October

Is it the middle of December and I'm just now blogging about October? Why, yes, yes it is. I tend to get hung up on big things like birthdays and baptisms, so I put them off and put them off until I feel like I can get those posts just right. I'm going to try and get everything updated by the end of the year though!

October might be my favorite month of the year. The fall leaves, the perfect temperatures, the fun traditions. This year we enjoyed all of those things and more. Plus there was Walter to keep things adorable and even more fun than usual.

We hosted a campout for a few of the YSA in our ward. It was a blast! We spent one night up Spanish Fork canyon, enjoyed hiking, friends, beautiful fall colors, and of course the YSA. It ended up being a pretty cold night, but we survived and had a great time! 

A highlight of the trip for me was the one-on-one (well, plus Walter) time I got to spend with Lenora. She and I waited closer to the camp to greet YSA while Michael took the other kids on a long hike to the hot springs. We found this amazing red rock formation and scrambled up quite a bit of it (with Walter in the carrier!) I love this little mountain goat! 

Walter is such a good camper. He was SO good and had a blast!

Hazel got her braces off and aged at least five years in a few hours! 

Eliza introduced Walter to chickens...

There was an annular solar eclipse! TJ and Alicia came over and we cooked breakfast burritos in the driveway while watching the eclipse. It was so cool! The best part were the amazing photos Alicia took. The first one looks like an album cover. 

These other pictures capture the kids personalities so perfectly! 

We spent an afternoon at Jaker's Pumpkin patch with our Forest School friends. Walter loved the corn!

Michael's cousin Erin was in town. We haven't seen her since her wedding when Hazel and Eliza were tiny. It was so much fun to see her! 

Grandma, Grandpa, and Jamie came to visit for Orson's baptism! 

We carved pumpkins for Halloween. Conrad did his all on his own this year and was so proud of his work that he took about 50 pictures on my phone. Meanwhile, Walter sampled the guts. 

On Halloween morning, we had yogurt for breakfast. The kids decided it would be fun to make it spooky yogurt. Eliza definitely succeeded! Since then any time we have yogurt she feels the need to make creepy faces with her toppings. 

The kids normally have ideas for their costumes months in advance. But this year everyone struggled to agree on a theme. For a long time, Conrad's only request was that we shave his head "shiny bald." He wanted to be an Orq when they were considering a Lord of the Rings theme, and "Baldemort" (aka Voldemort) to fit a Harry Potter idea. Thankfully, we persuaded him not to shave his head "shiny bald." In the end, most of the kids settled on "spooky, traditional costumes." Eliza had created the perfect Eowyn costume though and decided to stick with that. For scavenging items from the dress up boxes, I think their costumes turned out pretty cool! 

Hazel's costume was so creative - a Victorian ghost. 

Walter dressed up as Harry Potter for about two minutes and went to bed before Trick-or-Treating haha!