Pumpkin Patch, Halloween, and Mission Call!

This fall we went back to the Pumpkin Patch in Elsinore. This is Dallen's 2nd time there, but this time was so much more fun for us all. He tromped through the vines and holes and did a pretty good job keeping up. He liked carrying a couple of the smaller pumpkins and had fun on the hay ride. It was perfect weather and a fun little trip.

For Halloween, Dallen was a dinosaur. I found his costume at a garage sale this summer and it fit perfect! The weather was so warm that he was wearing a T-shirt and shorts underneath. We went to the Church Trunk-or-Treat in the early evening, but Dallen didn't quite care for it. I carried him around for awhile and then Daddy joined us after work and tried to get him to walk around and ask for his candy. We think there were just too many funny looking people around that he didn't really want to be there and kept wandering off. We finally got him to take a piece of candy and put it in his bucket. It was cute.

After the Trunk-or-Treat Daddy got called into work for a little while so Dallen and I went to an older man's house that we often visit with on our walks and then over to the Harris', our good friends who take care of Lily for us and are like Dallen's 3rd set of grandparents and a couple more aunts and uncles. :) After driving around, we met back up with Daddy and walked around our neighborhood to trick or treat. Dallen learned how to say 'thank you' and said it at every house when he got a piece of candy. It was soooo cute! His favorite treat by far was a snack bag of Doritos. He ate the whole thing when we got home and loved it.

 

Then the big news for the night was video chatting with the entire family and finding out where Emily is going on her mission- CHILE!!! Here's the screen shot of all of our reactions. It's priceless. :) I still can't believe she decided to go and got all her papers in and got her call all in less than a month! She's soooo excited and totally didn't expect to go foreign. It's going to be awesome!

David's Buck Hunt

While I was in Denver, this is what Travis and his Dad were doing in Nevada. He got one! It was David's tag and he ended up with this nice 3x3. Sadly they didn't find it until the next day so the meat was spoiled and they could only take the antlers. And the beginning of the trip started out with a rolled ATV trailer which totalled David's and Eddie's ATV's. Such a huge loss, but thankfully neither of them were hurt. I guess nothing stops these hunters because they went on with the hunt anyway. They all ended up having a good time.

Cozy Conference Weekend at Home

For the Nevada buck hunt, I decided to take a trip home with Dallen, Sarah, Jacob and Caleb. Sarah and I loaded up in the old family van and headed out to Denver. The weekend happened to be conference weekend so we were in store for a nice relaxing weekend with the fam. It's weird when I say the fam now because the only ones at home are Claire, Audra, Charity and Joy. It definitely was different without Joe there anymore and would've loved to have had Emily and Jess come out too. And of course Jordan is missed so much as well- we all can't wait until Christmas when he comes home! Anyway, it was the first snow of the season while we were there so we cozied up next to the fire and watched conference. Lily was definitely a pampered pooch and had lots of places to snuggle.

The biggest news of the weekend was the announcement by Pres Monson that the missionary age is now changing- 18 years old for men and 19 years old for women. I immediately thought of Emily and got teary eyed thinking that she could go on a mission now. We almost missed the news because it was during Pres. Monson's opening remarks on Sat. morning! I text Emily right away and she said she was freaking out and crying. We called her after that session and she said that she really wants to go. By the next day she had decided that she wants to go next semester! She got every one's opinions about it, which we were all very supportive with the exception of Claire only because she really misses her closest big sister already and would miss her even more which she was on a mission. I think it's been hard for Claire not having her closer older siblings around- like Jordan's been gone and Joe left home recently and Emily hasn't moved back since she left etc. Anyway, Claire's happy for her, but sad to have her leave. Anyway, Emily just felt like she received her answer from Heavenly Father about this being the time she should go in many different ways over the weekend and started her papers the following week. She got all of her appointments and things done within 2 weeks of the announcement and is currently waiting for her mission call to come in the mail! Unbelievable! I'm sooo excited for her but still trying to swallow this. She could be leaving as early as Jan 1st. Can't wait to hear where they call her to. :) 

The rest of the time at home was ups and downs for Dallen and I. He came down with a cold the night we got there, poor guy, and then I got sick toward the end of the trip as well. We didn't sleep well at all and I just couldn't leave him too much or drag him around shopping either. So we shopped one afternoon with mom which was a TON of work since all Dallen wants to do is run all over the place when we shop. And then I just had to let go of the rest of the errands I wanted to do and even meeting up with my friends. Once I got over the disappointment, I really enjoyed just being at home- talking to Dad and Claire, watching the kids play etc. We all did get to go to Tucanos for Claire's 17th birthday down in Colorado Springs. Sarah and I hadn't been there yet so it was fun to see a new restaurant, but it wasn't the best evening for me as usual when we take Dallen out to eat. He's just all over the place! Dad did help a few times so I could inhale my food so that was nice. :) We got to see Gma & pa Hayman so that was good too. So even though we were sick-o's, it was still really nice to go HOME.

A much needed McDonald's break on the way back to Utah. Movies on my laptop were the lifesaver of this trip!