Halloween

The pumpkins we grew in our garden! We love watching our pumpkins grow. 

Carving. It is getting easier each year as the girls get older. We did still split it up over a few nights again.... cleaned out the pumpkins one night, then carved the next. It is actually nice doing it this way. 

The three older girls pretty much did theirs all on their own. Ada and Aubrey both chose pretty complicated designs. Ada spent a lot of time carving, and luckily it paid off. 

Penny's cute cat

Paige's cool face

Aubrey's hanging bat

Ada's skeleton face

And cool close ups of them all. 

Halloween Pumpkins!

The ward Trunk of Treat was cold. Luckily the rain held off just long enough for everyone to trunk or treat. Then it started pouring, which was a good excuse for the night to end and head home at a reasonable time. Missing those couple years we got to enjoy Halloween in California!

Paige and I hit the U-High Trunk or Treat. They had a horrible turnout...and so much candy they were trying to get rid of. To say Paige cleaned up would be an understatement. We will have treats all year. 

A cat, Jasmine, a Minion, and Paige switched costumes a lot this year...looks like a pony in this picture. 

Extra credit contest for orchestra. Dressing up her instrument. 

Halloween was on a Sunday this year, but we decided to still take the girls around the neighborhood. We met up with some neighbors and trick or treated until we were all worn out. Paige's friends dropped like flies and went home early, but she didn't tire out. She ran from house to house with her sisters 

And the candy sorting. 

Penny's cute class

And a few pictures from Disney on Ice. 

We snuck down close at intermission cause the place was pretty empty. It was a fun night!

All Valley Cross Country Meet

The big All Valley Meet. This event is so fun. It is like a big official race with t-shirts and certificates. It was pretty cold this evening as well. Penny was the lone 2nd grade girl to qualify from our elementary school.  

Running strong! I blogged too late to remember their places and times...I'll have to try and look them up sometime. 

And Ada's race!

With a nice sunset in the background. 

And then Aubrey's race. She led from start to....almost finish. Got passed in the homestretch right a the last 100 meters. 

Penny rounding the curve into the homestretch

Our amazing runners!

Elementary XC

We absolutely love the elementary cross country season here. We were so glad they decided to bring it back this year even with Covid still being an issue. It is so fun to see people gathering again and our girls have such a fun time running and spending time with their friends. 

Penny and Ada both did amazing and qualified for the All-Valley meet on their first race. 6th grade is a transition year for sports here, and the opportunities are a bit limited, but Aubrey got to run an intramural race at her school, as well as compete in the All-Valley race at the end of the season. 

Cute Penny at the starting line

Penny was a professional at pacing herself. She would say, "I start running slow, and then I keep running slow, and soon I just pass everyone." Which was just about true. She had a friend from her soccer team that would sprint out every time, and then completely die. 

Looking good Penny!

And Ada's race. It gets quite a bit more intense the older the girls get. Ada did amazing. She is our child that likes running the least, but she puts up with doing cross country for the social aspect with her friends. 

Ada and her friend Denny would always put their elbows out to make sure no one could knock them down at the start. 

Looking good Ada!

The girls have two meets, and then the All Valley Qualifying meet. The second meet was much colder, but the girls still did amazing. Go Penny Go!

Running in the rain!

Here goes Ada again!

Finishing Strong!

Stevens Lake

The girls had a Friday off in October, and somehow Cameron had the day off as well. We decided to try a hike near the Idaho/Montana border. It was called Stevens Lake. We set out for the adventure and it didn't disappoint. Just what we all needed! We only saw a couple people, and basically had the lake to ourselves. 

Waterfall on the way

Cool rock slide. The girls could have played here all day building Cairns. 

The first couple miles were fairly steep. 

But Paige did pretty well. We did end up putting her in the backpack when she got too whiny. 

Stevens Lake

On the way to Upper Stevens

The highlight of the trip was definitely the sap mixed with the water. None of us had ever seen anything like it. The girls would grab a stick and dip it in sap from a tree, and then put the sap on top of the water. It acted kind of like oil, swirling and moving and creating pretty rainbows. It entertained them forever. Once again, they could have stayed all day playing. 

The circles would swirl  and move. It really was pretty cool. 

Hanging at upper Stevens

We will definitely be back!

Goodbye for now! We made it home just in time for Penny to hit soccer practice, followed by dinner at friends for all of us.