Happy Halloween!

Boy, once you have kids in school, Halloween becomes party after party after party.  It has been fun, but it's also kind of nice to have it over.  The kids are asleep and I can quietly put away all the candy except a few favorites for tomorrow.  The costumes can be put away as well and we can move on to Thanksgiving and Christmas!

 Last week we went to Wheeler Farm for some fun hay mazes, a hay ride, and picking pumpkins.  The boys had a blast.  They seriously ran and raced through this hay maze for more than 45 minutes. It was great exercise for them.

Saturday was the Ward Trunk-or-Treat and chili dinner.  It was the first outing in costume, so they were very excited and happy even though it doesn't look like it in this picture.

A few days ago we carved and painted pumpkins.

 Today was the big Halloween extravaganza!  Brian had a costume parade at school as well as a party in class.  He was so happy to see his friend dressed as a ninja as well!

I lucked out on the timing for Brian and Timmy's class activities.  I was able to drop off and pick up both kids and make it to both their activities.  It took a bit of back and forth driving between the schools, but it worked out perfectly.  Mark was also able to attend both events which made for some pretty happy boys. Timmy's preschool class put on a little program for the parents.  It was seriously cute.  He sang the songs and kept flashing these giant darling smiles at us.

After school, we went to visit Mark at work where the kids got more candy and popcorn!

We ended the day with Trick-or-Treating around our neighborhood.  It was nice weather and nice to see our neighbors.  We hope everyone else had as great a Halloween as we did!

Moab Camping Trip

We had so much fun in San Rafael two weeks ago, that we decided to get out and go camping one more time before it really gets cold.  We took Brian's Fall Break from school to go to Moab for the perfect weekend.

We originally planned on camping in the Sand Flats Recreation Area, but when we got there late Thursday afternoon, it was completely full.  So we drove to a few other campgrounds we knew of that ended up being full as well.  The next place on the list the ranger had given us, was scattered camping at Kane Creek.  After a twenty minute drive down the canyon, we finally found an open camp site that was perfect for us next to Kane Creek at the mouth of Hunter Canyon.  It is a beautiful place deep inside red rock canyon walls with lots of sand and fun places for the boys to explore.  The sun went down just after we arrived and Mark finished setting us up in the dark, and then built a nice fire to make our dinner.

The next morning Mark left first thing to go back up the road a ways with his mountain bike.  He rode the Amasa Back trail. Here's a little description from UtahMountainBiking.com, "The trail is a rocky Jeep trail with ledges and drop-offs. There are technical challenges that will stop all but the most advanced riders."  Mark enjoyed the ride and I'm glad we were camping so close to a nice mountain biking trail.  I just wish I had pictures of him riding.  While he did that, we had breakfast and spent the time exploring around the campground.

After Mark's return, we headed out in the car to do a little wheeling.  Mark suggested we "check out" the Moab Rim jeeping trail because it was on the way from our campsite.  I unwittingly said, "Okay, sound great!"  I should have inquired further.  Or I should have read the jeeping trails guidebook we had with us.  The description in that book says this of the Moab Rim trail,  "Trail wastes little time getting down to business.  The first mile scares the wits out of most people.  A long climb of tight, tippy, and extremely difficult ledges requires excellent driving skills and a very capable four-wheel drive rig."  I would have been more prepared if I would have read this before we started up the trail.  Needless to say, I had my wits scared out of me within the first 20 yards or so.

I really think I went into shock.  Now, Mark has excellent driving skills and we have a very capable four-wheel drive rig, but without another car with us, I was the only option for a spotter.  I certainly do NOT have excellent spotting skills, especially when there is room for maybe two inches of tire placement error in some spots.  In the end the pressure and shock were way too much for me and I scared the kids when I freaked out about driving along the edge of a cliff over those "tight, tippy and extremely difficult ledges." Mark and his Landcruiser would have been totally fine taking on the rest of the trail.  We probably already experienced the hardest parts, but I just didn't have the nerve to keep going.   Mark was so nice about it and agreed to turn around.  He turned around and made it back down without a single problem.  Thanks Mark for just letting me laugh it off after we arrived safely on the real road.  Laughing about how scared I was helped me recover more quickly from the shock.

 The pictures I got on the Moab Rim trail are not even of the crazy spots.  Those times I could only think about spotting Mark and keeping my stomach inside my body.  Taking pictures was not even possible at those moments.  In the end, it was a good experience and we did get some great pictures!

Following our little drive up the Moab Rim Trail, we met Mark's parents and his Grandmother in Moab for a delicious Chinese lunch.  Mark's parent's have friends in Moab and stayed in a hotel one night to visit them, spend time with us, and show Mark's Grandmother Utah's amazing red rock country.  I sadly did not get any pictures with them.  After lunch Mark's Grandmother got us into Arches National Park for free with her lifetime National Park's pass and we headed over to show the boys Delicate Arch.

We see pictures of Delicate Arch everywhere in Utah and Brian always asks about it and wants to see it in person.  So, we hiked up to view the iconic arch.  Well, we hiked and Timmy rode. It was like pulling teeth to get that kid to walk at all.

