Halloween 2019

It snowed in Elk Ridge the week of Halloween. And it was COLD. Not too bad in the valley though. So on Halloween day I took all the kids but Lincoln (he was at ASA) to the Springville trick-or-treat on Main Street. It was a decent temperature with the sun still up, and I think everyone had fun. Then we had to run and grab Lincoln from ASA, and hurry home to have dinner. Then we bundled everyone up in their snow suits, because it Elk Ridge there were several inches of snow on the ground still. Lincoln, being 12 and too old to trick or treat now, stayed home. Aaron and Oslo stayed with him. And I took everyone else out in the snow and cold. Ivan and Ollie went as snowboarders, Adelia went as Princess Elana, Ruby was an arctic mermaid, and Cal was a baby shark (so was Oslo). Lincoln dressed up as pre-Hogwarts Letter Harry Potter for his classes at ASA today. Elk Ridge doesn't get many trick or treaters because it's all up hill and the houses are kind of far apart. BUT the people who live there make it worth your while. Lots of them give out full size candy bars, homemade doughnuts, hot apple cider or hot chocolate. My kids were in heaven, and agreed to share with Lincoln when they got home. After trick or treating we watched ET and had wassil. It was a good Halloween. 

Oslo's first Halloween as Baby Shark

normal mermaid

arctic mermaid

Pre-Hogwarts Letter Harry Potter.

Our pumpkins

"Into the woods I go, to lose my mind and find my soul." -John Muir

In fall I feel the pull of the wide open spaces. Especially after a long pregnancy and a summer trapped inside with a newborn. Get. Me. Out. Aaron doesn't like me to take the kids hiking by myself, because he worries that if something happened to me, or one of the kids, I wouldn't be able to get us all down the mountain. I guess his point is valid. But it rubs the wrong way, especially when he is too tired or busy to want to hit the trails when he's home on the weekends. BUT, there is this little trail up Payson Canyon called The Grotto, and it is short and close to the road, and not difficult at all. And I feel confident hiking that one alone with 7 kids. (That's a funny statement isn't it? Alone WITH seven kids. Ha! Welcome to the paradox that is my life.)

And today I needed nature. For my sanity. The Grotto burned in the fire last year. And the trail has been closed all summer. But it recently opened. And you can see the burn scars, but it wasn't as ruined as I'd imagined. In fact, we must have hit it at precisely the perfect time, because it was gorgeous. The landscape was stunning, actually. And we almost had the trail entirely to ourselves (something that never happens here, there are always a million and one people). I guess I'm a bit of a Charlotte Mason-ist, but I feel like we were all happier out in the wild. I feel like the kids needed the great outdoors as much as I did. The get along better when we're on a trail. And then get along better when we get home from the trail. The exercise and fresh air is a cure for all of us.

Cal's Birthday

This adorable birthday monster is 3 today! He asked for pasta and mint chocolate chip ice cream. I threw in the traditional peach cake to commemorate the occasion of going into labor with him after spending the day canning peaches.

Cal is the comic relief in our family. He's happy, and silly, and friendly, and constantly go-go-going. He lights up the world with his cheesy grin, social laugh, and fluffy white hairs. Everybody loves Cal, and Cal loves everyone.

Happy Birthday Pal, love you to the moon.......and back!

Salt Creek Canyon Falls

Today was the most perfect Labor Day. We hiked to Salt Creek Canyon Falls, one of our favorite trails on Nebo Loop. It's a super easy and family friendly hike, with a great waterfall at the end. Last time we hiked it in spring, so it was too cold to get in the water, but today it was hot and so were we. We spent literally hours playing in the water, and it was so fun. Adelia randomly brought a hammock? So we set it up, and I was able to sit in it to feed Oslo. There were also some big logs to sit on and I did, but the kids mostly played in the pool beneath the falls. They splashed, and built rock dams, and it was so much fun. Other groups of people came and went, but none stayed long, so we pretty much had the place to ourselves. We took turns daring each other to go stand underneath the waterfall. Even I got in on that action. And we took a family selfie, and succeeded in getting all nine of us, plus the waterfall in the picture. Awesome! Here's a few (million) pictures. Enjoy!

Oslo's first hike!

Oslo's Blessing Day

We blessed Oslo today. He was an angel. Our extended family are roskstars because they made it all the way out to Elk Ridge and 8:30am church to celebrate the occasion with us.

After church we came back to the house for brunch. Really the only thing brunchy about it was that it was 10:30 in the morning. We totally had sandwiches, salads, and soda. Oh well.

