Last Week of September

Here are some highlights from the last week of September.

Hudson and I playing at the park while the others were at karate.  Piper sniffing out a little bone/treat we stuck in a toy.  Great thought.

The boys had Parent Teacher Conferences this week.  Nyles and Carter got out of school early on Thursday, and Hudson didn't have school at all on Thursday.  Steve met w/ all of their teachers.  They are all doing awesome!  They are all working hard and applying themselves.  We are so proud of them in their efforts and determination to give it their all.

Thursday evening, we went over to Gardner Village to find the witches.

Finding the witches and enjoying the fall decor.

Trying to get a family picture.  After finding all the witches, our family tradition is to go to Winco close by and get pumpkins and a treat.  So fun!  Almost a full moon coming home.

Nyles volunteered to mow the lawn for me on Friday since I was working and they didn't have school. It was Nyles' first time to mow.  Steve stayed w/ him to teach him until he got the hang of it.  Nyles did awesome!  He said he really enjoyed mowing and wants to do it more, but I also enjoy it, so we'll see :)  That afternoon we finished packing up, and drove over to Starvation Reservoir. 

 Carter and Hudson were cheering Nyles on while jumping on the trampoline. 

There were beautiful fall colors driving up Parley's Canyon; so pretty!

Piper quickly found a spot in the camper to relax.  The boys wanted to check out our spot.  We were right next to the reservoir, and had Big Cottonwood trees for hammocks.  Pretty sunset, then we saw the full moon, which was amazing!

The boys playing in the hammocks.  They wanted a fire of course before going to bed.

Hudson getting one more snack before bed (microwave popcorn).  Carter showing Piper a secret hiding place under the table.  The cool full moon behind the camper.

The next morning we cooked pancakes and bacon.  We tried out our new griddle top, which worked great!  Carter enjoying his breakfast, snuggled up in his blanket he bought in Mexico.  Hudson found a rubber ducky on the sidewalk w/ a string on it, so he took it for a walk.

We then went over to the beach.  There was a tight rope the boys had to try, then played in the sand.  We were the only ones on the beach and only a few boats in the water, which was nice!  General Conference was starting by then, so I pulled it up on my phone and listened that way.

We took the kayaks out for a ride.  Piper even came for a ride w/ me.  Then I dropped her off and took Hudson for a ride.  There were Seagulls everywhere!

Carter having fun in the sand.  Nyles and I went out for a ride as well.

We then cleaned up and went and had lunch.  The State Park has a 3D archery course you could go on (free), so we went and borrowed some bows/arrows and gave it a try.  It was a lot of fun!

Practicing w/ the bows.

Hudson was done after a bit, so Steve took him to the car, while Nyles, Carter and I continued on.  

We had fun shooting and even got some!

Hudson was ready for a nap by this time, so we drove a couple miles to Duchesne.  Thankfully he fell asleep shortly after getting on the road.  We got gas while in "town" then drove back to the campground.  We then got our fishing poles and went over to a dock to catch fish.  Hudson slept for a little while longer, so I stayed in the car w/ him while Steve went over w/ Nyles and Carter.  After he woke up we joined them.  Unfortunately we didn't get any bites, but we still had fun.

Trying to catch a fish.

Pretty flowers and evening view.

Playing in the hammock while getting dinner done, then we went for a little hike on a nearby hill.

The boys wanted to throw rocks in the water of course.

Then we had another fire before bed.

The winds picked up Sunday morning around 4am, along w/ rain.  It woke Steve and I up, but the boys slept through it, and thankfully we all stayed warm and dry in our camper.  We also had packed up almost everything the night before, so after waking up we grabbed some snacks to take w/ us in the car and headed out.  We stopped at the cabin to try and borrow a Dutch oven, but the spare key was gone.  We then stopped a little further at the Visitor's Center at Strawberry Reservoir and walked over to the trap and egg harvesting facility to see the Kokanee Salmon run.

Kokanee Salmon in pink!  Beautiful colors at the cabin.  At the Visitor's Center.

So pretty!  We drove home through Provo Canyon and enjoyed more beautiful fall colors.

So pretty!

We listened to General Conference in the car coming home.  We made it home by 11am, then continued to watch it on TV.  Hudson then took a nap after lunch.  We made Perler Beads during the last session of General Conference and put magnets on the back of them so we can take them on our cruise coming up next month.

Carter w/ his Donald Duck he made, Hudson w/ his Goofy, and my Minnie and Mickey.

Sunday night we had our family dinner over at LuDean/Diane's.  Steve made his yummy smoked "over the top" chili again and I made my mom's cornbread.  Both were pretty well eaten up.

We sang Happy Birthday to Dave, Diane and Stacie (Hudson helped).  

Silly faces!

We're so grateful for a living prophet to lead us and guide us.  We're thankful for the messages that were shared w/ us and for the Holy Ghost to testify to us of their truthfulness.

A couple great quotes from General Conference.