Fall Break - Part 2

We hiked a trail we had hiked in the Spring about four years ago.  This time the water was either dried up or stale, and it wasn't warm enough to jump in the pools anyway, but it was still a beautiful day in those gorgeous red rocks.

Red Cliffs Nature Trail

Today we weren't going for the destination, and we told the girls they could explore off-trail.  Adele is not in to hiking lately so she was tolerating another day of being out, but Tennie and Adele took off.

Why do their explores always include high places?

We came across an old tree that kept all three girls engaged in imaginative play for a good while.

And then there were apartment-like caves that were an "upgrade" to the tree.

Adele gave me a tour of the palatial house.

We came across a baby tarantula.  I'm so glad it's mother wasn't nearby.

Adele was really just tolerating our outing at this point.  I went ahead to see the pools when I came across a baby desert tortoise!  I hollered back to Geoff and Adele, and Tennie and Ceci came running from the rocks, and soon we were a family full of energy again.

(We found out later that it is illegal to touch these endangered tortoises, so don't tell anyone...)

We went straight to In-N-Out and Nielsen's Frozen Custard (a very nourishing meal to replenish our bodies...)

In between hikes we watched the BYU and Ute football games, saw a movie, and the girls got their nails done by their aunt Joann.  It was great to see my mom.  We love staying at her house.  She is so easy to be around.

And we loved seeing my brother Mitch and his family.  Their house is DECKED OUT for Halloween.  Ceci got this gory head-on-a-pole and went outside to scare the neighbor kids, acting like she was Tag and Pack's grandma.

They have an awesome superhero dress-up box, and Ceci tried squeezing into several costumes.

We played a game to see which kids could sit still and not move.  Pack was a clear winner.

It doesn't get much cuter than that kid.

And now we're back in the school-mode.