Fall Break at Big Rock Candy Mountain

We went with the Ridges crew to Big Rock Candy Mountain. Derek and Haley met up with us there, as well.
On the way there we stopped at Cove Fort.  I've driven by the sign lots of times so it was fun to actually see what's there.

 

Ben was pretty enthralled with the cowboys in the adjacent corrals trying to separate their herds.  I must admit, it was pretty cool.  We sat on the ATV's in the trailer and watched.

The weather was pretty cold and we had a few good rainstorms but we were still able to do lots of rock hounding.  The kids liked the playground at the campground.  There were ATV rides.  Lots of coloring with cousins.  Glad we were able to go to a fun new place!

Matthew at 10 months

This kid pulls up on everything, crawls everywhere, and climbs on everything else.
He still just has two teeth.
He is super ticklish and easy to get to laugh.  It's really cute and fun.
His stranger danger antenna is on full alert and he'll let you know if he's not happy about who's holding him.
He still won't sleep through the night. *sigh*

Moab with the Kellers

We had planned to go to Sand Hollow, but it turns out there were some Senior Games the day we were wanting to go and we weren't able to reserve a camp spot.  So we went to Moab instead.

My kids are pretty happy with sand and their friends.  Add some ATV rides and they're in hog heaven!

Jakers Pumpkin Patch

We had a spontaneous trip to Jakers and it was fabulous.  It had been a kind of cool and overcast morning so I think that kept the normal crowds away- it's an amazing place when it's not crowded. 

The rest of September

I love this picture.  When I see them sleeping like this I just hope and hope they'll always be friends!

Reading "The Caboose who got Loose"  with Grandma Ridges. 
It is absolutely one of Ben's favorites.

Playing in the creek at the Ridges extended family reunion.

Matthew's first bike ride.

Caroline and a little friend spinning at the brown park. They were squealing with laughter.

Sizzler!  A fantastic General Conference tradition.

Washington D.C.

We found some crazy cheap tickets and Jared had a little break between jobs so we decided to make a break for it and take the whole crew to the Nation's capitol.

Thanks to my sister, Crystal, for feeding us, housing us, and spending lots of hours watching kids so Jared and I could actually see DC!

On our 4 hour layover... that turned into 6 hours.... 

We enjoyed a nice picnic on the Mall.

Caroline took this nice picture for us.

The Air and Space Museum was a favorite for the kids.
Probably because it was the one place where they could actually touch stuff.

Museum of Natural History.

Lincoln Memorial

Washington Monument

I think riding on the metro may have also been their favorite.

Jared and I were able to go on a tour of the White House.  Pretty cool view out the window.

Feeding time for the crew of hooligans that my sister took care of so
Jared and I could enjoy the museums and capitol building.

Cousins!

Trouble #1 and Trouble #2. 

Washington DC Temple

So long, DC.  It was fun!

Matthew at 9 Months

Matthew still has two teeth.
He's very nearly weaned.
He is army crawling faster and faster.  Regular crawling is too slow for him. Ben thinks it looks like Matthew is swimming when he army crawls, so the'll go "swimming" together.
He seems to like fruit more than veggies and really likes to spit out food.
He insists on putting EVERYTHING in his mouth.
He's getting a little bit more consistent with naps and takes a morning nap and an afternoon nap.
He likes swinging and going for walks.
He gets around pretty well for a kid that doesn't even crawl.
He still wakes up at least once at night.

Matthew's 9 month stats:

Height: 27.75 in (25%)

Weight: 20 lbs. 1 oz. (60%) 

Head: (60%)