We had our ward Halloween party last night and it was a lot of fun. 

We were wracking our brains trying to think of a costume idea.  Katie suggested using the bee suit and we decided that would be easy.(When  I say we, I mean me and Katie...Kelley thought he was going to be the bee keeper, not the bee, so this took some convincing)  So Kate and I went out shopping and got a few things to put together a costume for kelley and to make some bees to decorate my costume and the trunk of the car.  Candice came over and helped me make the back of the car into a beehive...it turned out pretty cute!

 Kelley was a good sport

 It was fun to see everyone's costumes.  Some people go all out.  Michelle and Toby had Talon fixed up to look like chucky.  Very creepy.  There were some other really great costumes...Huffs's were all dressed as Alice in Wonderland characters...Gittins were Mary Poppins and Burt, Macavoys were all characters from Narnia,  Jacksons were werewolves.  Lots of princesses...even the Cooks dressed up...Dallas was sponge bob!  Haaaaaa!

 This was the winner though...Josh cracks me up!

I am Kelley Jensen from 1976

After dinner they did the prizes for the costumes.  Kelley won "most manly costume?"  Ha ha not so much, but he made it look good

We went outside after to do the trunk or treat.  Paul R. had come without a car so he wondered if I would pass out his candy from our car along with our popcorn balls.  This saved the day for me cause my popcorn balls ran out and there was still kids coming.  I had made about 120 popcorn balls and I thought that would be plenty ( I actually just pooped out and said I'm done cause I was so sick of making them...took me all morning!) 

It was a good party.  Lots of people come out to this one that you never see at church...it's casual and fun and I think everybody enjoys it.  Thanks to Hansens, Cooks, Arnolds, Critchfields for making it such a fun night.

We went on a fun hike today.  They've been talking on the news about today being the last really nice day before the the weather changes and turns cold so we thought we should take advantage of it.

We were trying to think of a good hike and decided on Ferguson Canyon.  This is the hike Bonnie and I went on earlier this summer when we were trying to find a good hike for the young women and young men to go on for their combined activity.  (After Bonnie and I had gone about a third of the way, we knew this one was too hard for our youth to do.

Anyway, I thought it was really a beautiful hike so we decided to do that one. It's kind of strange cause the hike starts back in a neighborhood.  You park right by all these huge homes, then you walk down a little dirt road a ways, then the trail begins. 

 It starts off real nice and easy....la la la, then  it gets really rocky. 

 It's just the coolest little pathway between two solid walls of  granite.  It's a favorite spot for rock climbers.   When Bonnie and I came earlier this year, there was a nice little stream running all along the side of the trail.  It was mostly dry this time except for at the top.  It's steep and rough climbing for a ways, but we would just stop and rest and keep going.

 It was so pretty with all the colored leaves on the ground and still some on the trees.

When we got up higher it opened up and was an easier hike on to the overlook of the valley.

 Once we got up out of the shadow of the mountain, it was super nice and warm! 

There was a guy we were kind of hiking along with that took this picture.  We came across him as he was cutting down some tree limbs the had fallen over the trail. He said he goes on this trail a lot and likes to keep it in good shape.  Sounds like he knows about every trail in these mountains.  We chatted with him a while, then started down.

 Going down was a lot harder!  A big portion of the trail is just slippery gravel  under the leaves and we were sliding and falling and laughing till I thought I would pee my pants.

 These pictures don't do the beauty of this hike justice.   It was really amazing. 

I'm sure I'm going to feel it tomorrow though...the legs are already screaming at me. 

We decided to take a quick trip to California to pick up the rest of Katie's things.  KC was on his fall break so I was glad he could go too.  We left super early Wednesday morning and picked up Jimmy on the way.  He had been in Utah deer hunting and needed a ride back to California.  We drove all day and got into California late afternoon.  Kate had driven over from Arizona with Alli and they met up with us. I had found this hotel online called BLVD.  It  had gotten good reviews and was in a good location and pretty good price so we gave it a try. When we went in we were happy to find it was very nice.  I think I would want to stay there again.

 We got down to laguna just in time to see this beautiful sunset, then ate at a fun restaurant called Coyote Grill.  Beautiful view off the deck of the ocean.  I can see why Katie loves California so much...it's like a little paradise.

 We spent the next day at the beach.  The weather was so nice. Unseasonably warm for october.  KC and Kelley didn't really even need the wet suits.  I think the water was warmer than it was in August.

 We went and borrowed Jimmys surfboards and the guys got a good workout trying to ride them.  The waves were coming in every which way  though so it made it pretty tough

 

 My video taking skills leave a lot to be desired.  It was so bright and sunny, I couldn't really see the screen of my phone, so I was just guessing if I had hit the video button or not.  When i checked them out later, I found out I was mostly not.  dang it!  So we got a lot of pictures of my feet, the sand, my fingers...that sort of thing.  So anyway, this was about the best one.  Ha!

