Girls weekend with Halle

 

Halle and I had a fun girls weekend at home together.  Kev took Parker to his mountain bike race in Moab. Addy and Hayden went to their grandparents for a sleepover.  Halle is the middle child and needed this time with just me. 

We went and got dinner at Kneaders.  We both got their turkey, bacon, and avocado sandwich.  I was happy to have a bowl of soup too.

We went home and enjoyed reading in the backyard until it got too dark.  This is my favorite place to hang out! I got the fire pit for Mother's Day and have been putting it to good use. We went inside and watched a chick flik after.  I realized later on that it was National Daughters Day.  I'm glad that I got to celebrate the day with Halle!

My favorite season

 

I was feeling really overwhelmed during the month of September.  I won't go into many details but I needed some time to myself. I had one night during the week where I didn't have any responsibilities.  I spontaneously decided to drive up AF canyon to see the leaves.  I knew that they were at their peak and I didn't want to miss it.  The combination of driving in the car, listening to music, and enjoying the leaves was just what I needed! I even stopped at Cascade Springs and walked around the trail.  Then I drove the rest of the loop and came out in Provo Canyon. By the time I got back I was refreshed and ready to face life again. 

Jan's 40th birthday!

 Jannie turned 40 years old on Friday September 18th!  We got together to celebrate on Saturday. Lis turned forty in January, Danielle in early September, and I will also turn forty in a few weeks. 

It sometimes feels like we are all still in our 20's. Lis brought her tripod so we could have a photo shoot 

We laughed a lot and had a great time taking pictures together.  We make 40 look good!

I made Jan a poster with forty pictures of my favorite memories together.  I had a lot of fun making it and reminiscing at the same time. Jan and I met when we were ten years old and have been friends for 30 years now! 

We all enjoyed the delicious food at Olive Garden and had fun catching up.  We hadn't gotten together in months because we were social distancing. It has been a rough year for Jan.  I wanted to help cheer her up.  They brought out this chocolate lasagna for her birthday dessert.  We divided it up and it was really good. This fun night out together was just what I needed.  These awesome women are my fountain of youth!

Snowbasin race

 

Parker missed his first mountain biking race in August.  He was sick and we thought he might have Covid-19.  The test results came back negative. He still had no energy and was sad to miss the race.  His second race was at Snowbasin Resort on September 12th. The rules are different this year due to the pandemic.  Only one family member was allowed to be at each race.  I was happy to take Parker to this one. 

They wear masks while they wait in the staging area for the race to start.  Once they get going they can lower their mask to breathe better. I hung out to get some pictures of Parker on his first lap.

He made good time and finished his first lap strong.  He also grabbed a water bottle as he went by. 

I hiked to a different spot for the second lap.  This was my view as I sat on a rock waiting for him to ride by. 

I wanted to be down low for a different perspective. I got dusted by many bikers as I waited.

Parker finished the race strong and even improved his time from this same course a year ago.

I'm glad I got to spend the day with Parker.  I can't believe how much he has grown in the last year! He has grown almost six inches and is taller than me now. 

Labor day

 

Mckenna came home to visit on the Thursday before Labor day weekend!  We were so happy to have her home.  It had been 12 days since we had last seen her. She even brought us delicious Aggie ice cream. 

The next day we went up to the cabin for a couple of days.  Kevs parents were up there too.  We were happy that the Calderwood cousins could also come.  They had lots of fun cruising around in the Gator. Tucker was behind the wheel in this picture.  He turns 15 in just a couple of weeks and will get his learners permit!

Halle and Aubrey both happened to be wearing black shirts and light colored jeans. They had fun riding the horses and even braided their hair. 

Addy enjoyed taking Duchess around the pasture.  She enjoys riding around on her own now. 

Hayden had fun making projects out of wood. Grandpa Ken was helping him.  He is also sitting on the wooden bench that Hayden made last time we were there. 

The next day Aubrey decided to call her Dad on the phone in the barn.  She had never used a phone like that before and thought it was the best.  She asked him to bring up some caffeine when he came up that day. He brought up some Mountain Dew for everyone. 

Later that day it was hot and we decided to drive over to the river.  The kids had fun playing with this dog that was there.  They loved that he would go fetch the sticks that they threw in the river.  It was the nicest dog and never even barked.  It almost made me want to get a dog!

                                                   We all enjoyed cooling off in the river. 

               I slipped and ended up falling in.  Halle also slipped and took me down with her. 

On Labor day we drove up to Park City. The leaves were beautiful as we drove up Parley's Canyon.

The weather was great.  We had to wait in a long line to get tickets for the Alpine Slide. Addy hopped into this old mining cart while we waited.  

I took this picture of Kev and the kids at the bottom of the resort.  You can see some of the leaves starting to change on the mountain. 

          Kev went first on the slide so he could take some videos and pictures of the rest of us. 

    Addy loved riding the slide.  It had been years since we last went and she didn't remember it.

We went to the main street to get treats from our favorite candy store.  It's nice because they even have sugar free treats for Hayden. 

                             I thought it was funny to see Hayden putting a mask on the bear. 

It was a fun and eventful weekend for our family.  We were glad that Kenna was able to come home and be with us too!