Bike Ride

Before we know it Winter will be hear so we thought we better head out for a family bike outing. We chose to ride the Snowbasin Gondola up to the top and work our way down on the bike trails. The girls were not to thrilled with this idea but did their best to stick it out (I guess that was the only down the mountain). I think the ride was a little more technically challenging than they were hoping for. Camden is a trooper and loves to be out doing pretty much anything. We did find some amazing views of the Ogden Valley. I really don't love the first photo of me, but the views are worth posting it. Hopefully we haven't scared the girls off from some more bike rides coming up this spring.

Halloween

Oh yes! It's always fun when we get to carve the pumpkins. The kids always love it at first but soon get tired of cleaning the yuck out of the pumpkins, so I guess that is where Mom and Dad's come in. So here are some photos of the work in progress as well as the final masterpieces. I would not claim to be the most creative and artistic people.








So now that the pumpkins are carved we better figure out some costumes for these kids and it never fails that Blake and I end up needing a costume too. So this year Brynnley and her cousin Megan dressed up as 50s diner girls. They were pretty cute and had a good time taking the little ones out trick or treating. Brookelyn was Elvis Presley with her friend who was Michael Jackson. I guess the theme was dead rock and roll stars. Camden was the nerd of all nerds and a pretty dang cute one. The kids all braved the rain on Halloween which made for a cold wet night. They didn't last as long as they have in the past, but still got a pretty good haul on the treats. And yes we all survived another Halloween!

Family Photos & Braces off

So the Watkins Family decided it was time to update the family photo. That's always fun to find a day that works for everyone and then get all the outfits coordinating. Ok, maybe I care about this kind of stuff too much. So we lined up the photographer, picked the day and the color scheme and then comes the rain! Ughh! Really you don't understand how hard it has been to pull this off. I think we all said a little prayer and hoped the weather would cooperate and what do you know just as the time came for our scheduled time with the photographer the rain stopped and the sun came out a bit. Besides the fact that we have a ton of little ones (boys especially) who really like to goof off, the pictures turned out quite well.






Just days before the family photo, Brynnley was able to get her braces off. That's always an exciting day for any young girl. She looks so much older and mature without the braces, and what a pretty smile! Here she is also hanging out with one of her favorite people, Megan! What good friends/cousins these girls are. I love how they love each other.

Steamboat Springs

For UEA this year we headed somewhere we hadn't been yet. So it was off to Steamboat Springs. We made a visit to Fish Creek Falls. It's an easy hike with rewarding view of the falls. The kids had a great time hiking around the rocks with dad, while I tried to stay warm in the sunshine.





Next we took a nice bike ride along the Yampa River. What a great town! We learned that the town got its name because the bubbling hot pots used to make the sound of a steamboat coming down the river. There are miles of bike/walking paths right along the river which runs right through town. It was fun to see the stinky hot pots up close, but the kids favorite had to be the stop for gelato!







One of the highlights of the weekend was the visit to Strawberry Park Hot Springs. This is a great spot to enjoy the hot pots. I would highly recommend it if you are in the area! You can hang out in the cold river or go downstream where the hot pots are either warm or super HOT! The kids could have spent longer here.






We didn't feel like the trip would be complete without a visit to "Steamboat Lake". With it being the off season there really wasn't much going on, but it was fun to see and definitely beautiful. We enjoyed the drive and the view of the mountains. It was too bad we weren't just a couple weeks earlier and the leaves would have been out in full color.





It was a great weekend away with the family and certainly a place I would love to make another visit too.

September

Well, September brought about some soccer, volleyball and of course more cheerleading. Brynnley played volleyball with the Junior High team. They have never been known to be that strong of a team, but this year actually made the playoffs and had one of the best season in the schools history. YEAH TEAM! Camden played on a Bantam soccer team this year. He has a great group of friends that really love sports! Camden is still trying to find that passion for soccer but he made some great improvements and had a great time playing with this buddies.







We took off and did a family hike to "Waterfall Canyon". I had tried to do the hike with the kids last summer but made a wrong turn and took the LONG way up, with the kids never making it to the waterfall. So we were going to be sure and make it this time. We had a great time with Grandma, cousins and Aunts and Uncles. It was a great day! Always nice to get out and enjoy the outdoors!