Beauty Everywhere

The following posts will be a gazillion photos of Yellowstone.  We timed it just right.  Unseasonably warm weather in October and the park all to ourselves.  No lines, no cars, no waiting - just us.  It was stunning - I was most amazed by the color that was EVERY WHERE!  I expected fall color but there were blues, rich browns, and bright reds, oranges and yellows.  Truly, a stunning place.

Road Tripping

We decided very last minute to get out of town for fall break so we headed up to Yellowstone.  I hadn't been since 1989 when we drove our wood-panel sided station wagon all the way from Wisconsin.  This trip we rented a van, piled in too much stuff and a grandma and grandpa too and took off.  We stopped at Mesa Falls (gorgeous) to stretch our leg and made it to West Yellowstone in record time - to celebrate Grandma's birthday with dinner out at a saloon.  :)

Spooky Make-Up

We met up with our friend Kylie (who kindly came to watch Avery perform) and everyone got their make-up done complete with spiders and an obscene amount of glitter!  Fun at the festival!

Ding Dong the Witch is Dead

Avery's new ballet studio is at Gardner Village and thus, there is a huge witch festival every year in October.  Their studio was invited to perform on the main stage so there were 4 nights that we tripped over to Gardner Village to put on a show.  She is such a great performer - always smiling.  It was fun to watch her and be a part of the witch festival - what a BUSY event!

Zoo Day with the Cousins

Another gorgeous fall day!  We spent the day at the zoo with our little cousins Julia and Jayson and their mom Ellen, grandma and grandpa too!  We rode the train, carousel and finally go to see the rhinoceroses close up!  Fun, busy, goodness!

Unbelievable

September 2014 Summary

This is probably the fewest pictures I've ever taken in one month.  I'm just going to do a quick recap of the month below!

Daddy's birthday - September 8th - girls gave him a little stuffed fox as he keeps telling us that he wants a fox for a pet!

I took this quick snappy in the Reams parking lot - we had a TON of amazing skies this month!

LOVE it when I spy them together like this.

This is the view from my bed at night.  I love seeing those two lights - one for Alexandra's room and one for Avery's room - just knowing that they are in there all snuggled and warm reminds me that one day those rooms will be empty and my girls will be out in the world on their own….so for now, I enjoy the lights.

Here is what Avery wrote for a second grade writing assignment about what her daddy does for work.

JUST LOVE THIS FACE!

Okay.  So.  For our anniversary Matt and I usually have the luxury of going to Park City for two nights.  We sleep, eat and relax - it's great!  This year he (more than me) had the bright idea of trying mountain biking, something I've never done.  Well, the above is probably a very fake smile as I didn't enjoy it, I actually cursed and cried on the way down that mountain.  Up wasn't as bad as I felt a bit more in control but down on those single tracks with my rear tire wanting to go this way and that way….ugh.  It was awful - truly awful.  I was never so happy so get off a little hill.

Sweet note from Avery - what's not to love!

Last Camping Hurrah!

We spent the last weekend of "summer" up the mountain camping.  We had a HUGE double site but it was very cold out.  Almost too cold to hang out by the fire and enjoy the scenery.  We tried to make the most of it and spent one cold night.  The next day our neighbor friends the Gurley joined us for dinner and campfire fun BUT after many stories of bigfoot and unnatural things coupled with even colder weather we packed it all in around 8pm and headed home.  I won't lie, I was super happy to find myself all cleaned up and sitting on my couch in my warm comfy pajamas by 10:30 pm…drink in hand.  :)

Bike Baskets

Matt found this sweet, "used" cruiser bike for me to ride around the neighborhood.  It came with this ultra sweet basket.  I looked online and found matching baskets for everyone!  We are like the Nantucket Basket Gang!

Sleeping Beauty

Ear Piercing

We promised Alexandra that when she turned 10 she could get her ears pierced.  She was excited and nervous but determined.  When we showed up they had a 2 for 1 special so on a whim we offered the opportunity to Avery a couple of years early - she jumped at the chance!  When it came time to actually pierce there was an argument over who would go first as no one wanted to go first but Alexandra finally offered and they both left happy and probably a bit relieved too!

Before

Family hands for strength.

Whew.

Nervous…..

and DONE!