Beaver Pond

 

Ahhh, fall.  The days are getting shorter, there's a crisp note in the air, and the mountains are putting on their autumnal finery.  We took advantage of the weather on Saturday to enjoy a hike with Nonny & Poppa and Kellie, Joe, and Yvey.  

The hike starts with a steep half-mile climb through a forest of quakies. . .

 

Eventually the trail levels out and opens into a meadow. . .

 

. . .Cross the meadow, go through a little grove of quakies, and voila:

  

 Chucking rocks into the pond.

The secret to keeping Anna happy on these treks:  Lollipops.

 Ben, on the hunt for "mo" rocks to throw into the water.

 Kellie went for a short sprint while the rest of us hung out at the pond eating Gobstoppers.

I snagged this candid shot and then when I reviewed it on the camera I exclaimed, "Oh darn, Kellie, you're in Joe's shadow." She said she's used to that.  

After the kids had their fill of rock-chucking--and after tending to Kellie's bee-stung hand (ouch!)  we headed back down the trail.

 

We stopped for another look at the bones we found just off the trail:  a vertebra and big ol' femur from some unfortunate ungulate.

 Ben, waiting to ambush Mommy along the trail.  His new favorite word:  "Boo!"

 Yvey, riding in style on Joe's back.

 Back at the trailhead.

 

Welcome, fall--we're glad you're here!

End-of-Summer Adventures

Another JBF sale, another haul.  Amy's "weird little yard sale" is growing by leaps and bounds.  I'm forever indebted to her for taking on this beast of a business opportunity--thanks to the growth incurred since she took over, I can now outfit my kids almost entirely in JBF "finds".

 Yvey came over to hang out with us one afternoon and got in on the painting action.

Jared hiked Lone Peak with Jocke, Sarah, and Christian.  So proud of him for remembering to sunscreen his face and wear a hat.  (About halfway down, he realized he should've sunscreened his legs too.  Ouch!)

The highlight of August, however, was a visit from the Breppersons, en route to their new home in San Diego.  It was so fun to have all of the cousins together--the girls were thrilled to spend time with Brooklyn, and Ben was. . .well, his usual phlegmatic self. 

 The girls

 The boys

Three of the "quads". . .

 . . .and there's the fourth!

Braden & Hailey (Good grief, could they be any cuter?)

 Yvey and Nonny

Anna & Poppa

 Brogan, future male model--he posed like this all on his own.

 The cousins, oldest to youngest

 The big girls

The whole crew with Nonny & Poppa

First Day of School

Cecret Lake

As my siblings can attest, our dad seemed to derive great pleasure from dragging his five recalcitrant children up, over, around, and down every mountainside in the valley.  It must be genetic;  now that I have kids of my own I find myself eager to do the very same thing.  And so we headed up to Cecret Lake this week. 

   Anna poses at the trailhead

 

Ben was a little wary of the Kelty carrier--usually he just rides in Jared's arms.

There's usually a little stream that crosses the trail right here, with bluebells clustered all around it--it was too dry for either this year.

Devil's Castle

Poppa and Ben take a break before tackling the switchback

 

 At the top!

 

Joe and Yvey

Can you see the chipmunk?  This little guy was BOLD. . .

. . .and this one too.  He nearly climbed into my backpack looking for food.

Nonny and Anna looking for salamanders in the lake

Moose!

Elizabeth and Nonny, who were leading the pack, had already gotten to the trailhead before the moose showed up.  When they heard about the moose, they zipped back up the trail to see them.

Getting to watch moose graze in a field of wildflowers as the alpenglow hits the mountains in the background. . .what a perfect way to finish a hike.