We played all kinds of games and added rocks to every cairn along the way and he still only walked about a sixth of the way up and none on the way down.

 Brian, on the other hand, hiked or ran the whole way without a single complaint.  He was so excited to see Delicate Arch!  I'm glad that now when he sees a picture of it he can say he's been there.

We couldn't leave Arches without letting the kids "ride" the statues at the Visitor Center.  After meeting Mark's parents there, we went for more Chinese food!  I've never eaten so well while camping! 

The next and last morning, we met our next door neighbors and their daughter/son-in-law for a little bit of wheeling.  This time it was on the tame, but fun Fins N Things trail we did last year.

This was the maiden voyage for both our neighbor's new/old Landcruiser and their son-in-law's jeep.  Fins N Things was perfect for their first time wheeling in Moab. 

Mark did have to hop in and drive the old Landcruiser down a few places for our neighbor because I guess it's not an easy car to drive.  After doing part of the Moab Rim trail, Fins N Things felt like it was for babies.  I was all smiles and enjoyed every minute of it.  The neighbors and their daughter and son-in-law loved it as well. They were so grateful to have Mark as their guide and the vistas were beautiful.  It was a fabulous morning.

Afterward, we took Mark's parents to see  our campsite, ate some lunch at camp and then cleaned up.  Again, the kids made a special river in the sand for Mark to pour the remaining water we had.

There are so many special things about Utah's red rock country.  The memories I have there, the variety of activities to do, the majestic beauty, the rocks to climb and the sand to play in (which I have come to love because my kids love it), all contribute to making this one of my favorite places to visit in the world.  I will always love it there and I hope the boys will too.

San Rafael Swell Camping

Last weekend we camped in the San Rafael Swell for Friday and Saturday nights.  Once again, we had an amazing camping experience!  We ended up staying in the same primitive camp site in which I stayed a few times when I was young camping with my family and cousins.  The second the boys got out of the car they were scaling the rocks and pointing out every cool thing in sight.

I followed them (mostly Timmy) around making sure he knew what he could handle in terms of free style rock climbing, while Mark single handedly set up our entire trailer and camp site.

After Mark set up the trailer the boys couldn't wait to explore a shallow cave close to our camp.

We were the only people in the canyon and we realized we could create some pretty awesome echoes that bounced off the canyon walls for minutes.

Friday was a very very cold evening.  I think it got down to about 30 degrees that night, so we came back to camp and Mark built a beautiful perfect camp fire.  I was so pleased to see Brian and Timmy roast and eat their own hot dogs.  First time making their own dinners!

Because we have a sweet awesome tent trailer, our little heater kept us warm and the boys slept the entire night without a peep.  The next morning was really cold outside of our cozy trailer though, so we watched a movie on the tablet after breakfast as we waited for that sun to finally reach down into the deep canyon.

You can see the sun almost reaching us.  By this time it had warmed up enough to do some more rock climbing and exploring.

We determined that it was finally warm enough to head out on the bikes.  I am so glad we brought the bikes.  Buckhorn Draw Road was the perfect road for excursions with the kids.

Our first stop was only about a half mile down the road to the Buckhorn Wash Rock Art Panel.  I loved seeing these pictographs and the boys were surprisingly interested in them as well!

Then we continued on a few more miles down to the San Rafael River where we ate a picnic lunch and checked out the only remaining suspension bridge in Utah.

After riding back to camp and relaxing our tired legs, we headed out on a drive to see the "Little Grand Canyon" in the Swell.

 

The kids got their naps in as Mark and I enjoyed the scenery.




Back at camp we did some playing in the sand.  Brian could play in this desert sand for hours and hours.


But, we convinced him to go on one last bike adventure in order to find a secret dinosaur footprint located close to the road off an unmarked path.  We found the footprint after a 3 1/2 mile ride, in which Mark wanted to pull both boys with the hopes that I could maybe keep up with him on my bike.  If you're wondering, I still couldn't keep his pace, but I got some good exercise while trying.

I thought the ancient footprint was fascinating and yes we put a little water in there to make it more visible.

After our adventure as pretend paleontologists, the boys couldn't even wait to get their bike helmets off before they dove into the sand play one more time before dinner and bed.

There is nothing better than a campfire with my family on a cool desert evening.  It was heaven. And the heavens were bright with stars, which was a real treat for Brian and Timmy, because they rarely get to experience a glorious starry night.

The next morning we took it nice and slow.  We relaxed around camp and I stayed with the boys for an hour while Mark got some "real" mountain biking in on his mountain bike.  Mark and his bike are built for way more than just pulling the kids on a groomed dirt road.  I'm glad he got a little bit of extreme mountain biking in before we left.  He rode up a side canyon, which I hope we can explore further the next time we are there.

 Brian and Timmy spent the morning using up all the remaining water we had making rivers, lakes and "hot cocoa" according to Timmy.  He seems to be mesmerized by that huge "pond of hot cocoa".

Mark packed us up and we enjoyed a fast drive home listening to General Conference.  It had definitely been a trip filled with happy campers.  Brian especially did not want to leave.  Thanks Mark for all the work you do to take us camping!