Seth and Spencer's Halloween costumes

If you are a Star Wars fan you would know that Seth is Luke Skywalker ... and quite a handsome one for sure. I wasn't sure I would be able to see them on Halloween ... so we asked his mom if he could model his costume, and he did it gladly. You look great Seth!

His costume wouldn't be complete without his 'light saber' ... he is all set for his preschool party and to go trick or treating!

Spencer is about the cutest " YODA" you have ever seen ... when he runs his ears wiggle ... so cute!! Of course Yoda has a light saber too!

Such a happy little boy ... it was fun to spend some time with them today!! This is truly a Halloween Family!!

Alisa and Owen came for a visit!!

Here's Alisa and Amy (holding Owen) ... what a cutie he is!! We met at Amy's for lunch and had a fun visit. Alisa is only here for a couple of days and we were so glad we got to see her and Owie!!

Owen thought it was great to just crawl around and play in Seth's room ... lots of boy toys in there, and he loved it.

Spencer had been asleep when we got there ... and he wasn't quite sure what was going on ... but he soon thought Owen was a fun 'baby' to have around.

Owen having lunch ... what a cutie he is!!

The Cycle of our Apple Tree!

Here is the apples tree in
the spring ... loaded with blossoms!!

Now it is FULL of apples (end of August) ... so many that we had to thin them numerous times ... (between what we took off and what the wind blew down, at least 200 apples were removed) ... and there are still so many that the branches had to be propped up with sticks to keep from breaking.

And this is the 'fruit' of our labors ... about 4 bushel of delicious apples!! (And are they ever sweet!! ... best tasting crop we have had)

The Last Ride of the Season!!

Saturday, October 16th, we decided to go on one last ride. It was the first one Judy has been on since her bi-pass surgery in June, so we took it easy, and had a nice ride.

We were looking for leaves, but most of them were gone already. Here we had lunch in a grove of quakies!

Gotta love Utah fall weather!!

Amy's Birthday ... and accident!!

Dave, Amy and boys stopped by on their way back from California ... and we had Amy's birthday dinner. Spencer and Grandpa were playing hide and seek ... not sure who enjoyed it more, Spencer or Grandpa!!

Amy had help blowing out her candles ...

5 days later Amy was in this accident ... and we are so grateful she survived!! I was not sure I wanted to blog this, but we truly know she was watched over that night. She was hit by a double tanker semi who wasn't paying attention in the construction on I15. If anyone would of been in the back seat, they wouldn't of made it. We know it is a blessing that she is OK. Tender mercies, for sure!

Our first day in Seattle, WA

Ryan, Alisa and Owen picked us up at Seatac airport about 11 a.m. and we went to downtown Seattle to the famous Pike Market Place. What an amazing place. Fresh fish, especially salmon is sold there as well as many fresh fruit and vegetables stands. I was so impressed with the flowers ... their size and their prices! Things grow BIG is Seattle!

They took us to lunch at a seaport restaurant (for our birthdays) ... it was yummy!! We were on the port and enjoyed seeing the ships in the harbor. (Actually it is a 'sound' ... the Puget Sound, and it is about 105 miles long. We learned a sound has more than one inlet and a harbor only has one!!)

This is the view most people get of Mt. Rainer ... and what we saw when we landed (and when we left it was the same) ... BUT, Saturday was a different view ... see the post to see the entire mountain! This picture was from our harbor cruise.

On our harbor cruise ... on the Puget Sound. It was a little cool, but still a fun ride. (This picture was taken as we left ... Owen still had his pacifier ... a few minutes after this he spit it out and it is now at the bottom of the Sound!! We weren't about to go after it!)

Mt. Rainier, Washington

Ryan and Alisa had planned for us to drive out to Mt. Rainier National Park on Saturday while we were there. When we flew in on Friday morning it was cloudy and rainy, which is the way their weather usually is, but this is what we woke up to on Sat. morning!!! People were telling us that about 80% of the tourists who come NEVER get to see what we saw! We were definitely blessed. The above picture was taken at Paradise, which is the base of the mountain. It took us about 2 hours to get to this point.

Once we got into the park we stopped and had a picture moment. Owen is very content to go hiking since he gets such a great view of things (much better than being in a stroller and just seeing peoples knees!)