 I thought this baby seagull was so cute!  It's little legs would go so fast as it scooted across the sand.  The big seagulls are not cute at all.  They are big greedy food stealers.  We had just walked a few steps away and they attacked my bag of m&ms and tried to carry it off.  Luckily, Katie was close by and got my m&ms away from them.  Then they came back again and tore open my bag of popcorn!  Ha!  I couldn't believe how gutsy they are...not scared of us one bit!! 

 We found tons of pretty shells on the beach this time...I love walking on the beach with my sweetie...there's something so soothing and peaceful about the sound of the waves coming in...I never get tired of it.

 We went over to Landons Friday morning and loaded up the rest of Katie's things.  I know this is hard for Kate.  She has been in California for 8 years and this is kind of like the end of a chapter in her life.  I know there are so many good things ahead for her though and I admire her so much for being strong enough to take this leap of faith.

 We left for home early Saturday morning and were blessed with this beautiful sunrise

 We stopped in Las Vegas to visit Chris on the way home.  They were getting ready for Spencer and Emily's second reception that was going to be that night.  They were having it there at their house and had everything set up really nice.  Lisa and Emily had been working hard getting all the food ready and a lady was just getting there to do the flowers.  We visited a bit, then Kelley and KC helped Chris move some things around, then we got on our way again.  We made it home about 5:30, which was pretty good time. I'm always grateful to come back to our own home...no matter where I travel, I always like home best.

 I know that I say that  I had the best time  all the time, but this really was just the best time!  Camille, Olivia, Sam and Emily were able to come spend a week at our house.  We had perfect fall weather so it was great to be outside and enjoy the nice warm days.
Having Katie here too made it so fun! and Candice would come over every day too so it was pretty much like heaven for me.   I felt like doing this all week!

We went out to Gardner Village one day and had such a fun time.  It's fixed up so cute out there, the kids had fun looking at all of the witches.  then we took them over to the pony ride.  We really lucked out here cause the guy taking them around was looking to drum up some business so instead of just going around the parking lot, he took them through all the streets of gardner villiage.  He was really cute with the kids too.  He talked with them the whole time, telling them funny jokes and keeping us all laughing.  He taught Olivia the princess wave so she could do it for all the people we walked by and even let Sam wear his cowboy hat.  Emily was so good and just rode along like a big girl...even when he made the horse trot, she didn't get scared.

We dug out some of the old dresses the girls used to wear when they were Emily's age.  This purple one was one I wore when I was a little girl!  Mum was an amazing seamstress!

 We went over here to the park one afternoon to let the kids play.  They have redone it and it's really nice now. 

 Emily likes lipstick too

 Megan came over one day with Ryder, some of her neighbors kids (that she has been pretty much caring for since the father in the family died) and her new dog.  The kids had fun playing and her dog and Lizzy and Rose had fun romping around in the back yard too.  I remembered that big box of dog stuff that Robin had given to me when she left so I went and got it out.  We played dress up with the coats on her dog and Rose and let them play with the toys.

 I made some sugar cookies and let the kids frost and decorate some.

 Camille's friend Megan who lives in Utah now, called and said she had a pass that would get us all into the zoo.  She has kids Olivia and Sams age so that was fun for them to see their old friends from Arizona.  I haven't been to the zoo for years so it was fun to go.  They have really improved that place and put in a lot more attractions.  The kids loved it!

 I have a picture of Katie and Camille drinking out of this same fountain when they were about this same age.  That sure brought back a flood of memories.  It's good that some things never change!

We thought Emily was looking through the glass at the monkeys but then realized she was looking at her own reflection.  She kept trying to kiss it and hold the hand she saw.  I got a pretty cute movie of it.

 I think the kids got the biggest kick out of this little water park.  It would shoot water at them randomly so they were dodging it while they played on the rocks.  Even Emily liked it and wasn't phased at all when the water shot up and squirted her.

With Megan's pass, we were able to ride the carousel and the train.  Emily is such a cheese ball.

 Grampa is fun to bounce on the trampoline with.  He can bounce you to the moon!

 On Friday night, we decided to go up the canyon and celebrate Olivias birthday.  It was such a beautiful evening and the fall leaves were spectacular.

 Emily was just happy to sit in her chair and eat cheetos.

 We hiked around a bit, took awesome pictures of us jumping...(where are they?  I am missing so many good pictures!  My phone has been kind of messed up since it told me to sync with the computer...big mistake...huge)  .cooked hot dogs and ate, then sang happy birthday to Liv.  When the sun went down it got pretty cool, so we decided to go home to eat cake and ice cream and open presents.

 It's so much fun to have them here.  I felt like my heart would break when it was time for them to go.