september 30, leaf collector

Well we decided after dinner one night that it was a good idea to go ahead and head up the mountain to catch some of the fall colors. We, of course, went up American Fork Canyon....seeing that it's our favorite.

Katy was in hog heaven because she is an avid leaf collector.  Unfortunately we went up a little later than planned so we couldn't get her any red ones, but I think overall she was a pretty happy girl. I know Will sure liked it up there

I think this kid is still trying to figure out what my camera is....I guess you have to start them young around these parts!

I know I always say it, but I think this kid is just happy when he can go ahead and be allowed out of his car seat. I cant blame him, with a view like this!

Katy is getting harder to take pictures of, even though she knows what my camera is. Usually I can snag one, especially if blankie is allowed in it!

Yup, I LOVE living in Utah.

So does Chuck. Ha...does he not look like an alien here? Well a cute cuddly one...like Alf!

Steve insisted on getting out and taking a picture at the summit....Sunday lounge shoes and all! Love you there mister!

september 24 . the witch broom

That's a good lookin witch broom you have there Katy. After sweeping the porch and putting out the halloween decorations Katy promptly grabbed the witch garb and my broom and went on a ride.

september 24 . sweet slumber!

Im sorry but there are not too many other things that will melt my heart like a couple of sleepy heads will. Will is becoming increasingly interested in what Katy is doing and insists on trying to do the same. Katy has also takin' a liking to having him sit with her in her room while she plays. It's fun to see how this brother and sister relationship is shaping up around these parts.

september 20th

I'll begin today's post with this picture of Steve and Katy. I sometimes don't know how I squeeze enough time with them out of the day (even when I have the whole day to spend with them) because I just love being around them that much! I love this picture of them because I think one of Katy's favorite places to be is right up there on Steve's shoulders, today was no exception!

So our trip was not long...but it sure was fun. Tuesday we had a lazy morning getting ready and we headed out later. Wednesday we went to Bryce Canyon and drove half of Highway 12. Thursday will be highlighted in this post, and Friday we moseyed on home.

Wednesday night we actually stayed in Escalante. What a ghost town. It was amazing to me to see how rural the highway really was. I think I kept expecting a McDonalds to pop up on the side of the road, but it never did. I guess in that way it was kind of nice, although I'm sure Katy would have appreciated that! Back to Escalante, not much going on in that town. We decided to go on a walk the previous evening, mostly to see all the abandoned houses and buildings. Actually I think the beauty in that town is what lies beyond it's borders. For instance, we would have loved to make the journey to hole in the rock. This is the place where the pioneers made there way through (now part of the Lake Powell area). They thought it would take them about 6 weeks to make it through, and it ended up taking them about 6 months (or there a bouts, sorry if my facts are not perfect). If you head down that trail, which is a dirt road, you have a whole day's adventure ahead of you. There are about a dozen hikes you could take into the slot canyons, not to mention hole in the rock it's self. So we will defiantly be going back there one day...we just couldn't justify a whole tank of gas, and didn't feel like a bumpy dirt road with the camper was a great idea. Also not on the menu this go around was Calf Creek Falls, just outside the city. We axed this idea when we learned the journey there round trip is 6 miles. We are at kind of a weird transition period with Katy because she is getting too big for the back pack carrier, but her little legs are not up for a 6 mile hike yet. So again, we'll be going back there to do that one day. I guess the bottom line is to go to Escalante for what the area has to offer, not the city.

Steve found a scenic back way that took us to Hell's Backbone Bridge. It was a fun relaxing drive for everyone. The bridge was cool, but a bit anticlimactic.....

.....Until Steve decided to get out and give me a heart attack! Look at that drop off!

So that made the drive worth it. That and all the beautiful scenery.

Katy woke up just as we were crossing the bridge and when we were on the other side wanted to get out and check things out.

Dad made things interesting for us by catching this little guy.

He was so cute, reminded me of my lizard Artie I had when I was a little kido. He was named after Saved By the Bell. Remember Slater had a lizard by that name, true story. Any how he didn't last too long, and after he passed away I learned that it's not good to handle lizards too much because the oil from our skin can clog there pores and it makes it hard for them to breathe? Does that sound crazy? Don't they breathe out of their noses? Well that is what I was told....so I hope this little guy is ok, because that is what I was thinking about later that day.

