Here Comes Fall!

We decided to squeeze the last little bit out of summer. We really wanted to head up the canyon one last time to see the leaves changing, which may be better in another week, but this was the only time we could go. So, we packed some hot dogs and marshmallows and headed up. We all have colds, but it was still great to get out and play on the mountain one last time for the year.

Look close, we blend well.

Look Mom! A STICK!

Labor Day Campout

It was time for a final summer campout. We went with my family to Maple Lake. It was great!

Poor Brandon is always taking the pictures and never in them.

We took a walk to this neat little waterfall. Erin was exhausted and slept through the whole thing.

Look closely, those ducks are good at camouflage!

Who needs a sandbox when you've got an ash pile?

This is how we were hoping the night would go...

This is two hours later when we realized how it was really going to go.

Erin's mealtimes were a party as always.

Here are the Hansen cousins, minus Jen who was back at camp.

We had a great time and are looking forward to going back next summer.

On Monday Erin became a big 9 month old. She celebrated by starting to climb stairs. What a cute little bug!

Silly Faces, Happy Kids, and other randomness...

Here are the silly faces:

Here are the Happy Kids:

As for the rest...

We went for a drive up Payson canyon to pick out a campsite for Labor Day weekend. Ben LOVES camping, so he had to get out and run around "on the mountains".

Brandon's parents came for a visit, look how much they got done on the shed! Brandon's hoping to wrap it up in the next week.

At McGrath's for lunch...YUMMY!
I completely missed Erin's eight month post, but maybe it's good since a week later she started crawling! Within days of that she started pulling herself up on everything. The problem is that she is not stable at all, yet has no fear and will let go to try standing on her own. Hopefully she'll learn quickly, in the meantime there will be plenty of bonks and bruises. She'll be 9 months next week, so hopefully I will be a little more on the ball with that one!

Christmas in July!

For Christmas, Santa brought Ben some really cool Tonka's, obviously anticipating the new sandbox. They weren't exactly "inside" toys, so after a few days we stored them in the garage until there was a home outside for them. At last the day has come, and as far as Ben was concerned it was Christmas all over again.

We've also started getting more than just zucchini and squash out of our garden. Check out last night's harvest!

Ben had to give Erin the rules for handling his garden veggies.

Even still, he made sure she was closely supervised...

Crazy Fun : Part Two

So now for this weekend. We started Friday (Pioneer Day) with Spanish Fork's parade. It was a dream come true for Ben. Tractors, firetrucks, horses, candy...what more could he ask for?

Erin wasn't nearly as fond of the firetrucks as Ben was.

Nana and Papa came down and treated the kids to some carnival rides. Here's Ben and Jen driving a sweet ride and then with Papa on the carousel.

Here's a shot of the fireworks from our front yard. Pretty awesome.
The 24th was Nana's birthday, so we made the 25th a jam packed fun day in Salt Lake. We started with the zoo. Nana made all the grandkids tie dye shirts to make them easy to keep track of. After that we had a quick lunch, then Brandon & I went to see Harry Potter. After that it was off to the annual Campbell family BBQ. What a crazy fun day.
Elephants!

The Zebra's were not feeling very social.

Jen loves to hold Baby Erin. I think Erin has her own opinion about this.

Uh, Dad? I think that bird weighs as much as I do! Lets not get too close.

Who taught the penguins synchronized swimming?