Pumpkin Patch (october)

Probably the most fun way to bring in the fall is the hunt for the perfect pumpkin. Rick and Janell opened their pumpkin patch to our kids and let each of them find their own pumpkin. I think my favorite thing in the next pictures is Jack. He's just barely in each picture...

The anticipation

The hunt...

The find...

And loading up all the goods...

Labor Day Campout (september)

This campout was so much fun! Oh, where to start? I'll just delve into the photos

Hallie. Oh, Hallie who looks like she is trying wriggle out of Grandma's arms. She just got tickled because the little cutie often refuses to smile for photos...

Jack doesn't necessarily refuse, he just often doesn't...

We have decided this would be the first of many campouts with Grandma and Grandpa Good. First, all of the spoiling that went on! Look at the goodies they are enjoying!...

Spoiling will often bring a smile to Hallie :)(she is showing off one of her treasures from Grandma)...

And I don't know if you'd call this a smile, per se, but he definitely seemed quite content to be spoiled...

 Brecken enjoying her treasures from Grandma and Grandpa...

And, of course, our little Tay Rae is always eager to put on the cheese for the camera (look at our beautiful campsite!...and of course a beautiful Taylor)...

This is a better shot of the creek nearby where we enjoyed fishing. And by "we" I mean Grandpa Rusty. But the girls got a good thrill out of watching...

Although spoiled, this little guy had a bad case of... constant full diaper. And a diaper rash to boot. So this was a common sight (poor kid)...

But aside from the smiles and the tears, the fishing and the eating, the spoiling and the fun, I wanted to show one more picture of where we camped. Great Basin National Park is one of the greatest places in the nation for star gazing. So they say. I believe, in this case, they are right. The night skies were breath-taking! The camera and the person holding the camera are not necessarily the greatest in the nation for capturing night skies, but I wanted to at least try to remember the beauty of it...

Great Basin, you were in the middle of nowhere--down a long, seemingly endless road--but you were worth it. 

Lightning Storms (august)

I want to remember the August skies. They were beautiful--cloud-filled from horizon to horizon. Not the hazy clouds that are merely there to block out light, the beautiful shaped clouds, that are glowing and ominous. At night the lightning brought them to life. This picture is pretty lame. But on this night, for over an hour, the lightning was striking literally every three seconds or less. It was amazing.

Miss Taylor Rae is Six (August)

Taylor Rae turned six years old. I love this beautiful girl so much! She is not to be matched in sweetness and her unconditional love for everyone. We actually had a wonderful day, we went to the Ogden Temple open-house, we went  out to lunch at IHOP, we spent the afternoon in This Is the Place Monument Park, and had a fun family birthday party for her at home in the evening. And I finally pulled out my camera when we did the pinata at dusk. 

Taylor, I love you!...

Hallie Turns Four (july)

With every birthday I am amazed at how quickly time is pushing forward. My little baby, Hallie is four years old! She is so sweet and so spunky. And if you want to read "spunky" as "feisty" be my guest--I often do :) I LOVE this little girl--with all of my heart. Hallie, you are so special!

Allen Family Reunion (july)

We did it. Our Tenth Annual Allen Family Reunion. At least I'm pretty sure it was our tenth :) The clan gathered, we laughed, we cried, and then we parted. With, of course, eating being thrown into the mix (and quite a bit).

Apparently I only thought to take pictures of little children, animals, and scenery. I think my biggest photo-op-lost was the fishhook in Adam's hand. He pushed it all the way through his hand (for two hours--it was crazy). I'm getting side-tracked. Back to pictures.

This is what I do have...

This rock was the popular kid hang out...

Our hike. I could either catch up with this crew...

Or hang back with the men in my life...

Hanging with the boys proved to be the better choice. I got to watch Jack run right off the boardwalk and belly flop into the marsh. He got confused when we told him to run. No pics, just a good memory :)

Along the way feeding the ducks was a big hit...

I loved our view...

I loved this one, too--for different reasons...

:) haha. I'm still chuckling. 

Down the road (less than a mile) from where we were staying we saw (much to Luke's excitement) a moose. And a deer...

Later Hallie and I went hiking alone on a remote trail. We came right upon a deer... then I remembered the moose. Yeah, we left. Pronto.

But my favorite picture of the whole trip was this baby right here...

It was taken right after we told them Santa Clause isn't real. They took it hard. Poor souls.

Haha, just kidding. They are just often naturally like this.

Oh, wonderful memories! Good times! Happy Family!

Meet Daffy (july)

My children found a baby duck (well they called it a duck-it was most likely another sort of fowl, but I let them call it what they wished). It was helpless in the middle of the lawn and nearly dead. This is Daffy...

For two days they cared for him (or her), they coaxed him to eat and drink, and they built a home for him (complete with "Portrait of a Duck" decor)...

On the third day he cheeped. He also waddled. And he ate of his own accord. Until this day he was devoid of any sign of recovery. Needless to say the girls were giddy with delight...

At the end of the third day, Gideon, the cat also met Daffy. And thus was the end of Daffy, the fowl we called a duck. 

(I do have to say, though, that I really was heart-broken for my girls. They cried and lamented a good 24 hours over Daffy. Hallie swore off ever petting Gideon again. It was a sad day.)