They're Growing Up

When I got the boys dressed for church a couple weeks ago, they suddenly looked so much older. They are growing fast! I couldn't help but take a few pictures. Camden's suit is from when my younger sister got married 2 1/2 years ago, my mother got it for Tayson then. Tayson insists on wearing a tie to church every sunday now. Unfortunately the two ties he has are a little too short for him now, so we are hoping maybe Santa Clause will bring him a new one just his size, but till then, he still insists on a tie so the short ones will have to do.

Horseback Riding and Getting Dirty

Along with making apple juice, we had the opportunity to ride horses, thanks to some friends of my Dad. The boys had a blast. You don't see me on a horse, because for some reason horses don't like me. I still gave it a try despite knowing horses don't like me from past experiences, but of course, the horse my dad told me to get on, decided she was tired of horseback riding and started freaking out as soon as I hopped on. Lets just say, I got off SHORTLY later, and then let Brady and my dad take the kids riding. I didn't feel safe holding one of my children on a horse, when I don't even know much about horseback riding anyways, so I didn't mind letting them take the kids for a ride while I took pictures instead. The boys also enjoyed other things throughout the day. They always love riding on the tractor with Papa. They played on the log pile and just had fun getting dirty. Everytime we go to the farm, they always come home looking like Camden in the last picture, if not dirtier, but they have a BLAST in the process of getting dirty.

Apple Juice

We got the opportunity to make apple juice on the farm on Saturday, Nov 3rd. The boys had a blast, as did everyone else. We do it with a family that owns a juice press. They provide the press, we provide the apples and location, and everyone provides the labor. Tayson and Russ (my dad's close friend) were the experts of tossing the apples in the grinder. Tayson thought it was so cool how it chopped the apples up so fast. From there, two other guys pack the apples into cloth using a square frame to shape it for the presser. Then a guy loads the apples (in cloth) into the juice press, which them presses all of the juice out of the apples. A little girl sat and strained the juice most of the day. The boys loved watching the juice come out, as well as being able to get a drink of it whenever they wanted. Tayson also loved carrying the gallons of juice. Camden spent most of the day watching everyone else work and eating apples. Every 10 minutes or something would happen to make him drop his apple in the dirt, but he still wanted to eat it so we would get him a new one. He probably at 10 apples that day. The grand total: 260 and 1/2 gallons of apple juice!! Needless to say it was an all day process. My mom even got in on the action this year, tossing apples into the grinder. Of course, I had to take a picture to document the moment, in case it is the only one. j/k It is such a fun tradition making apple juice, and in the end it tastes SO GOOD. At the same time it is a little sad because we know it is the end of the fruit season for another year. I feel very blessed that my children have the opportunity to participate in this, because it is something I began doing when I was almost as young as them. Family traditions are so important and help keep your family strong, and it is also so important to work together as a family. Some of the best conversations I've had with my father are while I was working beside him on the farm. I love that my kids have the opportunity to do the same. Thanks Dad!

Halloween

Our computer doesn't normally allow me to upload pictures and I have to wait until I go to my parents to do so, but today it has decided to work, so I'll post what I can. These are pictures from Halloween. I was lucky to be able to take the day off from work on Halloween. We went up to Brady's school for a halloween party with his classmates, and then I took the kids to a park near the SLC Temple to take a few pictures. When Brady was done with work we headed down to Alpine for the rest of the evening to go trick or treating and hang out with family. The bottom pictures is of the boys and my neice Peyton. The boys were each a dog and my neice was an adorable pink bunny. She was pretty good at gnawing on the carrot too. The boys had a blast and Brady was VERY patient with me while trick or treating to a lot of family and friends houses. He knew it would likely be our last halloween in Utah, and he knows how much I love taking the kids trick or treating and seeing people I haven't seen for a while. Last year he cut it short, and knowing that this year would likely be the last, he made up for it by allowing us to spend a lot more time out in the neighborhoods without complaining. Thanks Hun!