While we were on our scenic back way, we were perplexed as to where we would go next. We had everything planned up to that point. We were going to just finish up the highway and head home towards Capital Reef. While we were stopped two Rangers pulled up and stopped to take a look, they told us that we were really missing out if we didn't go back and see the part of highway 12 that we passed on our adventure. Well after that we had to go back...but first we drove up to Bolder, UT and ate at a cute little place the Burr Trail Grille. It was amazing. Steve was giving me the stink eye when we walked in because hippies were running the place, but we both had the most amazing food in a while. All organic I'm sure *wink* Steve was happy we stopped there after he opened his mouth and tasted that food. So check that place out if you are down that way.

Well during our lunch we decided that we might as well just head back and find a place to stay on the way. We could at least see what we missed, and see what we had again.

Thank you random Australian lady for taking our picture.

And thank you camera for taking a picture of me enjoying Hogsback. This was the portion of the highway that felt like we were driving right on the crest of the world.

We found this quaint little camping pad right outside of Bryce Canyon. Will seemed to enjoy it. Mostly I think he liked being out of his car seat...that was a big day of driving.

I was getting some rice cereal and baby food ready for this guy to eat...now he's really excited about being out of his car seat.

Then I just realized he was pretty happy because he had one of his favorite things above his head....

... a big ol' tree! He loves those things. Awww, my little hippie! Don't tell Steve his son is a tree hugger!

We decided to whip out my hammock. Want to hear a funny story. I purchased this beaut in Mexico back in the day before I even knew Steve. Growing up at girls camp every year they would hang up a hammock and me and my friend Ashley would just go over and hang out in the hammock for hours. Actually it probably was not that long because everyone was always fighting over that thing. Well I've had it all these years, and this is the first time I have ever used it. Still smelled like Mexico in fact!

Katy was in love. She brought out her blanket and her monkey.

There was no one there to have to fight over it with. Kept her entertained for a good hour, she could hardly get out to come and eat dinner she was having so much fun.

That or the fact that her head actually got caught in the thing. I was laughing when I took this because she was getting a little panicy at this point!

And good thing we strung up the lights so we could find our way back from that bathroom.

This was a good maiden voyage for us, we will be going back on this trip again one day when we can do some more serious hiking. What a beautiful place we live. I LOVE UTAH!

september 19 . road trippin'

We decided that since Utah totally rocks our socks we needed to get out and see more of it. I'm sure that this will become a yearly tradition, because we had such a great time! That and the fact that Steve has been advertising that he wants to go camping on his birthday every year (we were in Moab last year).

We did some research and found that Highway 12 would be a fun adventure. It's a scenic byway, but it's also classified as an "all american road". Did you know there are only 21 states that have scenic byways and even less that have all american roads? The National Scenic Byways Program recognizes highways that are outstanding examples of scenic, historic, recreational, cultural, archeological, and/or natural qualities.

We kept joking that we were driving through Radiator Springs. Katy kept asking if the real Lightning McQueen lived here!

I felt like every chance you could, you just wanted to jump out and take a picture. I felt like a Japanese tourist! But we weren't the only ones thinking they needed to snap pictures along the way. There was traffic jams at all the "hot" spots!

We made our way to Bryce Canyon around lunch time. I know that I've been here before, but it was more beautiful that I remember.

And even though Will probably wont remember, I'm sure glad he got to experience this with us.

Aren't we just a photogenic family!!!!

Mostly we just stuck to the highway, but there are so many off shoots that you could take, and any number of things that you could do along the way.

We had to get rid of the camping box a while back, but the camper has proven to be a nice addition to the family.

We ended this day in Escalante....which was like a ghost town. I was surprised that there was no real big city along the way. Just a small town here or there.

september 18

september 15

We always go to the fair to celebrate dad's birthday, and we always have a great time. Katy was particularly smitten by this little fella, because she was wearing a pink "sweater". Will pretty much slept the whole time, so he loved it too!

september 11

It's sobering to think that ever flag here represents someone who passed away during 9.11. How do you teach your child that? How do you teach your kids that there are awful people in the world willing to do awful things? They don't really get it....but I am doing my best to help them remember.

It's weird to think that I was a freshman in college that day. Now I share it with them.
I am so proud of the freedoms we enjoy in this country, we are so blessed...and I will tell them every day how lucky we are to have that!