3 stages of a Christmas tree

One of our favorite tradition of the year is the annual tree hunt!
(check out last year, and the year before that, and the year before that...!!!)

This year was a little dryer than usual - instead of snow pants and knit caps we wore tee shirts and jeans! And instead of sledding the boys played in the creek! But the warm weather and sunshine was great and the extra family that came with us this year made it even better. We enjoyed hiking all over the side of the mountain in search of the perfect tree, and eventually it was Sammy who spotted it and we couldn't be more pleased with how it turned out!

Thanksgiving

I feel like I say this every year:
I have so much to be thankful for!

Perhaps I am more acutely aware of living in gratitude since losing Jason... he set such a beautiful example that I try to live by everyday.

That is not a difficult task when you are surrounded by family and sunshine in the National Forest on Thanksgiving weekend; and when your children can spend quality time laughing and listening to and playing with all four of their grandparents; and when you realize that all four grandparents love and support your children completely.

Jason's parents have spent the past 2 weeks cherishing family & friends and beautiful Colorado days - and we all enjoyed a fulfilling (emotionally and physically!) holiday and long weekend together.

I couldn't be more grateful.

Here's what I am thankful for everyday - all wrapped up in one picture:

Willy Wonka!

Sam was excited this year to participate in the fall Junior Musical... the show was Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory which provided so many opportunities for the 8-13 year old performers to shine brightly. Sam was cast as Mike Teavee - the bratty, television obsessed gamer kid whose know-it-all attitude eventually gets him shrunk into a Wonka television. He nailed his lines and had 3 excellent performances where he sang beautifully and was so fun to watch on stage! I was certainly bursting with pride...

the Teavees and the Gloops singing about their winning golden tickets!

Mrs. Bucket, the Salts, Grandpa Joe, and the Teavees in front of the gates to Wonka's Chocolate Factory 

Willy Wonka introduces everyone to the factory!

things are strange in the factory - Wonka takes the crew on a creepy boat ride!

Mike Teavee gets tempted in the Wonka-vision room...

... and turns out he gets shrunk!!!! Don't worry - the oompa-loompas will take good care of him.

post-production photo of Violet Beauregard, Charlie Bucket, Mike Teavee, Willy Wonka and Veruca Salt

some very happy oompa-loompas and friends!

How lucky this kid was to have all four grandparents come to see his show!
What a treat for everyone - great music, great performances and one very happy thespian.

What happens in Vegas....

.... sometimes gets put on the blog!!!

Especially when the weekend is as great as this:

We decided to run our trail race in Las Vegas this year (a change up from Moab!) and more importantly, decided to make it an adults-only trip!  What a great idea..... not only was it nice for the 9 of us to spend four days together uninterrupted (between all of us we left 9 boys ages 4-18 back at home!!!) but it was so fun to really relax and enjoy the poolside bar, the strip, the desert, the race, and even a nice night out for dinner & a show!

all 9 of us - poolside lunch on the first day!

The race was particularly meaningful because we all felt especially supportive of our friend Kris and her journey with breast cancer and chemotherapy.... she was signed up to run the half-marathon and used the race as a goal for her to stay active and strong! Her perseverance in training for the race (and still teaching full-time!) helped us all feel motivated to run a little farther and feel grateful for the time we had together. Between the nine of us, we ran 125 miles through the Red Rock Canyon/Cottonwood Valley area just SW of Las Vegas. But it was evidently not about the race for there was little talk about speed or distance. It was clearly more about the experience as talk centered around views and trail conditions and people met along the way!  It was a gorgeous day for running, laughing, and celebrating - and we made sure to arrive & depart the finish line in real Vegas style:
stretch limo for 9!!!!

The weekend in Vegas was a great reminder of just how good life is:
the chance to go somewhere, to run a trail and to drink mimosas by the pool in the sunshine with my favorite people!

Halloween

There are 3 ways that we know fall is winding down:

~ we have seen snow on the ground

~ basketball season has begun

~ Halloween!!!

The boys' excitement for this holiday holds strong (I'm sure it has nothing to do with the prospect of getting buckets of free candy and staying out late with friends!)  However, I have trouble getting into the spirit - so it's up to the boys to make all the Halloween magic happen.

Sam carved the jack-o-lantern this year all by himself:

a little gory - should I worry???

Sam also participated in the local 4H chapter's fundraiser: A Night at Hogwarts

He was so excited to be a wizard and show off the cool science experiments that he was learning about in school!

When the 31st finally arrived, Sam donned his wizarding robes again, brandished his wand and found his friends for trick-or-treating!

Where was Hamp during all of this? Well, he was either at basketball practice or playing with friends! He did manage to put a mask on and trick-or-treat with friends so he enjoyed the holiday just fine. And we all appreciated a Tuesday evening where everyone was out and about with their kids and anxious to stop by and say hello!

The end of fall is always met with equal parts anxiety and excitement - I LOVE the winter season for its weather, all the activities (skiing! basketball! Christmas concerts!) and of course the holidays! But my anxiety comes from the knowledge that this time of year always goes so fast and I worry that I won't do enough for others and enjoy every moment as much as I can. I guess I will just try to keep it all balanced with a little adventure...