

We took a little trip to Vegas over Labor Day. We had a timeshare that was about to expire and wanted to surprise the kids with a little get away. We picked them up from school with all their bags packed and didn't tell them where we were going. Finally about 2 hrs down the road they couldn't stand it any longer and we broke down and told them. Tyson was so excited to go to Las Begas (as he calls it)...I don't think he even knows where it is...he was just excited to go anywhere! We were very lazy and hung out at the pool and relaxed most of the time. We did walk around the strip one day and saw the sights there. Tyson hated the smoke smell and had his mouth and nose covered the entire time. It was so cute. The highlight of the trip was of course dinner with Aunt DeAnn. My kids love her and were soo excited to see her. They were counting down the minutes until she got there. She spoiled us as usual and bought us dinner, and gave the kids a video ipod that she didn't need anymore...because she has several others. The kids were in heaven! Thanks Aunt DeAnn for dinner, and for hanging out with us. Can't wait to go back to Begas again soon!