Cornbelly's

About a week & a half ago, we took the kiddos to Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point for the evening. They have a corn maze, pumpkin patch & other fun fall activities to do. The kiddos had fun playing on a tractor...


And doing rubber duck races where you pump water into a little canal & try to get your duck to the finish line the quickest...


We also decided to try our hand at the corn maze. Well, we decided to try our hand at Phase One (the easy side) of the cornmaze...

When we were lost somewhere deep in the maze, we actually ran into some familiar faces! We saw our good friends, the Bangerters, from our old neighborhood. We absolutely love everything about this family! Connor & Mason were born on the exact same day, and Aiden & Hunter are only about a month apart in age. Our kids have always been great friends since the day they met, and even though we haven't seen them much since we moved, we all pick up right where we left off, just like we had seen each other the day before! Here are all the boys (3 of ours & 3 of theirs) at the end of the cornmaze...

And, we all decided that their son, Mason, must have psychic abilities because as their family was driving to Cornbelly's, Mason said, "I wonder if Connor will be there tonight." His mom told him that he most likely wouldn't, but low & behold, we ran into each other. Pretty crazy!

It was a fun night & we loved being able to spend some time with our good friends! Oh, and I promise that Vivvie was there too. She just didn't make it into any of the pictures for some reason. Sorry baby girl! --Lindsay

A Birthday Surprise

My birthday was a few weeks ago. It fell on a Sunday this year. I really don't like when birthdays fall on Sundays. It's kind of a bummer. I mean...when asked the question, "What did you do for your birthday?" It's not very exciting to answer, "Oh, I went to church & just hung out." The only answer less fun than this is, "Oh, I went to church, and then I went to work." Talk about lame! But, this was the case for me this year.

After my 5:00 show was over, I heated up my frozen Marie Callenders dinner (I like to say that she's my personal chef on the weekends. It's become tradition for all my co-workers to ask me what Marie made me for dinner that night because I always bring Marie Callender meals for dinner). As I sat down at my desk to eat it, I was kind of feeling bad for myself. Not only was my birthday on Sunday, and not only was I at work, but I was eating a frozen dinner too! Awe-some! Then, suddenly, I saw a shadow down the hallway. It was my family there to surprise me! Mike, the kids, my parents, and Kristin & Dan all came to the station to surprise me! They brought cake and ice cream with them too! They did something similar last year, so I totally wasn't expecting them to do it again. I love them!


Here's my Dad & Dan lighting all the candles. I'm really surprised we didn't set off the fire alarm...


Yay! Got them all out. You know what that means? NO MORE CHILDREN!

They totally made my day! I loved it!!! They turned a totally lame birthday into a really fun one. Love, love, love all of them! --Lindsay

Flag Football

This fall, I gave the boys the choice of playing either soccer or flag football. Both of them picked flag football. I think they wanted to try something different, plus neither of them are huge soccer players...much to Mike's dismay (he played in high school, if you didn't know). They both had a good time, but Connor really liked playing. He had several good runs throughout the season...


But, we discovered he was actually an awesome lineman, both on offense and defense. You'd never know it to look at his size, but he can block like nobody's business. I was seriously impressed. Not many kids got past him the entire season. And, when it came to defense, Connor had a nice little spin move that got him through the offensive line a lot & he got a couple of great sacks through the season as well...


He really enjoyed it, learned a lot & got better throughout the season...

Here he is with his team & coaches...

Aiden also enjoyed playing flag football, although the kindergartners didn't get the rules quite as well as the kids in Connor's league, but it made it amusing to watch...

Aiden had a great time "tackling people" (a.k.a pulling their flags). In fact, he loved it so much that he would often pull the flags of random players that had nothing to do with the play at hand. Silly kid. But, in all seriousness, he had some good plays as well. Here he is about to get a sack...

And here he is with his team...

For some reason, Aiden was put on a team with kids that went to a different school, so we didn't know anyone on his team. I hate when that happens. But, he had fun anyway & Aiden learned a lot. Here's Aiden with his coach...

Good times were had by all...

Now, it's on to wrestling again! Connor is really excited to start wrestling again. He says it's his favorite sport. Aiden is going to try it for his first time this year. I figure they're both naturals because they "practice" on each other all the time! --Lindsay

Our Trip to St. George

A few weeks ago, we took a little trip down to St. George for a long weekend. It was supposed to be our annual trip to Moab with my family, but a storm moved through the state just a few days before we were supposed to go. The temperatures in Moab were going to be too cold to do anything, so we decided to go to St. George instead. Temperatures down there were supposed to be in the 60s & 70s, which sounded delightful considering it was snowing at our house the day before. Luckily, we were able to find a vacation condo that was still available for that weekend & we headed down. The condo was in a place called the Las Palmas Condo Complex which, I believe, is an entire complex of just vacation condos. It was really nice! Take a look for yourself. Here’s the kitchen…


And the living room…

The view of the pool and play area from the deck…

Kristin & Dan’s room (it was their turn to get the nice room this vacation)…

And, here’s their bathroom. Whoa! Lucky ducks...

