Fall Fun!

Over the past couple weeks, Jonas and I (along with others) have been experiencing all the fall fun activities that we can! I secretly think I'm just trying to make up for all the blazing hot autumns I had growing up. I never really got to experience this season because it was just an extension of the Arizona summers for me. Now I love it! I seriously think this is my new favorite season. Luckily, I have Jonas to drag along to all these activities and fortunately, he enjoys them as much as I do. I even got Jeff, Dallin, and Danny to join in on one of the activities. Our fall fun started with apple picking at Burgess Orchards with Krystle and her little crew on Monday, October 8. The boys had fun running through the tree-lined orchard to find the apples...then eat them. Needless to say, we made sure the orchard owner charged us a little extra for the apples that were in their bellies.

Prior to leaving the orchard, the owner showed the boys how they sorted the apples, how they made apple cider, and where they stored the apples. I think Jonas liked the machines more than the orchard.

Finally, we went back to Krystle's house to enjoy some caramel apples. Jonas just liked the candies that went on top of the caramel, which I didn't mind because that meant that I got to eat the rest.

The following day (Tuesday, October 9th), Jonas and I headed up to Gardner Village to hunt for the witches at Witchfest. Jonas actually enjoyed seeing all the funny witches...almost as much as I did. We finished our scavenger hunt to get a cookie at the bakery where we had lunch before we went over to Six "Hags" amusement park. This was by far Jonas's favorite part of the day. They had a large jumping pillow, bounce house, slides, corn pit, hay bale maze, and more. There weren't many kids there so Jonas was able to run around and play on whatever he wanted.

Thursday, October 11, Jonas and I drug Jeff, Dallin, and Danny up to the Heber Valley Railroad for the Pumpkin Train. We again met up with Krystle, the boys, and Jordan. I was a little concerned that Danny and Dallin would just "endure" this activity, but they admitted that they actually enjoyed it (perhaps dinner in Heber afterward helped sway their emotions). We arrived at the train station before the Tanners so we explored the Haunted Train car while we waited. Jonas was not a fan! I am not a huge fan of Halloween. I especially dislike the gory and scary aspects of the holiday. As you can imagine, haunted houses (or train cars) are not my thing. I guess Jonas takes after me in that aspect. However, all of us walked through the car. Jeff held a protesting Jonas, but by the time we finished walking through, Jonas was ready to show the car to his cousins.

The train ride was just a short 40 minutes, but all the boys had fun (again, there was a pumpkin chocolate chip cookie involved that could have swayed the older boys' opinions). The little boys especially loved the fact that there were no seatbelts. They also enjoyed watching the engine switch from the front to the back to pull us back to the train station.

Back at the train station, everyone was able to pick out a pumpkin to take home. Of course, Jonas had to pick one he could barely pick up. That's going to be a messy carving experience...for another day!

The following week, Jonas and I kept up our fall fun activities! On Tuesday (October 16), we decided to visit Jaker's Jack-O-Lanterns festival in Springville. I love this small town (inexpensive) festival...and so did Jonas! We had fun playing in the corn pits, racing through mazes, sliding down slides, going on a hay ride, picking out pumpkins and so much more. Not surprising, when I asked Jonas what was his favorite part of the festival, he replied, "I liked the tractor and the wagon (that we put the pumpkins in)."

To round out our fall fun, Jonas and I met up with Krystle, the boys, and my friend, Kristin, and her girls at Ashton Gardens for the Scarecrow Festival on Wednesday (October 17). Any excuse to go to the gardens is a good excuse; it was even better because of the fall fun theme! The kids loved walking through the gardens to see the diversity of scarecrows. Each of them found one or two they absolutely loved! Nolan was lucky enough to find a Flash scarecrow, which then became his (and by default, Jonas's) favorite. Jonas loves anything Nolan does. Luckily, Nolan handles the adulation well. We also picknicked in the park and fed the koi fish in the Monet gardens. It was an absolutely fun afternoon hanging out with people I love in a place that I love!

I think we have finally checked off all my fall bucket list items (except for maybe some fall baked goodies and jumping in a pile of lealves). It has been a fun couple weeks with my little buddy! Thankfully, he endures/enjoys all my activities.

Jeff's 45th Birthday

Today was Jeff's 45th birthday! And (much to his dismay) we started the celebrations early! For Jeff, his birthday is simply another day, but for me, it's a chance to celebrate the man that I love, the man that has sacrificed so much for his family, and the man I consider my best friend. It is one day out of the year completely dedicated to just him...and since I don't like to just celebrate him one day, we kept the celebrations running all weekend. On Saturday (October 13th), Jeff and I went on a hot air balloon ride. Now I don't really know if we can count this as a part of his birthday celebrations because he technically bought the ride for me for Mother's Day (as a part of my quest to have 40 new experiences by the time I'm 40), but I scheduled it near his birthday...so I say it works. It was so awesome!! We actually arrived early enough to help set up the balloon. It was interesting to watch how it's done...and a little scary to see that it really is just a basket, some ropes, and a big, tent-like "balloon". Still, I hopped in the very small basket and off we went!

Our pilot took us straight up to try to catch a wind current. As we reached an altitude of over 2,000 feet, we were able to see the sun rise crest the mountains before us. It was breathtaking! It was so serene to view the world from so high up. I watched as cars rushed to and fro and people busied themselves with their Saturday routines. I wondered how often our Father in Heaven looks down on us and shakes his head as we rush about without stopping to notice the blessings He has given us.

We were able to catch some current, but our pilot decided to drop us a little to see if we could find another, faster current. He did! Only the current we found hovered us right at the tree tops! I was a little nervous as we literally ran into the tops of trees, but it was honestly our favorite part of our ride. We were just high enough to skim over rooftops but low enough to holler down to the people below. I loved it! We were able to fly for an hour before landing in the middle of a residential street (you just have to go where the currents take you!). It was fun to see all the neighbors come out to take pictures. The pilot's wife took us back to our car while the pilot continued on his journey with another couple. It was such a cool experience!

On Sunday (October 14th), we celebrated his birthday with a family dinner and birthday dessert. The boys got Jeff some thoughtful, fun gifts before Gma Penny, Grumpy, Greg, and Katie came over for dinner. We enjoyed Jeff's favorite Zuppa Toscana soup before putting 9 candles (4+5=9) in some pies. Of course, there had to be some interference during the candle extinguishing part of the celebrations, but Jeff (and Jonas) eventually blew out all the candles.

The following two days leading up to Jeff's birthday were fairly normal. Monday (October 15) evening, Jeff wanted to show his parents, Greg, Katie, and Gma Thompson the huge cabin he worked on in Heber so we drove up there to tour it. Afterward, we stopped in Heber to have another impromptu birthday dinner at Chicks Cafe (a local greasy spoon that was well worth the stop). On Tuesday (16th - Jeff's actual birthday) everyone just went about their normal routine: school, work, chores, mutual, etc. Still, we all made sure Jeff knew how much we love and appreciated him. I don't know if he'll ever know the joy he has brought into my life...but I will make it my life's mission to show him (even if he hates celebrating birthdays!).