And since Cal's birthday is in three days, and we didn't think everyone would drive down a second time, we celebrated his 3rd birthday with the extended family. The only dessert we were having was ice cream cones, so we put his candle in that. He wasn't too sure about it, haha! But as you can see, he was thrilled with his new Tball set from Gramma Tam and Papa Kerry. 

Lincoln's 12th Birthday

12 years old, holy smokes! Lincoln opted to spend his birthday morning with Aaron and dozens of others from our community shoveling mud out of a neighbor's basement that got hit by a mudslide earlier this week. I'm so pleased with the person Linc is growing up to be. Dependable, hardworking, and smart. He's a keeper. And he's also pretty excited that a Chinese dinner and some homemade cheesecake are in his immediate future. Haha! Those are the things he asked for for his birthday dinner.

Every year Lincoln asks for cheesecake on his birthday. And every year I attempt to make one from scratch and fail miserably and end up having to buy one instead. But not this year. This year.....victory!

This year's successful homemade Samoa cheesecake is brought to you in part by Gramma Tam's recipe and coaching, and the Instant Pot. And also, Aaron, who saved the coconut from burning, who scraped the cheesecake off of the counter without breaking it after I dropped it *smacks forehead*, and who salvaged the looks of the chocolate drizzle after I popped a large hole in the bag I was drizzling with. Ha!

This year Lincoln also got to have a friends party. He picked a few of his friends and we took them ice skating one night at the Ice Sheet in Provo. It's been crazy having a new born and then two kids' birthdays to celebrate right after, but I think....I THINK...... we've been pretty successful. Now I just have to gear up for Cal's birthday in a couple weeks, and then we are officially done with birthday season for a little small bit.

Adelia Turns 9 and the County Gold Meet

It was a whirlwind day today with lots and lots going on. But first and foremost it was Adelia's 9th birthday! She's getting so grown up I can't stand it. When reading her birthday wish list this year, I couldn't help but notice how much of a mix it was between little kid things and big kid things, and then realizing that these are the last years of little kid-dom. Call me a hormonal post-pregnancy human, but *sob*

And yet, I'm so excited to see where she's headed. She's starting ballroom dance this year, and continuing on with her choir. She loves to choreograph, direct, and star in her own homemade plays in the basement. And she can't wait to be old enough to babysit (and she'll be a dang good baby-sitter too.)

So we started off Adelia's birthday by attending Lincoln and Ivan's county swim meet. Technically, Ivan qualified for the Gold and Linc qualified for the Silver, but since they allow you to swim up a meet if you want to, we thought it would simplify things with Oslo being born, to just have both boys swim in the same meet. So Gold Meet it was. I was so worried that we would melt or sweat to death because it's been so hot lately. But wonder of wonder, miracle of miracles, it was cool, AND it poured rain. Haha! Little week old Oslo got to experience his first drenching rainstorm, and his first swim meet all in one shot. I was very grateful that we had the sport umbrella so that he could stay dry and snug as a bug in his car seat. 

Both boys swam really well. Ivan's relay team took two firsts. And Ivan won his heat in backstroke and IM. Lincoln had decent times, but it wasn't his best meet of the year. Oh well. I'm so proud of these boys. They work hard. We switched teams this year from the Springville Seals to the Payson Sea Lions because Payson is a 7 minute drive from our house and Springville is a 30 minute drive. I was trying to simplify things because of the pregnancy, but I worried that maybe it wouldn't be as good of an experience as we've had with Springville the last few years. But I shouldn't have worried. Payson was wonderful, and I like their coach, and the boys feel like they grew a lot and became better swimmers this year. So that's great. We'll probably stick with Payson from now on, because ya, the short drive is really enticing. Haha!

After the meet we came home and began birthday celebrations. Del wanted a German chocolate cake this year, and she wanted to help me make it. Cooking with kids is a huge test of my patience. It it not my favorite thing to do. BUT Del was thrilled, and the big smile on her face made it worth the effort on my part.

 Recently we've been working to improve Adelia's bedroom space and make it more efficient and homey. We painted the walls a seafoam green color and put up gold dot stickers in a cute pattern. We switched out her old bed for a loft bed to create some floor space for her. For her birthday we bought her a beanbag chair to go under her loft bed. Gramma Tam and Papa Kerry gave her some fairy lights to string up too, so that it's light enough to read under there, and so that the space feels magical. We still have a lot we want to do with her room, but we're one step closer.

She also got tickets to go see Beauty and the Beast with Aaron and I at the Scera Outdoor Theater. That will be later this month.

To end the night, celebrate Adelia, and as the Baby Week grand finale, Aaron took all the kids except for Cal and Oslo to the rodeo. There were fireworks and a funny clown, and all the usual rodeo shenanigans. They had a blast, and are already asking when the get to go to another rodeo.