Here's my Mom & Dad's room...

And, here's our room. We originally thought that this room would be good for us since it had the twin bed as well. We thought Cohen might have wanted to sleep in that bed to be close to us. Not so! He crashed on the living room floor with his two big bros the entire weekend. I shouldn't be surprised. The boys have "sleepovers" with each other almost every weekend at home. They all pull out sleeping bags and sleep in the family room and think it's the greatest thing ever. Also, we thought that this room, like the others, had a queen bed. Not so either. It was a full. Now, don't get me wrong, Mike & I like to cuddle. But, it's nice to have the option to stop cuddling at some point too. We didn't have the option. We felt like sardines in that bed. Haha!

But, overall, the condo was extremely nice! We all had our own bathrooms which was fabulous & it was nice to have so much room to move around in, as compared to a cramped up hotel room. And, once we divided up the price, it was way cheaper than a hotel too! Definitely the way to stay if you've got a bigger group, we've decided.

Once we got settled, the guys took off to go golfing...

While they golfed, the girls took the kiddos down to see the pool and play on the playset. Okay, so Viv didn't do much playing...

But, the boys did...

When the guys got back from golfing, they took the kids for the evening while the girls went shopping at the outlet mall! We had so much fun! I got some cute new outfits & even found some jeans that didn't break the bank! This is a big deal because I can NEVER find jeans to fit me. No one makes them in a small enough size except the really pricey designers. I have been known to spend $200 on a pair of jeans because I was so happy to finally find a pair of jeans that didn't fall off of me. Well, the jeans I found were...wait for it...$40!!! And, they fit me great! I thought I had died and gone to heaven. So happy!!!

While we were having our girls night out, the guys took the boys on the Temple Quarry Hike...

It's the trail that the pioneers took to get the stone for the St. George temple back in the 1800s. It was a short hike & they had a fun time climbing onto and into everything and anything they could find. Like this hollow rock...

They also squeezed themselves in between boulders...

And, they got in some "deep thinking" as well apparently...

After that, they took the kids back to the condo and ordered pizza and watched some movies. While they did that, the girls continued to shop to our hearts' content and then went to Chili's for a late dinner. It was so much fun!

The next day, the boys took off early to go mountain biking. They did a ride called the Bearclaw Poppy. Pretty appropriate considering all the kids call my Dad "Poppy." They all really enjoyed this ride & said they'd like to do it again sometime...

Here's Poppy by his very own sign...

When they got back, we all headed up Snow Canyon to do some hiking. It was so pretty! I loved how cool all the mountains were. Many of them were red rock on the bottom with this cool black rock on the top. It seriously was one of the coolest things I've ever seen...

We found a short little hike that had a great view of the entire canyon at the end...

We saw some really cool rocks along the way. Like these ones that looked like they had been scraped by Mother Nature over the years. They had the coolest patterns in them...

Here's the view of Snow Canyon that we got at the end of our hike. Isn't it gorgeous?

Love my boys. Apparently, Connor is really into doing the "thinker pose" lately or something...

We even found some little mini-arches along the hike...

Here's our little family. Don't you love my hair? No, I don't have a new hairstyle. The wind was just blowing so hard through the canyon that it slicked my hair right back. I look like I've got a mullet or something. Haha...

Another cool thing we saw on this hike were these "warty rocks." That's at least what we called them. They were rocks that had little pebbles embedded within them. Apparently, the red rock erodes a lot faster than the little pebble things because the red rock is made from a softer sediment than the pebbles. The result is rocks that look like they have warts growing out of them. We thought they were awesome looking...

After that, we got back in the car and drove down the canyon a few miles to go to another hike. It was called the Pioneer Names Trail. The reason it's called that is because a bunch of pioneers who were coming through the canyon decided to write their names on the cliff. They used grease from the wagon wheel axles & their names are still there today. Vivvie fell asleep in the car on the way to this hike, so I stayed with her & let her sleep while everyone else went. They said it was pretty cool. Would you call this pioneer graffiti?

On this trail, I guess there was a part that was right by a steep drop off. So, what does Mike decide to do? He decides to hold our three-year-old up in the air right beside the cliff & tells someone to take a picture. Brilliant! It's a good thing I wasn't there...

After that, we drove to another short hike that led to some sand dunes. The boys loved this little hike and, as you can see, had a blast once they reached the dunes. Love this picture...

