Halloween 2020!

To start, I waited too long to begin costumes. It is what it is. So I was scrambling to make Mark's Lego costume and Mikayla's turtle costume. To be clear, she was not a teenage mutant ninja turtle, just the regular kind. 

The back of Mikayla's costume is the cutest part.

But we'll show her smiling as well!

Here are the tricky treaters.

Juliet was preparing for a party with Nicole or at Nicole's house so I didn't get a picture of her zebra costume. She did make a delicious snack though.

After watching Mark trick-or-treat on our street, I asked him if he wanted to trade for a different costume. We have lots of costumes in the Halloween bins and he looked like he was struggling with the Lego getup. He agreed to switch. He was much more comfortable as a race car driver! 

Ah! The candy sorting! One of my favorite parts of Halloween!

Sugar highs!

Jack went to Sycamore Lane with his friends. His costume included his bike! He rode it from house to house. That kid!

I took the little kids to Sycamore Lane but the candy is better in our neighborhood. And we bobbed for apples.

It's harder than it looks and not COVID approved. Good times!

Y-Ski

Ryan and Merril hatched a plan to tow a water skier behind a dirt bike with a wakeboard modification. Ran and Merril had been modifying a Yamaha YZ250, newly named Y-Ski. They took it out to test it. After trying it a bunch in the shallows, they decided there was no way it was going to have enough power to pull a skier. It was a fun adventure anyway. 

 

Mark's 7th Birthday

House of Jump!

This was the year of stunts! Jack pulled a double front flip. Everyone else was flipping! House of Jump had a lot of improvements since we were there last. Cool paintings on the walls and different elements to play and jump off of. 

Mark wanted a donut tower for his birthday! It was awesome because of how much I like donuts!

State Mountain Bike Race

Jack qualified to mountain bike at state! 

We have to wear our masks like good girls and boys.

Merril was sweep again, making sure kids keep moving along. He said Northern Utah kids were getting pinch flats. Jack made it through with a time of 1:21:22. He completed two laps and finished 59th in the state! All right!

 

Zucchini Contest!

The weather has cooled and the zucchini is taking off! I don't even like zucchini all that much but it grows okay so I keep planting it. After giving some away, we still needed to use up a bunch. Maxine and Juliet challenged each other to a zucchini bread competition!

Competition was fierce!

They used two completely different recipes.

The kitchen smelled A.m.A.z.I.n.G! 

We were all winners! 

 

Fall Break: Lagoon!

COVID makes going anywhere a bummer. Utah has tried to keep things open and safe. We were able to drive up to Lagoon and have some fun! Masks were required.

Unless we were sneaky or eating.

This bear!

I barely saw the older kids. They took off and found friends in the park. We spotted them on the SkyRide. 

One day we'll look back and be glad we don't have to wear masks anymore.

Because it's almost Halloween, there were lots of spooky decorations around Lagoon. This is supposed to look like our heads are in the jars but I don't know if you can tell.

We bumped into the Howards and everyone else in Southern Utah. 

Maxine and Ellen made a day of it.

Maxine and I toured Utah State University the next day. We got some famous Aggie ice cream.

Merril took the other kids to an airplane museum.

They also tried to hike into Timpanogos caves. After hiking a mile up a super steep trail, they saw that the caves were closed. Because of 'rona. Lame. 

That was the end of our Fall Break!

Tall Man

The kids saw a goofy YouTube video where a guy on another guy's shoulders goes into a car dealership and wants to buy a car and secretly films it. The car dealership owner doesn't trust the strange, tall man and it's silly. The kids were recreating it here.

 

Why Are We Sleeping Outside?

Oh, my Marky shark. He's so cute and wanted to sleep outside in October. He couldn't entice anybody into the adventure so he just slept outside by himself. He said he slept fine!

Shouldn't a parent say no when kids want to do crazy things? Oh well, what do I care? He's being independent and that's the goal around here. Raise independent kids who grow up to be good, independent adults.

Hiking for Petroglyphs

Another hike! These are so easy to stop at on the way home from dropping off Mark and Mikayla at school. I really wanted to see the petroglyphs.

Beautiful views! I can see my house. This is looking across to Grandpa's pond park.

I hiked over the lesser dam. Cool.

I hiked way up the ridge but didn't find any petroglyphs. I went about 5 miles total. I had left my water back at the car because I didn't think I'd be gone that long. I told Merril where I was and had cell service the whole time. 

 Update: I researched and talked to people and think I know where to find the petroglyphs. I went way too far. :) I'll get 'em next time.

Kolob Canyons Hike

The exit for Kolob Canyons has been closed for a year, I feel like. They have finally opened it back up and Merril wanted to hike up in there. It was a lovely place for a Fall hike! We found a hike that followed a little stream.

Maxine wanted to get a picture of a red, Fall leaf and was climbing into this scrubby Oak tree. I thought she was funny and took a picture of her struggling. She didn't appreciate my humor. :)

Then the girls pulled this goofy pose by the scrub Oak.

The boys were hopping around by the river as we walked the trail. I thought someone would get totally wet but no one did. It was just a nice hike.