October

Alisha says: Dave set up the tent in the backyard for a few days. The kids loved playing around in it. Dave tried to sleep outside one night with Skye but they only lasted a few hours before they ended up back in the house. Haha

We are so lucky to get to have regular visits from my mom. The kids love playing with her and Dave and I get to go on some great bike rides while she babysits. We love having her around. We took the kids to a art exhibit/experience called Candytopia. All of the art pieces are made out of candy (mostly gummy bears). It felt kind of willy wonka'ish and the kids really enjoyed it because they could touch things and in each room there was a treasure chest where you would get some candy (we ended up with so much candy between the four of us).

 Jungle room

The ocean room was my favorite

This room was full of confetti and it was being blown all around the room. We were covered from head to toe and will probably still be finding it in the diaper backpack for some time.

The last room was a giant foam marshmallow pit.

Halloween

Alisha says: Halloween was one party after another for a few days. Skye had fun painting a pumpkin and then helping to carve one with Dave.

We went to two neighborhood parties in Gilbert where Skye got to ride a horse

They got to dress up at preschool and have a little parade for the parents. It was super cute seeing them all dressed up.

They had a great time trick or treating around our neighborhood. There aren't many kids so everyone seemed happy to see them and they got a ton of candy. Jade would walk up to the door and say trick or treat. It was very cute.

They were very excited to check out all their candy

Magic

Alisha says: After a few hard days with just getting back from our trip to Utah, the kids both had little colds and were a little cranky, they were out of their routines and not taking good naps. We all had been a little on edge but after dinner we were tinkering around outside. The weather was perfect, the kids were playing some around the yard as Dave and I did a few chores. The long days of summer are gone so it was getting really dark as we were getting ready to come inside but then Skye wanted to look at the stars so we all laid down on the grass. Jade came over and sat her little self right on top of me and then laid there so still, just looking up at the star, her little body pressed against mine just letting me hold her. Skye was talking quietly about making wishes, and drawing pictures in the sky with her finger. I took a few deep breaths and savored the moment, it really was magic.

Fall Break

Dave says: For fall break we headed up to Cedar City for some biking and family time. On the way up, we went through Pinetop where I got to race the Tour of the White Mountains. I hadn't done the event since I was about 16 and so it was fun to come back after all these years and do it again. The temperatures were perfect for racing and hanging out. We rented a cabin and the kids had a great time. I was 3rd in the 30 mile event and got a carved bear trophy.

From there, we continued northward and made it to Cedar City where it felt like fall. We did some of our favorite Cedar City stuff like hanging out with Alisha's family, playing with cousins, and eating good food. We also tried some new stuff like the dinosaur park in St George. We made it out for some good rides including favorites like Gooseberry Mesa, Little Creek Mesa, and Navajo Lake. At the end of the week, the cold weather moved in and we got a nice taste of that fall Cedar City wind.