Once we had done all the hikes we wanted to do, we headed back into town & went to the St. George temple. It was so pretty! Hard to believe this beautiful building was built way back in the 1800s. It's the oldest operating temple. It was completed even before the Salt Lake temple...

We all went through the visitors center & sat on the grass enjoying the sunshine and warm temperatures. Fresh from her nap, Viv had fun playing in the grass...

And, here's our attempt at a family picture. Yay! My hair looks normal again. Wasn't sure if it would ever recover after the wind tunnel that is called Snow Canyon...

Once we were done at the temple, we headed back to the condo for some swimming, and acrobatics...

Even Cohen was into the swimming action! We were all super surprised because Cohen has not been much of a swimmer until recently. It usually takes him quite a few minutes to get up the courage to even get in the water. Then, he's usually pretty timid & stays close to the nearest adult. I didn't enroll him in swimming lessons this past summer because I was scared he'd have a meltdown when it was time for him to get in the water. But, to our surprise, he jumped right in, dunked his head in the water & started dog paddling around...

Not sure where he got his new-found confidence, but I love it! He is growing up a lot lately...

That night, we had tickets to Tuacahn (an outdoor theater) to see the play "Grease." Actually, I should rephrase that SOME OF US had tickets to Tuacahn. After the experience I had with Aiden at the last play I took him to, I wasn't about to do that again...especially not for $39 a pop tickets. So, our family was just going to stay home while everyone else went to the play. But, Mike told me that I should still go. He said that he would be happy to get some treats, rent a movie & just have a laid back night at the condo with the kids. Ahhhh...best husband EVER award! So, I ended up being able to go. Here's Dan, Kristin & I in the back seat of Mom & Dad's car on the way to Tuacahn...

It was a little chilly, but we just wrapped up under our blankets & got ready for the show...

This is the stage. Isn't it awesome! They were actually able to drive real cars in and out of the scenes. How many stages do you know of that can do that? I love the red rocks in the background too...

It was a really cute play! They did a great job & we all had a lot of fun at it!

The next morning, the boys went on another ride. This time they did the Zen trail. I don't know much about what they did on these rides since I wasn't there, but it looks like they had a lot of fun...

Dan in a bit of a tight squeeze...

Self portrait time...

When they got back, we piled in the car and headed toward Zion National Park. On the way there, we stopped at this little ghost town named Grafton. It was a town that was settled by pioneers back in the 1860s. Most of the people died that first winterthey were there, either from disease or from Indian attacks. After that, Brigham Young ordered that all settlers needed to live in towns of at least 150 men, so the survivors moved to a town that was a few miles away. Several years later, when the threat of attacks had subsided, the people moved back to Grafton. But, they endured droughts, floods, etc. throughout the years & the last resident finally left Grafton in the early-1900s. Several of the original buildings are still there. And, in fact, the movie "Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid" was filmed here back in 1969. Here's the church (that was also used as the school) & one of the original houses...

Many of the homes that remain are made from clay bricks, but there are a few that were made from wood. This is one of them...

We were able to walk inside it. Wow! Pretty sure I couldn't survive one winter in this house. Can you imagine how drafty it must have been?

Aiden found a cute little tree swing to play on...

Here's another house that we were able to walk inside...

It was much nicer than the wooden house, but I still don't think I could have survived...

Oops! Apparently, it was time for a potty break! Who's kid is that? Sigh...

After that, we drove over to the little cemetary. Most these graves are for the people that died during the winter of 1966. They had a plaque talking about all the people who had died that winter. It was so sad to see how many children died. Some families lost 2, 3, even 4 family members in just a matter of a few weeks. I can't even imagine how horrible that would be...

After our tour of Grafton, we headed into Zion National Park. We wanted to do some hiking. So, what hike did we pick? Oh, just the most strenuous hike in the entire park...Angels Landing. It's called Angels Landing because back in the early 1900s, a minister came through the canyon & made the comment that it was so steep that only the angels could land on top of it. Well, since then, a trail was made to the top. It is not a hike for the faint of heart. It's 5.1 mile hike that gets so steep & has such dangerous drop-offs at times that you have to use CHAINS to get up to the very top. And, yes, we took four children on this hike. Well, my mom & I stopped with Cohen and Vivvie before we got to the really technical parts, but Connor & Aiden went all the way to the top all by themselves! Pretty darn impressive! I've done this hike several times in my life...once with my family as a teenager & then a couple other times with friends. But, it never gets old! It is such a pretty hike. Here we are at the beginning. Angels Landing is the tall cliff you see in front of us...

This is about 1/4th the way up. The only way that this trail was created was to chisel the path into the cliff's walls. You do what feels like 100 switchbacks along cliff walls to do this hike...

