Hello October!

October started off pretty chilly and rainy, but we've been enjoying mild temperatures with lots of sun the last few weeks and I'm not complaining! The days where the air has a little crisp to it are my favorite! The leaves are changing and everything is vibrant with color. I know it won't be long before we're freezing and worrying about snowy road conditions, so I'm going to soak up as much of it as I can. 

This time of year reminds me of a quote "Autumn teaches us that endings can be beautiful"

That quote has been on my mind lately as it is the one year anniversary of my father-in-law's passing. It's so crazy to think that a year has gone by. I still expect to see him walk through the door anytime we're over at Deena's house. We are adjusting to this new normal, but he left a huge void that will probably never be filled. We love remembering him and talking about him with our kids. We don't ever want them to forget their "Pinch" Even Grant, who really won't remember him, will see a picture of John and say "that's Pinch!" 

We harvested the pumpkins from our garden

 One pumpkin though it would try and grow through the tomato cage. That didn't work out very well.

 Blake gave Brooke her first driving lesson in the Razor. She was nervous at first, but did a mild dirt trail near our home and did a great job!

 It was trick or treating at the library! Brooke was in school so just the boys and I went. This will be the last year for Porter to do it as he will be in full-day school next year.

 Grant was more interested in eating his candy than taking pictures.

 Porter's buddy Mason was there too.

10 Years of Running

After our family reunion over Labor Day, the rest of the month was relatively quiet. Blake took Porter fishing and he was thrilled to have caught some fish for dinner.

We went on a razor ride up the mountain to enjoy the last of the good weather. It's starting to get a little chilly around here.

 On the 23rd I ran my 5th half marathon since I started running 10 years ago. It was a bitter-sweet anniversary for me. 10 years ago this November Blake's brother Paul passed away unexpectedly. Since Paul was really into health and fitness his brothers and sisters decided to run a half-marathon in his honor. Blake and I started training in the fall and ran our first ever half-marathon in April 2008. That was the start of my running journey. This fall also marks the 1 year anniversary of Blake's dad's passing. There have been several times during my runs where I've felt their strength and close to them as I've thought about their lives and favorite memories together.

The weather was a balmy 40 degrees and overcast the entire race. I wore a jacket, but took it off at mile 3. As I started to sweat, it got pretty cold toward the end of the race. At the finish line, my hands were totally numb and I could barely even turn the key to start my car!

 My favorite part of the race is always crossing the finish line with my kids.

I felt great the entire race. I ran strong, didn't have to stop to walk at all, and I ran up this hill that I consider my "arch nemisis" (it's an incline at mile 10 that lasts for about a mile before you level out again...in year's past, I've had to stop halfway for a break) and passed people along the way. However, even with all that, I didn't beat my fastest time that I set in the spring. I finished the race at 2:09 and am super happy with my time, especially considering that I had been fighting a cold and my feet were starting to give me serious issues. I have an old sprain that was starting to flare up, so I started wearing a brace for extra support. Then my Achilles tendons and arches started hurting. So for the race, I was taped and braced up!

Now I'm looking forward to taking a break from long runs for a while to let my feet heal!

Summer Sendoff: Family Reunion Style

 Labor Day weekend was spent camping with Blake's mom and siblings at a lake resort about an hour away from where we live. We rented cabins and played for four days straight!

First night at the cabin, the kids wanted to sleep in the same together.

We spent an entire day at Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area boating, eating, and having a blast cheering each other on.

 Blake's mom swimming with some of the grandkids.

Blake and his family have been surfing for years behind the boat. His nieces and nephews make it look so easy too! Somehow they got me to try it. Silly me, I thought it would be easy since everyone else can do it! Nope! I wiped out so many times and just couldn't get the hang of it. I think I'll stick with the safe and reliable wake-skate.

 My boys loved having their older cousins give them piggy backs the entire weekend. They even coerced the girls into racing around the cabins with them on their backs.

 The end of the second day:

 The third day was spent hanging out around the cabins and small lake that was there. The kids had a blast catching fish and crawdads with homemade fishing poles (literally a stick with some fishing line tied to it)

 Porter announcing to everyone they caught another fish!

 Our nephew Skylar was preparing to leave to serve a 2-year  mission for the LDS church. We were so glad he came and our kids got to spend time with him. Skylar is the oldest grandson and Grant is the youngest.

 After fishing, the kids had fun taking the paddle board around the lake.

 Then it was arts and crafts time!

The last day was spent on going down the river in rafts. It was a fun end to a jam-packed weekend. The perfect summer send-off!