Buffalo Peak

We went on a short hike to the top of Buffalo Peak, which is on the Squaw Peak Road.  We'v done this hike before but it's been several years, and we've never done it when it was cold outside.  It was a little chilly up there, but not terrible.  What surprised us was how snowy it was - I didn't remember how much higher in elevation this spot was, and the younger kids were wearing tennis shoes.  They were not happy that we'd brought them on what they perceived as a death march, but we were pretty sure that the hike was short enough, and the temperatures warm enough, that they would sustain no permanent damage.  Thank goodness we were right.

Protest.

Jack bounded up the last part of the hike like a deer.

When we arrived at the peak, the emotions were somewhere between these two pictures:

It was cool to have such a great view of the valley, from Provo to American Fork.

We could see two complete temples and one under construction,

and trace the Provo River by looking for the trees that went from

Provo canyon to Utah Lake.

Muddy Shoes.  Ben hosed everyone's shoes off when we got home.

Buffalo Peak.  After this Eliza and Luke took their shoes and
socks off in the car and wrapped their feet in blankets.

I made some hot chocolate when we got home and Luke wanted marshmallows.
I found the mug like this later and said, "Luke, you forgot to eat your marshmallows."
He replied, "I got too much."

Silks!

Eliza started taking an aerial silks class at the beginning of the school year and she has loved it!  She's a natural - her strength and flexibility, and the skills she honed in gymnastics have definitely helped.  She has one 50-minute class once a week, and it's quite a workout.

WEEK 1:

  

 

WEEK 2:

  

WEEK 3:

 

WEEK 5:

WEEK 8 (her last week in the Level 1 class):

 

Eliza passed off all of the skills for Level 1 after less than 2 months
and began the Level 2 class the 3rd week of October.

WEEK 9:

Soon after Eliza started her class, we got an email about the Halloween showcase, an opportunity for students to choreograph their own solo and perform it for an audience.  Eliza really wanted to do this, so we signed her up, brainstormed about a song, and she came up with her own choreography.  She attended practice sessions on Friday evenings where the coaches gave her a few pointers but she maintained control over her performance.

She decided to use the song "Shiny" from Moana and we tried to make her as shiny as we could with a sparkly gymnastics leotard, glitter and shimmery makeup, and even little LED lights in her hair (with the battery packs hidden in her bun).  She did a wonderful job!!  And the whole performance was so fun, with talented students performing on silks, hoop, trapeze, and even balanced on a big ball.

Since Cat had to work and couldn't attend, my aunt Jeanne came to watch.
We also had several family members watching via YouTube live!

Shiny Happy Liza on the way to dinner

She had fun entertaining the little girl next to us with her hair-lights.

WEEK 10 (second week of Level 2):

The Chicken Chronicles 10.22.21

The noteworthy update this month is that Felix, while physically healed enough to be with the other chickens, decided to stay pretty isolated.  I'm sure she has her reasons.  For a couple of weeks, she would hang out in the coop with Hei Hei most of the time.  But then Hei Hei returned to the company of the rest of the flock, so Felix found refuge and solitude in the shelter of the blackberry bush.  Henry was also giving her a hard time, chasing her out of the coop.

Felix and Hei Hei hanging out in a nesting box.

The whole gang, except for Felix.
Front: Blue and Waffles
Back: Henry, Bo, Dixie, Buttercup, Hei Hei, and Bandit

They love cantaloupe.
Strawberries, not so much.

Fall Break

Suz and Whit came up for Fall Break and we loved it!  We had some activities and we had some down time and we ate good food (Crepes! Caramel!) and we watched movies it was a really great weekend.  I took very few pictures but here's what I have:

On Thursday afternoon we all had a nice visit with Oma.
Here, she's looking at one of Jack's drawings.

On Friday afternoon Luke, Eliza, and I tried to replicate a "papyrus"
project Eliza had done with her class during their Egypt unit.

On Friday evening we watched Eliza practice for Silks, drove through
for dinner at In-N-Out, then headed to the Covey Center for a cool show called
"Paranormal Percussion," put together by a percussionist in the
Orchestra at Temple Square.  We loved it!

I couldn't get anyone else to join Eliza for this picture.
Weird.

On Saturday we watched Cat's soccer tournament game.

Whit joined the other kids in keeping Cat's friend Aidan occupied after the game.

A Saturday afternoon front yard battle.

And a Saturday evening marble-slab-mix-in ice cream dessert.

Suz and Whit headed out on Sunday morning.  We loved having them here!

That afternoon I made the kids go on a walk on the Murdock Canal Trail.
The younger kids started running on the mountain biking area and ended up
caked in mud - but at least they were having fun!

Sunday evening Cat's friend sent her a video featuring this dance:

We were puzzled until we found this commercial on YouTube:

And... then the kids tried it out:

Sleepy Hollow Wagon Ride

I heard about a new (to us) Halloween activity this year and really wanted to take everyone.  There were several things going on in October but there was a non-school-night evening when everyone was in town and available at the beginning of Fall Break. We bundled up and headed to Springville for a Sleepy Hollow Wagon Ride.

In order to make sure the kids were familiar with the story Sleepy Hollow, we listened to the audiobook while we were on our campering overnight.  I was glad they were prepared and knew what to expect when we went on our wagon ride adventure.

It was such a fun experience!  We began just after dusk, so it was completely dark when we finished the 30-minute ride.  A tractor pulled us and a couple of other families in a trailer as a recording of the story of Sleepy Hollow played.  During the ride through the country we saw scene-setting set-ups such as structures, decorations, and a campfire, which really enhanced the experience.  There were also several people in costume riding on horseback or sneaking up to our wagon to try to scare us (and then giving everyone fist bumps).  As the story came to an end, the Headless Horseman chased Ichabod Crane away.  It was a great combination of fun, festive, and spooky!

Most of my pictures didn't turn out because it was getting dark but this gives you
an idea of what it looked like.  The actor in the background was on a swing
(not swinging from a noose as it might appear in the picture).

Each of the younger kids chose a pumpkin to buy at the end.
Luke could barely carry his.

We loved it - we'll have to do it again when we have friends or cousins visiting!