Happy Halloween - 2012

Leprechaun Tait

Black Widow Tenny

Ballerina Julie

And a shout out to Suzy, who was so busy making the kids' costumes that she ended up going as a stay-at-home mom.

And now we should have enough sugar to last until next year.

We're ready!

Bring on the sugar!

Hiking Little Wild Horse Canyon

No trip to Goblin Valley is complete without a hike through Little Wild Horse Canyon, one of the best and most family-friendly slot canyons in Utah.  Per calorie burned, there just aren't many more rewarding adventures out there.

We LOVE the Wild, Wild West!

Julie Day - 40 Weeks

And getting the favorite granddaughter treatment.

Preparing for the big day

After many months of growing and caring for his pumpkins, Tenny was finally able to harvest his crop.

In all, nine perfect pumpkins for carving.

Let the carving begin!

Recently seen in Spanish Fork Canyon

Taken by Suzy while Jeremy drove, Julie slept, and the boys yelled "train, train, windmill, windmill, mountain, mountain...."  The West is the best!

Julie Day - 9 Months

A Weekend on Mars

Okay, Goblin Valley isn't really another planet, but it sure feels like one and it plays one in the movies.  And it's a magical place for kids of all ages, located only a few hours from our home, so we loaded up the minivan and made a weekend of it with the Springer clan.

There are a lot of things you can do in Goblin Valley, but the best part is just running around and exploring all the hoodoos.  Here are a few shots from our running and exploring.

If you have kids, or if you want to bring out your inner kid, Goblin Valley is sure to please.  We had an awesome weekend with the Springers and can't wait to go back.

Voting

From the comfort of your own bed.

America is so great.

Back Yard Bones

One of our recent home improvement projects involved digging large holes in our back yard so that we could enlarge our basement windows.  As if digging giant holes in your back yard isn't fun enough, one late night we hit a large patch of bones buried about two feet below our lawn.  We wanted to make sure we hadn't found Jimmy Hoffa, so Suzy and Tenny took the bones to a professor in the anthropology department at the University of Utah.  Ends up that we have a cow and a sheep buried under the grass.  Not sure how they got there.  But we've decided to name the cow Jimmy and the sheep Hoffa.  Isn't home improvement fun?

Julie Day - 38 Weeks

Hiking her first slot canyon (Little Wild Horse Canyon) yesterday.  More pics to come.

Camp Loll Rorschach Test

Julie Day - 37 Weeks

As taken by Tenny earlier this week.  And not to take the spotlight off Julie on her exciting 37-week anniversary, but Tenny has really taken an interest in making photographs lately and has made some great improvements.  We're going to start showcasing some of his shots from time to time.  He took the below shot of his cousins during our recent hike up Baker Pass.

4MM - Yesterday Was Hike Day (#6)

Actually, hike day was last Saturday, but it was a great one!

For our September hike, the Four More Miles hike club hiked to Baker Pass between Mount Raymond and Gobbler Knob in the Wasatch Mountains.  The goal was to find a hike to take advantage of the Autumn colors, and boy did we get Autumn colors.  It was spectacular!

Tenny and daddy at the ridge, with Mt. Raymond and our destination, Baker Pass, in the background.

Cousins Denver, Tenny and McCall following the yellow brick road (metaphorically speaking).

 Big D looking back toward Big Cottonwood Canyon.

Did I mention it was gorgeous?  It was a great hike on a great day with great family and friends.

And this concludes the inaugural season of the Four More Miles hiking club.  It was a great year and we accomplished our goals -- we planned monthly hikes and explored our beautiful surroundings with family and friends.  Due to the success of season one, we intend to begin season two in April 2013.  As always, anyone and everyone is invited to participate, and there is no pressure or commitment for being interested.  So if you're interested in receiving invites (or even hosting a hike) next year, just let us know and we'll add you to the email distribution list.