Monday Moments- again-

Ready, set Go! The leaves in the front yard are very crunchy and fun to run through!

Chad worked on a few things on the car tonight and used his headlamp. It IS the coveted accessory at our house. Ella built a fort in the garage- and later helped Chad with his hair cut-

Chad and Ella got sick at the end of last week with a stomach bug. They both recovered quickly, and Thomas and I avoided it- so the weekend was not a total bust. We enjoyed a chili feed and hayride Saturday night at the home of a family from church. It was a beautiful evening, and great time with familiar faces! We came home smelling like camp fire. Chad had unbelievable onion breath and burps from the chili he ate, and Ella was itching all the way home, from playing in the "hay field"(a bale of straw that had been broken for the kids to play in).

We decided to go for a hike Sunday afternoon, after the kids had their naps. We headed out around 3:30 for, what we thought, was a 2 mile climb to a lake. We never reached the lake, and climbed UP a LONG time. It HAD to have been more than 2 miles. We finally gave up and headed back down. Despite the disappointment of never reaching our destination, Thomas' periodic LOUD complaints of being in the backpack and aching backs and hips- it was a beautiful hike. Part of the hike took us along the rock fields at the base of huge rocky peaks. We crossed a stream several times, and walked through a variety of scenery- all with amazing views. We got home around 7:00. I fed the kids and got them to bed. Chad made a trip to McD's for us, and when he got home we ate fast-food and watched a movie. It was a nice evening.

The kids are getting heavy in the backpacks. I don't know that we will be hiking with them on our backs next year!

A fun week lies ahead, with lots of Halloween/Harvest events available in our little community- maybe amidst all the activity, I will be able to post an update more than once this week-