October!

October had some interesting ups and downs--mostly ups.  We had a caterpillar that Liz gave us that we raised from a pin dot to a jay--but we left on our trip to Bear Lake before he hatched.  I gave him to our trusty neighbors to watch while we were gone and he hatched 3 hours before we got back. boo.  All that waiting...and cleaning up poop, to miss it by 3 hours!  Lucky for us, Liz had a spare chrysalis that she gave us.  We enjoyed every second of the final stage from chrysalis to butterfly.  We sat around and watched the butterfly dry his wings on the porch before he flew off. into the sunset. 

 October also brought fall break.  We went crazy this year and took off for Southern Utah and the spectacular Mesa Verde just over the border into Colorado.

 Brent and I last went to Mesa Verde when Gavin was a baby.  We didn't do much hiking then.  This time around, we signed up for 2 different guided tours that were SO AMAZING.  They got pretty hairy--what with having to watch your kids SCALE LADDERS GOING UP STRAIGHT CLIFFS and all!!  But a truly unique experience. Here's Brent and Kesley making the climb out.

Here is what we had just climbed up...a sheer 1000 food drop just under you!

 Kesley climbing out of a pit house

Our camp inside the park.  We sure used the heck out of this thing this summer!!

 I have been to Mesa Verde several times, but I had never taken the extra hour to drive over to the 4 corners.  It is something I have always wanted to do.  Brent wasn't super stoked, but he let me have my way--as long as he could crank RUSH as we drove.  Jenna found her "happy place" by practicing some of the Yoga she had been learning at her new school!  So hilarious.

The Four Corners was everything Brent knew it would be--and I was able to check one destination off my list.  We waited our turn and snapped our pics--here we are all in different states!

Here the kids are trying to spice things up.

We continued on our way back home with a drive through Arches National Park. A did a couple quick hikes--on one of which the kids got to see their first rattle snake--and then we finished the day off by having dinner by the side of the road watching a beautiful sunset over the park.  The perfect end to our fall getaway.

The week before Halloween we got our first snow.  I was happy when it melted fast so I could enjoy my flowers a little longer.

 Halloween was warm and beautiful--the warmest on record.   Gavin was a grandma--complete with a big bum

 Kesley was an Indian girl

 Jenna was a geisha

 I was a spider web.

 
 October was great.