Happy Halloween!

Here are a few pictures of the children before we went Trick-or-Treating.  Samantha had a super time, as she ran up to each door she was saying, "candy, candy, candy".  Emily loved being a cowgirl and said, "Yee-Haw" at each door.  Sarah and Kathryn were pioneers and Jacob chose to be an outlaw.  James and I pretended to be the parents of 5 children.  We all had a great time and came home with more than enough candy.   Buster the Wonder Dog even got into the action.  While the children were getting ready for bed, Buster snuck a few candy bars off the table and ate them, wrapper and all.  It's true that candy isn't good for dogs, moments later he gave it all back to them in a waterfall of chocolate.  Happy Halloween!

The End of the Road...Until Next Year Anyway...

If you are just starting to read - skip to the post entitled "Our Super Terrific Fall Trip" and see our great family vacation from the beginning.

Emily, Samantha and Carol rode in the Cox Family Rhino with Michelle, Dallin and Ruthie.  We had a great time splashing in the creek and taking pictures of the motorcycle riders.

Over all I would say our family vacation was a HUGE success!  We can't wait to go back next year!

Sarah got to ride with James, lucky girl!

Kathryn looking behind her.

Jacob having a great time. 

Kathryn getting soaked!

Jacob making a big splash!

We spent the rest of our trip riding motorcycles, playing with friends and looking at the beautiful rocks and cliffs.  Southern Utah is amazing!

Samantha giving Kathryn a hug before a ride.

Sarah wondering what the hold up is...

Muscleman Arch

These are some shots of us on Muscleman Arch. - Note that there is nothing but air under the rock we are standing on.  Cool Huh?!

Rock Climbing

Climbing rocks and hills kept Kathryn, Sarah and Jacob very busy.

Dirt

Playing in the dirt was a favorite past time for Emily and Samantha.

Top Of the World

We even made it to the 'top of the world' thanks to James' and Lance's excellent driving skills.

Our Fantastic Trip Part Two

 The next phase of our vacation included jeeping and motorcycling in Moab.  Lance and LuAnn Weaver joined us for the jeeping part - then they went on their own bicycling adventure.  James' Aunt Kim, Uncle Eric and cousin Mia dropped by for dinner on Tuesday (great to see them) and the end of the week was spent with our friends from college, Jared and Michelle Cox, with their 4 super children.   A special thanks goes to Barry and Sue Hansen for fixing Kathryn's dirt bike and delivering it to us so she would not miss out on all the fun in Moab.  We love you guys! 

We had a blast, found out that we really like climbing hills in jeeps, got really dirty, ate great food, enjoyed the company of dear friends and came home exhausted - that's how a vacation should be right?!

Dinner with Family

On Sunday evening we went to Carol's Grandfather's home and enjoyed a delicious dinner with Carol's relatives.  Grandpa Durex, Grandad Scott, Grandma Jody, Aunt Candy, Nathan, Aunt Audre and Uncle Matt and their two adorable children Michael and Natalie.  It was great to see everyone, short as our visit was...

Lots of fun visiting with family and friends.  I was so busy visiting that I only took a few pictures.  Kathryn felt so important and loved to have so many people come to celebrate her wonderful day.

Kathryn's Baptism

Finally Kathryn's big day arrived.  We feel so blessed that we were able to have so many friends and loved ones attend Kathryn's baptism.  It was a very special day for all of us.  Here are a few photos from the baptism and the open house afterward.  We are so proud of Kathryn and her decision to be baptized, she is such a good example to us in many, many ways.

The next part of our trip took us to Heber City, Utah to stay with our dear friends the Weavers.  We had a great time visiting with them.  We also got to spend time with Carol's Aunt and Grandfather who live in Midway, Ut.  We went to Salt Lake City nearly every day while we were there.  On Wed. we went to drop the RV off for some more repairs from the blow out (who knew one little exploding tire could do so much damage?).  Thursday we went to SL to take some things to the Humanitarian Aid center, go on a tour, and go to Temple Square.  James' Mom came with us as she was in town for Kathryn's baptism.  It was a great day!

Our Super Terrific Fall Trip!!!

We have been across the country and back in the past two weeks.  First we went to Northern Utah - visited friends and family, attended General Conference and as icing on the cake Kathryn was baptized while we were there.  We had a wonderful, busy time and it made us want to move there so we could be closer to so many people who mean so much to us.   On the way to Utah we followed (loosely) the trail the Mormon Handcart Pioneers used.  We stopped in Independence, MO to visit Liberty Jail.  It was amazing! 

 

We went to Adam-ondi-Ahman on Sunday and I think Sarah put it best when she said, "this is a reverent place".  It was a beautiful fall morning, fog made it especially peaceful.

For the next part of our adventure we went to Martin's Cove in Alcova, WY.  We were delayed getting there due to an unexpected stay on the side of the highway in the middle of no where Nebraska (waiting for a truck to rescue us from a flat tire), followed by a day in Cheyenne, WY at Midas Muffler ( getting a new exhaust pipe since the RV smashed it when the tire blew in the middle of no where Nebraska.  The folks that helped us get back on the road were very nice, unfortunately I did not get a picture of the ordeal - apparently it was a bit stressful...