We hiked on a trail to one of the falls. Lots of people had come to the mountain on this beautiful day. (In my next post I will show what we found along that trail ... and what Ryan and Alisa were very nervous about!)

One of the beautiful photo moments ... fall has started to arrive but since so many of the trees there are evergreens, we only saw color in the underbrush. There is something so calming about running water. It was so beautiful.

A surprise on the mountain!!

While hiking on Mt. Rainier we could see these 'bears' across the valley ... black bears - a mother and her 2 cubs!! They were eating and quite a healthy distance from us, so were weren't too nervous. Dennis and I turned back to get pictures of a water fall and Ryan, Alisa and Owen went on up the trail. As they were coming down they came across another group of bears, a mother and her twins that were on the other side of the trail and only about 20 yards from them (not a comfortable distance!!). Needless to say it instantly put fear in them ... as they froze and watched the mother watching them. She even made a couple of steps towards them but in a few minutes some other people came up the trail and the mother thankfully shooed her cubs back away from the trail. Alisa said she was too scared to even take a picture ... scarry for sure!! They were reminded that we were invading THEIR territory. They also saw a brown bear so there were a total of '7' seen that day!!

Another picture of this beautiful mountain trail ... and a reminder of the beauties of the world.

We all agreed it would be fun to spend a few nights here and then go hiking on the mountain. (Dennis can even be seen in the window taking the picture of all of us)

Standing in front of the Paradise Ranger Station ... we saw a deer in the trees right near here ... not too afraid even with people all around.

Meet Owen ... now 9 mos. old!

Here is Owen learning how to crawl. He can get anywhere he wants without crawling ... he moves and sits and twists and scoots ... but crawling is beginning so they will soon find him down the hall and heading for the bathroom (all babies do!!). What a cutie!

Grandpa enjoyed spending time with Owen as well. Ryan warned us when we got there that Owen usually cries when men hold him ... and not to be upset if he did that ... but Owen loved Grandpa from the first minute we got there. They got to spend quite a bit of time together and I know Grandpa loved it as well.

Just before bedtime we caught this family moment ... does that boy feel loved? DEFINITELY!! Just a sweet family. Thanks for letting us share the weekend with you.

Owen hasn't been sick much in his little life, which has been a huge blessing, but he got a little head cold when we were there and wasn't totally as happy as usual, so we were told (he seemed pretty happy to us!!) ... even tho he was a little sick we still got lots of sweet smiles and loves (he gives kisses too!).

Our Baby is '26' and has a 9 mo. old son!

Dennis and I went to Seattle, WA last weekend to visit Ryan, Alisa and Owen. We were there for Ryan's birthday and Alisa did a great job of making it a special weekend for us and a special day for Ryan. Before we went to bed Sat. night she made this cute banner ... and here is Ryan and Owen ready for bed!

Here is a very special present Alisa made for Ryan ... it is a shadow box of memories of his Rugby year at BYU. Ryan was able to play on BYU's varsity Rugby team his senior year, and it was an amazing year for the team as they were National Champions. This was the perfect way to create a memory that can be preserved for years to come! Great job Alisa!!

Here's the Birthday Boy with his loot ... Alisa also got him some 'camo' pants to get his hunting gear started. He loves the outdoors and nature. We love you Ryan ... you are a good provider and a wonderful son, husband and father. It was so fun for us to be able to spend a long weekend with you and to get to get to know little Owen.

I couldn't resist this cute pictures as well. This is the way Owen looks right after his bath ... his hair isn't quite as curly as Ry's was when he was little, but it sure looked cute. Happy Birthday Ryan!

The Birthday Dinner ...

I meant to take a picture of the dinner table before we started eating ... but forgot ... so here is one of the leftovers!! We had a yummy BBQ-ed Kabob dinner ... Chicken, onions, peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, pineapple and roasted potatoes ... There actually wasn't much left since we enjoyed it so much, but it still looked delicious and tasted even better!!

The Birthday Cake ... (Owen wasn't really sure what was going on) ... Ry had requested a cake with creame chese frosting and Alisa found a recipe for a chocolate black velvet cake ... and it was delicious!!