Salt Lake City

What would a trip to Utah be without a tour of Temple Square in Salt Lake City? On October 5, we took Emma to Salt Lake to tour the conference center and Temple Square. She even got to spend 30+ minutes with Mandarin-speaking sister missionaries while the kids and I explored the visitor's center. What a trip! Dennis, as usual, took some beautiful pictures.

Devin

A couple photos of Devin over the past couple of months. First, at the Court of Honor in October he received his Tenderfoot, Second, and First Class ranks in Scouts. Below that are some pictures of him playing soccer, and Connor and I watching the game. Devin is truly an amazing soccer player, and we love to watch him. He's decided against playing basketball this winter but is holding out for spring soccer. Go Dev!

The Zoo

On September 24, I took a neighbor and her kids with my two youngest to the Hogle Zoo for the morning. We had Summer Blast passes from Jiffy Lube, so the kids got in free and we decided to spring for passes on the train and the carousel. We got there right as it opened, and there was NO ONE there. It was awesome! Thanks for coming with us Rebecca, Alisha & Luke! P.S. Baby Elephant Zuri & Baby Giraffe No Name (why no fanfare for him?) & Tiger Cubs & Prairie Dog Pups were soooooo cute.

Baby Zuri with her mom.

Trying to lift a log all by herself--won't be long till she can fling it!

The girls imitating monkeys.

No name baby giraffe

The carousel

Connor did not want me to let go of him.

The train

The playground . . . Connor the turtle

Giant spider web

Grandpa's Farm

Would a trip to America be complete without a trip to Grandpa's farm? Emma enjoyed seeing all the farm machinery, the cows and other animals, and, of course, a ride on the four wheeler.

Aspen enjoyed playing with Alicia & Jonathan's new kitten.

Cedar Breaks Take 2

Over Labor Day we decided to make a return trip to Cedar Breaks National Monument. What a fabulous trip! Emma could not believe all 7 of us were driving together in the Suburban for 3+ hours to camp in a tent together for 3 days, but we enjoyed every minute of it. She also couldn't believe we wouldn't be showering, but the smell wasn't too bad until we were packed in the Suburban driving back--whoa! What a strong campfire scent!

This may have been the cause:

Raspberry waffles with whip cream for breakfast, yum!

Devin enjoyed chopping wood for the fire.

Emma (and everyone) helped wash dishes--it was worth it to pay for a camping spot with running water, flush toilets, etc.

Connor practicing his karate moves.

Connor and Aspen met a little girl at the next campsite who they enjoyed playing with.

A stellar jay (we took this photo for Grandpa Pearson)

We once again hiked the mile to Spectra Point, which wasn't too bad, so we decided to hike the second mile to Rampart Overlook--bad idea. The second mile was all downhill, which meant the third mile was all uphill, and with 35+ additional pounds on our backs (Dennis carried Aspen & I carried Connor), we thought we were going to have to crawl out of that canyon! We made it, however, and it was beautiful (Aspen did hike that downhill second mile).

We made it!

And what could be better than a bubble bath to clean up when you return?