Fall Traditions

The kids had fun making their stained-glass leaves again to decorate our window.  We all love this season and time-of-year.  The kids like to look back through the pictures on the blog and see our traditions and activities.  I just need to capture more of them on camera. 

Renaissance Faire

We enjoyed the Renaissance Faire so much last year, that we made sure to go again this year.  The first thing we watched was the Armored Combat League.  They used authentic weapons and armor and none of it was choreographed.  Both Camden and Ciera wanted to just stay and watch when we asked if they were ready to move on. 

Camden and Ciera both liked the activities they could participate in the best.  Their favorite again this year was the zip line.  I didn't take very many pictures of the different activities, because it was sprinkling on and off the whole time. 

 

The last thing we did was watch the joust.  It is full-contact professional jousting while wearing 130 pounds of steel armor.  One of the jousters has even won 9 world championships.  Before he jousted, he gave out a rose to a "fair lady."  Ciera was the lucky girl!  She was pretty excited about it.

Western Days

Ciera had Western Days at preschool today.  She loves to dress up and couldn't wait to go to school as a cowgirl.

Mountain Picnic

We love to have picnics in the mountains during the fall.  The kids were sad that we didn't bring stuff for a campfire this time.  We told them we would make sure to come back up for a campfire at least once before fall was over.  I'm so glad that most of the time Camden and Ciera get along so well.

 

They had a blast throwing rocks into the river again.

 

Ciera had fun dancing away.

Leaf Rubbings

The kids got to use their leaves to make some leaf rubbings today.  It's probably one of our traditions they will soon outgrow, but it was something we could do while still staying at grandma and grandpa's.

New Park Discovery

While we've been at grandma and grandpa's, we discovered a new park to go to.  Ciera and I found it one day while Camden was at school.  She had fun climbing and exploring it.

Wild Turkeys

We get all sorts of wild animals in our yard or neighborhood.  There have been deer, foxes, coyotes, rattlesnakes, tarantellas, ferrets, quail, hawks, and wild turkeys.  Most of them we wish we didn't have.  The family of wild turkeys, however, have been fun to watch.  They have visited fairly frequently.  One time they were all perched on top of our fence eating the crabapples off our tree.  Of course they flew away as soon as we went out to take a picture.  Darren did capture a photo taken from inside the house while the kids and I were staying at grandma and grandpa's house.

Leaf Hunt

We went on a fall hike to hunt for leaves.  I love hiking in the mountains in the fall.  The kids always have so much fun finding colorful leaves for fall projects.  They also always have to throw rocks in any river we come upon.  According to them, the bigger the splash, the better!

Grandma and Grandpa's House

We have been staying at Grandma and Grandpa's because of the fumes from painting the basement cabinetry.  Ciera has loved being able to play in their sandbox and on their playground whenever she wants.  She loves to fly the plane!

Climbing High

Ciera loves to climb.  Here she is climbing the jungle gym at our neighborhood park.  It is always scary for me to watch someone so small climb to the top.  Too bad I never have a real camera with me when we go to this park.

Camden's New Room

We've finished Camden's new room (except a couple lamps and maybe some more art).  I wish I would have taken a picture of his old bedroom before he changed rooms.  He still gets to use his great-grandmother's furniture.  We did buy him a new mattress, so he could use the bed frame that was stored in our basement.  He really wanted his room to be black, gray, and white and even picked out his own bedding.  He wanted to paint the walls black, but we talked him into this instead.  He also picked out the artwork.  We all love how it turned out.  He was super excited!

Ciera's First Soccer Game

Ciera had her first soccer game.  She did pretty well, especially since it was a hot afternoon.  It's fun to watch all the little kids learning to play soccer and play on a team. 

Labor Day Campfire

We went up American Fork Canyon for the afternoon.  It was very crowded, but we were lucky and found a great campfire spot.  The kids were so worried we wouldn't find anything, because it was taking so long to find something open.  They were so excited to roast hot dogs and marshmallows!  It was a very pleasant afternoon.