A Fun Fall Break

Friday morning, Cord called and said he booked us a campsite at Crystal Hot Springs and that he was heading home from work so we could go have some fun.  It was a happy surprise.  We packed our gear, loaded the tent trailer, and hit the road.  It is just a hop, skip, and a jump over to Crystal Hot Springs!  We were able to set up camp and head to the pools with plenty of daylight to spare.

The kids had a great time swimming in the warm pools.  It is really nice to have such comfortable water to play and soak in.  The girls didn't want to leave.  I finally had to bribe them with talk of a tasty dinner and making s'mores to lure them out of the waterfalls! 

I had a crazy stomach ache, so Cord got to do most of the work at the campsite.  We cooked dinner over the fire and then roasted our marshmallows.  We sang some Halloween songs and talked about what we want for Christmas!  The kids wished on the first star.  Oliver actually sat on my lap for awhile and snuggled by the fire.  Once our flames died out, we headed into the tent trailer to play some card games.  Cord bought a game called HIKE while we were in Jackson Hole this Summer.  The kids sure get a kick out of it.  I love to watch them giggle and act sneaky when they play their hands.  It is so cute.  Gage and I played Spot It.  Then we cooked our cool popcorn kit over daddy's camp stove.  When we finally got nestled into our bags, everyone was so worn out that we fell asleep in no time at all.    

Saturday morning, we had hot chocolate and apple cider.  We all snuggled together in our giant double sleeping bag.  Then, we got moving and cleaned up camp in a jiffy so we could meet up with Brighton and Camber's families at Thanksgiving point for a Harvest Festival.

It was a great little adventure.  Our kids had so much fun.  It made me realize that we don't need to do anything spectacular or go very far to have a vacation.  Kids have fun anywhere.

******

We had a great time at Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point.  There was so much to do!  The kids were in carnival heaven.  Plus, they were with their cousins...so it was extra fun.  We went on giant slides, jumped on huge bouncy pillows, played in bounce houses, climbed on the playground, went on a hayride and got pulled behind a tractor.  They rolled along in a rat race and climbed through a mouse maze.  The kids "swam" in a sea of corn.  We got lost in a corn maze.  Fireworks lit up the sky when it got dark.  The day was warm and the night was crisp and cool.  I dare say it was a perfect day for celebrating Halloween.        

It was a great day at Cornbelly's!!

******

Since I am WAY behind in posting our other Fall activities this year, I decided to just keep this post going.  :)  Here is a little glimpse of September and October from the lens of my phone camera.


On Sunday evening after General Conference, the Dennis crew headed up to North Fork for a picnic. We cooked tin foil dinners over the fire, played baseball in the field, roasted marshmallows, played hide and go seek, and climbed trees.  It was such a beautiful evening.

*********

On a beautiful Saturday afternoon we went for our annual fall hike on the Louis Peak trail.  It was a little bit more challenging that I had anticipated when I suggested the hike to the family.  They kept teasing me about my so-called "flat hike across the mountains."  We had spectacular views all around us.  Every bend or peak we crossed opened up a whole new vista to behold.  It was just beautiful.  It is always fun to chat and laugh and have some girl time out in nature.  I love our hiking tradition.

Having a little bit of fun on top of the world!

*******

During Priesthood Session of Conference, I loaded up the kids for a little hike in the mountains.  I just can't let a single day pass by without getting out and enjoying fall.  I was very impressed with the hiking abilities of my children!  They were running up the trail.  Even Ollie did a great job keeping up.  It was such a beautiful evening.

********

At the end of September, we participated in the Huntsville 10K.  I talked pretty much everyone into joining in on the race this year!  It was a rainy morning.  We certainly got drenched, but it was fun anyway.  There is just something about race day that makes me so happy.  I think it is the excitement and energy in the air.  You can almost see it!  We all had a picnic lunch in the bowery at the park afterwards.  It was Ruby's birthday, so we sang to the cute little birthday girl as well.  I hope everyone will do it again next year.

Fall has been a great season.  Luckily, the weather is holding and we have more beautiful day's ahead.