Pumpkins

It's no secret that I hate Halloween.  Okay, maybe hate is a strong word, but I can say without hesitation that it is my least favorite holiday by a long shot.  Lucky for me, Ben feels the same way.  So the chances of us ever decorating and/or dressing up for Halloween again are pretty slim (don't worry--we'll still let our kids dress up and go trick-or-treating, we're not that bad).  

However, there is one Halloween tradition that I DO enjoy--and that is carving pumpkins. We had ourselves a good time of it this weekend too:

 We didn't know what to carve in our pumpkin
so we "Google'd" it.  :)

Bobbie-Jo and Jeff's awesome Ninja Turtle pumpkin

Jeff wanted to cook pumpkin seeds later-
but he had to dig through the goo to get them! 

In order of creators: Anna, Ryan, Ben & Kat, Kat, Bobbie-Jo & Jeff

 And tonight we will celebrate the holiday with a yummy fall dinner (I'm thinking soup and bread bowls), cozy up with a (non-scary) movie, do a puzzle, and hand out candy to whatever kids happen to drop by.  

Here's to another Halloween successfully celebrated without a costume.

A Love Affair with Autumn

I LOVE the FALL!  Not just because my birthday is at the end of September ;) but because it's such a beautiful time of year!  The smell in the air (there is nothing like it!), the temperatures (until November hits--then it gets too cold), the sunflowers that grow along the side of the road (so fun!), the crunch of leaves under your feet, people decorating with hay bales and cornstalks, pumpkins stacked outside the grocery store...and most importantly, the unbelievable colors we get every year!  To me this time of year is MAGICAL. As much as I hate the winter that follows, I can't imagine living anywhere that I couldn't have a season like this. 

I didn't get my camera out even close to early enough this year--but here are a few shots of some of that fall beauty I just couldn't get enough of (and probably didn't capture on camera well enough to do it justice):

This is the "backyard" of our apartments!  WOW!

This is Ben and me last year on a drive up the canyon to see the colors. 

Amazing how time flies. I'm so lucky!

How the Summer Ended-Lake Powell Fun!

I'm writing about it a month late--but we had a fabulous end of summer vacation with my family to Lake Powell.  My uncle had a houseboat and invited us to join them for some pretty fun adventures!  Here are a few highlights:

This big floating tube my aunt and uncle call the "booze cruise" :)

  

We found this gorgeous private cove to park the houseboat-with our own second little cove nearby!

Wearing life jackets this way is great for water sports! (it looks great too ;) )

Can't go to a lake without tubing, wake-boarding and water-skiing

Went on a hike, climbed really high-I stayed at the bottom and took pictures (my camera has an awesome zoom lens)

We built an awesome bonfire on the other side of the cove and watched from the boat

The boys were really into fishing, especially with a bow and arrow--they even had some success (and Bobbie-Jo DID-unintentionally of course-kiss that fish)

Ben was a little jealous--but someone had to take pictures from the boat!

And THIS--was probably one of the best parts of the trip-Ben and my brother-in-law Jeff going down the rock slide of death while the rest of watched (and made some funny commentary on the video).

 I LOVE Lake Powell and I LOVE LOVE family!  Best way to end the summer! :)