Halloween Fun!

We're so glad Madi created this awesome Jack-o-lantern for our porch this year. The teeth looked great and he made our doorway festive.

My family joined us for a spooky Halloween dinner.

Emilee's eyes were scary and looked totally real!

Derek and I got the adult costume award because we were the only adults that dressed up! I was a cubs player and it's a good thing I wore my shirt because the Cubs won tonight.

The clown pinata was a real hit.  And with all the clown stories in the news, the kids enjoyed pounding it with the bat.

The candy flew out all over...

Cutest pregnant lady and cutest daddy-to-be

Grandma thought the clown head would be a fun costume. 

Everyone laughed when Grandpa actually put it on.

These unicorns got together early, curled their hair and got ready to celebrate Halloween Day at Lone Peak High School.

These three bought their costumes together and the hats topped them off!

Sara's friend, Audrey made this darling costume. Such a creative and cute idea!

Fisher Towers - Wonderful Landscape

Hiking in between 500-600 foot towers made for a pretty spectacular day! A hidden secret down in Moab, we found out about this while talking with a really nice guy at the horse ranch. It was pretty intense, but totally worth the surrounding views. I didn't think red sand/rock could get any darker than Lake Powell and St George. The deep rusty red rock here was beautiful.

 We found this ladder in the middle of the trail. It is so much steeper than this looks. I had to get over my fear and just go for it. Obviously, I watched everyone else go first.

 It's too hard to see, but there were rock climbers on these towers and they would climb all the way to the top. It kind of freaked me out just looking up at them from below and seeing their long 400-500 foot ropes dangling down waiting for them to descend.

We made it to the top and this rock was the end of the trail. 

Derek was prepared and brought us lunch. I sometimes underestimate hiking and thought we could just eat when we got back to the car. Thank goodness he had his own plan. It was magical to eat at the top and enjoy the view.

 Castle valley off in the distance - I wish a photo could do justice to what we really experienced.

Meeting up with The Anselmos

Completely independent of each other, we had both planned trips to Moab for Fall Break. Surprisingly, we had a night overlap. So we met for dinner at Pasta Jays. The food is definitely worth the money and the wait. The kids enjoyed sitting together!

And while we were at dinner, this beautiful girl's picture came up on my phone. She was going long boarding while studying for a mid-term exam. Not really sure how those two things go together....hmmmmmm.

Brooke and Dani adore playing with Uncle Derek, Madi and Sara. Brooke assured me that Derek is her favorite #1 Uncle. She likes to make sure you know where you stand.

Riding Horses in Moab

Part of our fall adventure was to go to the Hauer Ranch north of Moab and ride horses. Sara has had a dream to go horseback riding for a long time and today we were all able to join in the fun.

 Doesn't this horse look exactly like the one in Pippi Longstocking? Not sure what his name really was, but we could call him Mr. Nilsson.

 Time to jump on our horses for the big ride. Madi got to try JohnnyReb. 

 Sara was really happy to climb on and liked that her horse's name was Ginny!

We only received a few parts of instruction and then they opened the gates.

 Derek got to ride the beautiful stallion named Chivato! He fit Derek's personality perfectly!

 These horses were all geared up and ready to go for their morning ride through Castle Valley!

 It was just like being in a movie. We were on a trail most of the time and then when our guide felt that everyone was comfortable, we took the horses up a more technical trail and went up over the ridge. We even ran the horses to a gallop about 5 different times. Sara said she felt like she might fall off. I just pushed my boots into the stirrups, so I would stay in the saddle.

My horse had a personality of her own. She was a German breed and her name was Lee. A few times she would stall and hold up the group behind her, so we all called her "slowLee". I think she had been around the block a few times.

Derek's horse was the most obedient horse and he responded to everything Derek told him. You would think that he was his owner. These two seemed perfectly matched.

Okay, so I'll admit it... I secretly want to be a cowgirl. I always have. Even though my horse needed a lot of coaxing, I really liked her.

 I couldn't believe the great area we were riding through. There have been so many movies shot in this valley. Our tour guide gave us a little overview of all the different movies and where they took place. Here are a few that I remember: City Slickers, Austin Powers, lots of John Wayne movies, Thelma and Louise, Indiana Jones, The Lone Ranger, etc. 

 Back at the ranch...

I had to take a picture of my new friend. It's pretty cool how much you learn about your horse when you get to spend 2 1/2 hours riding on their backs. I kinda had bow legs as I got off and could barely walk to the car. It was a good ride!

Madi - saying one last goodbye to Jonnyreb... 

This was such a great activity and the weather couldn't have been more delightful.