Welcome Fall!

Erin and I took the boys up to welcome in this beautiful Fall!

The boys had a blast on this trail. They just took off and we could not keep up with them.

Brandon's diet consists of dirt, rocks and tree bark! I'm sure there is some protein in there somewhere:)

The colors are mainly in the higher elevations right now, but it is starting to come down. I am sure we will be up the canyon again to see more!

What boys do best: Throw Rocks (I'm sure Brandon's got one in his mouth somewhere:)

So the craziest thing happened on the trail. Erin and I were wactching the boys from across the way and we started hearing hard thuds all around us. We looked around and couldn't see anything, then it happened again and again and we saw rocks falling from the trees. We could NOT figure out what was going on. We decided to move because we were so nervous. Once we were away from the trail, we got a better view. SOMETHING was up in this tree above throwing rocks at us!! I am not kidding... so if you are a BigFoot believer, then I would direct you this way! H/H.

4-Wheeling and Dirt Biking
We got a little weekend get-a-way without the kids and got to go 4-wheeling and dirt biking! It was a lot of fun.

So I have no proof, but I also learned how to ride the dirt bike! It was pretty crazy though, so I think I will stick to the cushy 4-wheeler for a while.

The colors were starting to change out there as well.

David and Michael: Aren't they cute:)

National Parks Pass

This year we got a National Parks Pass, so we have lots of trips to catch up on from this summer. So far we have gone to Arches, Dead Horse Point, Canyonlands, Great Basin, Yosemite, Glacier's and Yellowstone! It has been an adventure to say the least. I will just have to catch up trip by trip.

Arches/Canyonlands/Dead Horse Point

June 2010

We packed up our car and trailer for this trip! I can't believe how much stuff it takes to go camping for a few days. We joined up with Erin and Mike and kids, Grandma, Krystle and Mike, and Suzanne and Phillip and kids. It was fun to all go together. Here are some of the Window Arches.

Since we had already come down to Arches in March, we went and saw some different things this time.

Of course we had a little rain, but actually it turned out to be quite nice, because it really cooled things off and we had no AC in our car!

Brandon sucking up all the water... He couldn't get enough:)

We had a beautiful campsite right along the Green River. It was called Goose Island Campground. We had dutch oven meals, campfires and a lot of fun.

It even had a bike trail within the campground that went along the river. Adam loved it.

All settled in the tent

We were so happy we were able to bring our bikes. We went and did a "family friendly trail" that had some slick rock in it. It was pretty crazy for being "family friendly", but we had a great time. Grandma's bike actually broke on the trail, and she had to walk it back out for a mile or so until we could get the car to it. It was awesome to bike in such amazing scenery though.

Canyonlands

I was excited to stop by Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point. As many times as I have been down to Moab, I never ventured out to these amazing sights! Pretty Incredible.

Dead Horse Point

4th of July

We started off our 4th of July really early for the Freedom Run. We got to see tons of hot air balloons though, so that was neat.

4TH OF JULY PARADE IN PROVO

Lauren and Trevor were still in town and got to enjoy the festivities with us.

These boys are too cute

After the parade, we walked through all the booths and saw this Water War thing. It was hilarious and a lot of fun. You basically shoot water balloons back and forth to each other. The kids got a kick out of it (and I think the adults did too)!

Just waiting to get wet!

COLONIAL DAYS

We have never been to Colonial Days, but it was a lot of fun. They had so many different demonstrations and activites for the kids. I was pretty impressed.

Uh oh, Adam had to have a time out! Just Kidding.

J-DAWGS

The best way to finish off an All-American Day was a stop to J-Dawgs. It is the best.

Cousins from tallest to shortest

I think the kids got a little tuckered out

FIREWORKS

We all got together at our house for fireworks and homemade ice cream. Nauni and Papa Jones were in town as well. We can see the fireworks from our house, so it was perfect.

One other night, we all got together at Erin and Mike's for Root Beer Floats and Night Games. Practically the whole neighborhood showed up and it was HILARIOUS! Just imagine adults of all ages down to toddlers just running around chasing each other and laughing and screaming. It was a hoot. I would love our neighborhood to do something like that when the kids all get a little older!

Lehi Round Up

We didn't go to all the activities this year for the Lehi Round Up, but enjoyed the Horse Parade and Rodeo.

The kids had a great time seeing all the horses and trying to gather up all the candy that was thrown!

Here was the Rodeo. It was a beautiful night. Last year, it downpoured, so we were wet and cold.

We were lucky again this year to have the motorcross team come and do tricks during the rodeo. They were amazing and of course, the main event for Adam and David:)

We had a big group. Krystle and Mike came down and joined us, Erin and Mike, Lauren and Trevor, and all the kids. It was a lot of fun, but a long day for the kids.

Fun with Cousins

Lauren and Trevor came to town during the Lehi Round Up. It was so fun to spend time with them. The trip went way too fast though and I did not get enough pictures with them all!

Nauni was also in town and we got to celebrate her birthday all together!

I just thought this picture was funny of those cute cousin boys! Something must have been pretty interesting to get that kind of attention:)

Summer of Races

This was the summer of races! David started out the year with his marathon and then did several races after that since he already had the base. He has stayed healthy and really worked hard. He seems to enjoy training for these big events almost even more than the actual races:)

Here is an overview of some of the other races.

RAGNAR: WASATCH BACK

June 2010

Erin ran the Ragnar too. She was on another team, but it was fun to see them both. Their teams actually overlapped, so they started and finished close to the same time and got to see each other at quite a few of the transitions. There were over 1000 teams which makes over 12,000 participants, so it was pretty insane!

David was the last leg, so he got to finish it up!

Here was David's team. They all got to cross the finish line together.
The teams are made up of 12 runners each running 3 legs that span 188 miles. The run starts in Logan and finishes in Park City.

We came up and surprised David at the finish. It is such a crazy race, he didn't think we would actually get to see him, but we did and it was a lot of fun.

People are crazy in this race. Some dress up, they decorate their vans, and they even create their own lingo. Everyone has a great time though. Adam made sure to get in on some of the fun with these dressed up super heros!

Here was David's Team Van. They were called "2 Fats and 10 Furious" (I won't say which category David fit into... H/H!) David actually got called a couple of weeks before the race to take someone's spot on the team. It was a ward team and luckily he was in shape enough to do it. Depsite the 2 hours of sleep he got, he had a great time.

FREEDOM RUN

July 2010

We ran the Freedom Run in Provo this year with the kids. It was an early morning but we got to run on the Parade Route which was a lot of fun. It was pretty crowded though, so not much room for a double jogging stroller to maneuver through.

BOUNTIFUL TRIATHLON

August 2010 Michael, Julie, David and I did the Bountiful Triathlon this year. This was my first time to ever do one and I really enjoyed it. I loved the diversity in training. I definitely would like to do one again. This was a beginner Triathlon so it was a 5K run, 11.3 mile bike, and 350 yd. swim.

David and I both felt strong and well trained, so it felt good. We did our training together with the kids, so taking off the 50+ pounds we were used to pushing or pulling made a big difference come race day. I loved training with David and look forward to doing it together again!

Now that all our races are over, we are trying to find the motivation to keep on going. Hopefully when winter comes, we will still keep it up.