Pumpkin Patch

It's pumpkin patch time! 

Timing of this was tricky because it's been rather rainy here this season. I'm not complaining, we definitely need the rain. But it made for an adventurous pumpkin patch visit. Our entrance fee included the corn maze, and while I don't normally like getting lost in a corn maze, the boys were excited about it. They took off running and I just hoped I'd see them come out again. 

The girls and I took our time wandering through the patch trying to find all of the way points. The problem we were having was that the mud was so thick it kept clomping up on our shoes. So every ten steps or so we'd have to stop and get the heavy clay off as much as we could. It was an exhausting way to explore. 

When the boys appeared again they were covered in mud. Apparently they trekked their way through an irrigation track and their shoes, and Moki's paws, were just covered. At the maze exit there was a boot scraper, but it was so covered in mud from everyone using it, it wasn't much good. We did what we could before hopping back in the car to hunt for our pumpkins. 

It took a little careful hunting this year to find a great pumpkin that hadn't been eaten or mushed, but we all managed to find one worthy to bring home. 

The kids area at Rock Creek Farm has been really improved over the years. There is still the classic hay bale maze, but there were also farm animals, rolly pollies, digging tractors, a corn pit, and a large slide.

We don't often take Moki on adventures with us, but he was here this time and went crazy. He wanted to be friends with all of the petting zoo animals. They didn't want to be friends with him. He thought the rolly pollies were attacking the boys so he obviously went berserk. The boys took him down the slide, and to our surprise he actually enjoyed that. He went down four for five times and loved it. 

It was definitely a muddy adventure day, but I'll take that for some memories any day.

Utah double baptism vacay

What happens when you get invited to not one, but TWO cousin baptisms in the same weekend? Well, you drive to Utah for the weekend of course. Graham and Pippa conveniently scheduled their baptisms the same weekend so we could make it to both of their special days. First up was Graham up in North Logan.  Daxton ended up on baby Beckham patrol and was so lost! The poor kid hasn't spent enough time around babies and was terribly worried he was going to do something wrong. So naturally we made Daxton hold him the entire time. Kelton on the other hand had an innate understanding of how to play with Beckham, so between the two of them they kept him pretty happy during the baptism. 

We were able to spend the rest of the day just hanging out at the Thurston's new house. The kids ran around and played video games while Camille and I hung up her gallery wall. It was a perfect day with family. 

That night we drove down to South Jordan to be ready for Pippa's baptism the next day. We spend that morning helping the Kings get food and party stuff ready before the chaos descended.  The only picture I have from that entire day was one of McKenzie and I enjoyed our quinoa bowls. The boys were off playing and we didn't see them the entire afternoon.  Towards the end of the evening we finally caught sight of them as they helped Stockton build a castle for a school project. I've never been able to get the boys that excited about homework!

Unfortunately we were in the car bright and early to head back to Colorado. So while it was a whirlwind of a weekend it was still really nice to see everyone.

Cross Country District Championships

There was a lot of pressure going into the district middle school cross country championships. Westlake won last year and they knew they needed to run like the wind to hold off Rocky Top again this year. Kelton wanted to work on his strategy and try to go out with some of the faster boys instead of getting boxed out like he has in the past. So when we saw him off the line he was pretty near the front of the pack. 

When we saw him again about half way through he had lost some ground and was looking like he was working hard. 

He really pushed that last little stretch to edge out some competition and then collapsed at the finish line. He is not afraid to push himself to his absolute limits out there, and I couldn't be more proud. His best times from this season: 3000 m 14:06, 3200 m 14:16, 2 mi 15:05. 

It was a great season for this kid and I love having just another glimpse into his life. He was surrounded by teammates and friends every time we tried to talk with him. That's what I like to see. Even Coach Ish came out to cheer on the boys out there that afternoon. When it came time for awards the boys were a little disappointed to learn they had taken third. But that's ok, it's good to share the glory and fire up a little more enthusiasm for next season. Nice work Westlake!

HoCo

Kenzie was so excited for HoCo this year, because this year she had a date! Jack asked her to go with him and she gladly said yes. They are in the same friend group, so there it was a fun and easy night. They went up to Chautauqua for pictures and I think everyone looked absolutely fabulous. Time for all of those photos!

Kenzie and Jack looked absolutely adorable together. I'm glad that McKenzie had the chance to go with a good friend and have a fun night out.

Whetstone Climbing

We are back in the climbing gym! It feels like it's been ages since Kelton has competed, so it was fun watching how much he's grown and matured from last time. He is so much calmer and more intentional about his climbing now. Some of the routes he tackled I didn't even think looked possible, but he absolutely killed it. I am so impressed by his strength on those walls.

Keeping things light when the climbs get tough.

 

Homecoming Game

I think McKenzie has been dreaming of cheering at the homecoming games ever since she made the cheer squad. It was a perfect night and the football team dominated against Erie. Everyone loves a homecoming game win. Watching her cheer on the sidelines is so much fun. She is so happy down there with her teammates, smiling, joking, and just having a great time. 

I'm not exaggerating when I say that she is incredible down there on the sidelines. She has the perfect smiling persona and makes a beautiful cheerleader.

 They performed with Poms during the half time show and it was fun to get a sneak peak of what some of their competition choreography is going to look like. Let's go Boltz!

 

Let's run

Kelton wanted to do cross country again this year. I have no complaints, because even if he doesn't run forever, it is a great way to get in shape for soccer and just be healthy.  So we are back on the cross country courses again this season watching him kill it out there.