This sandy area below is called The Saddle. It's the part of the hike that comes at the end of all the switchbacks & right before the really steep part where you have to hold on to the chains (you can see that part in the background). My mom and I stopped here with Cohen & Vivienne while everyone else continued on with the scary part of the hike. I knew Connor & Aiden would be fine, but I didn't trust Cohen near 1000 foot drop offs, and we figured it would be impossible for someone to hold Viv in her carrier & hang onto chains at the same time. So, we just waited while everyone else went up to the top...

This picture illistrates just how crazy this part of the hike really is...

My mom has never gone past the saddle because she's so scared of heights. The dropoffs are pretty freaky, even for someone who's not scared of heights...

But, as long as you just don't look down, it's not bad at all...

Yay! Everyone made it up to the top alive...

And then sat down to enjoy the view...

Pretty impressive, wouldn't you say?

So proud of my two little mountain goats! Both of them did this hike ALL.BY.THEMSELVES! Neither of them even asked to be carried or complained about being tired once! Pretty awesome considering it was 5.1 miles...and a very strenuous 5.1 miles at that! They just love to hike. But, by looking at this picture, it appears Aiden may have been a little tired...

While everyone else was doing the last part of the hike, Cohen, Viv, Nana & I all hung out at the Saddle. Cohen played in the sand, we fed Viv a bottle & just chatted. The rest of the group was gone for an hour or so & it started to get shady in the saddle, so it got pretty chilly. We were glad we had brought Viv's winter coat to keep her warm...

Once everyone got back to the saddle, we started heading down the mountain. Cohen found a little cave on the way down...

And then his brothers joined him...

As you can probably tell by the pictures, it started to get dark on our way down the mountain. And, when the sun went down, the temperature really dropped. Mike wrapped his jacket around Viv's legs to keep them warm & she was snug as a bug in a rug...

Cohen hitched a ride on Dan's shoulders and was a happy camper...

By the time we got done, it was almost dark. I'm glad we made it down when we did because when it gets dark in Zions in gets REALLY dark. Poppy bought Connor & Aiden some little memorablia token things that said they had hiked to the top of Angels Landing. Quite an accomplishment for an 8- and 6-year-old. I'm so glad we were able to squeeze in hiking Angels Landing because it is one of my favorite hikes of all time. I highly recommend it...if you're not scared of heights.

The next day was our last day in St. George. The guys did one last bike ride on a trail called Barrel Roll...

It was another winner...

When they got back, we loaded up the cars & then went back to Zions for the day before heading home. When we got there, we first went to the IMAX theatre and watched a movie about Zion National Park & all the myths surrounding it called, "Legend of the Gods." It had some awesome scenery & it was cool to see it on the IMAX. Then, we headed into the park. The boys first wanted to throw rocks and apparently big chunks of wood into the river...

Then we decided to go on a short, easy hike called The Riverwalk. It's a paved trail that leads up to the beginning of the Narrows. The Narrows is a 15 mile hike up a river. Literally, that's what it is. You have huge rock walls on both sides of you & you hike up the middle of them...in the river 80% of the time. I did the first few miles of it with some friends when I was a teenager & I have no clue how you would do the entire thing. It's pretty crazy. Anyway, back to The Riverwalk. It is a pretty little trail...

It's awesome because you are in the middle of the desert, but because you are right by a river & the tall rock walls provide shade for a good portion of the day, it is super green & there are all sorts of wildflowers. Viv enjoyed picking the flowers. Well okay, other people enjoyed picking the flowers & then shoving them in her hand for her to hold. She didn't let go of these things the entire hike...

This was the kind of scenery we got to enjoy during the hike...

Cohen again hitched a ride for most the hike. This time, it was on Poppy's shoulders...

Every once in awhile, you would see a waterfall coming right out of a crack in a rock. Red rock is so porous that when it rains, the rain is absorbed at the top of the cliff & sinks down through the rock until it finds a crack to escape. There was moss growing everywhere. Again, something you wouldn't expect to see in the desert...

Everytime we'd see a big rock, the boys would have to climb on top of it. I wish I had just 1/10th their energy...

Once we got to the beginning of the narrows, Mike & Dan decided to go up river a little ways. Can you imagine doing this for 15 miles?

While they were gone, the boys did their favorite thing---throwing rocks into the water. I don't get what's so amusing about this, but they love it...

Viv just sat and looked cute...

And Poppy magically grew about a foot taller. Hummmm...

Cohen found a rock to climb on and be cute...

And Connor and Aiden found a rock to climb on and be crazy...

Our silly little family...

After that, we took off and started the drive home. It was such a fun little getaway! It was so nice to warm up for a few days & enjoy some time in the great outdoors! We all liked going to St. George so much that we are thinking about switching our Fall trip back and forth between Moab and St. George every other year. We'll have to see. --Lindsay