Jack-O-Lanterns

We finally got around to carving our pumpkins on Halloween Eve. Luke had been looking forward to this for a looooong time. Emma enjoyed measuring the "pumpkin guts." Luke's favorite parts were playing in the pumpkin guts and using a sharp knife with dad.

Making faces similar to their pumpkins.

Checking out our fine work.

You can see the outline of Baby Myles' pumpkin second in on the right. His was little too small to carve this year.  Myles is a family name from Bryan's side, his mom's dad, or Bryan's grandpa. :)

Trunk or Treat

Last night was our ward's trunk-or-treat. It seems like these events are always slightly chaotic, but last night was just utter chaos. The kids had a great time, and we left with both of our kids. Success.

Excuse the burry pictures. These were taken with Bryan's camera and it was set on manual focus. :( 

These cute friends of Luke and Emma are moving back to Utah on Wednesday. We're so sad that they are leaving, but excited for Jared's job opportunity.  

Cramers Day Four: Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe. I love this place and was so excited to show it to our friends. It is definitely a different visit in October rather than July, but both times were gorgeous and fun in their own way. We hit up 'Vikingsholm Trail' in Emerald Bay that led us down to a beach and historic castle. I could lie about the castle and make up some facts, but I have no clue.  I guess you can tour the castle at certain times. Not really at the top of our kids' lists for fun. I think getting filthy and soaking wet is at the top of these four kids' list. We can put a big ol' fat check mark next to that one after this hike and adventure. Elizabeth was amazing and pushed a loaded, double bob the entire way back up the mountain. She wouldn't even let me touch the thing.

There were so many little waterfalls along the hike. We stopped and played at each one.

Playing in the waves from the Ferry.

I have no problems stripping my kids down to their underwear at a public area, obviously. 

Edison may have tried to go swimming rather than wading.

Beach Beauty. 

We somehow found energy to make caramel apples from our apples we picked at Apple Hill later that night.

Yes, it tasted as good as it looks.

Cramers flew out the next day and we're slowly adjusting back to normal, not nearly as action-packed life. Still trying to come up with the next time when all of us can meet up again. Crazy to think that there will be one more kiddo in the mix when that happens!

Cramers Day Three: Apple Hill/Lake Tahoe

Thursday morning we set out for Apple Hill. This "Hill" a.k.a. mountain is home to  40+ orchards. Orchards is a very broad term for what Apple Hill has to offer. There are vineyards, Christmas tree farms, bake shops, simple u-pick orchards to amusement park-like orchards and a whole lot more. I did some asking around and narrowed it down to three orchards.

We did (1) a u-pick orchard, Pine-O-Mine. The kids loved this stop and filled their bags very quickly with mostly granny smiths and a few golden delicious. The granny smiths were perfect for caramel apples.

Luke giving Elizabeth his "best" smile.

The tire swings were a hit.

I think Charlie looks like he belongs in a kids JCrew Catalog in this pic.

Rainbow Orchards (2) was our picnic stop. A local told me about their hot apple cider donuts so we gave them a try-little pricey, but worth every bite. My mouth is watering as I type this. YUM! We will be returning.

Our last stop (3) was High Hill. This felt like the Disneyland of the the orchards. So much was going on! Booths galore, fishing pond, apple cider press, kid games, bakery stores and I'm sure that was just the beginning. I previously arranged to be part (or so I thought) of a tour with a hayride at the end. Well, we couldn't find the tour and just ended up walking down to the hayride. They weren't letting anyone on the hayride because they were waiting for a private party. After about 15 minutes the kids are starting to melt. A lady taps me on the shoulder and asks, "Are you Laura?" She could have asked me if I was Ronald McDonald and I would have said yes. She exclaims, "You're the private party that we've been looking for! Get on the hayride and let's go!" She then informs the other families and children that they will have to wait until we return, even after we assured her we didn't mind sharing the ginormous trailer. She insisted "private tour" gets "special treatment." In my mind special treatment = special price. I could not make eye contact with anyone. I stared so intently at those hay bails--maybe that's how one creepster plopped down right in the middle of us and enjoyed the ride with his child? grandson? nephew? I'm not sure. I feel like I should be watching the missing kids reports on this one. It was crazy, but the kids loved the hayride and "special treatment." Few items checked off on the 'what to do differently next time' list for this stop.

After our third stop, we loaded up the car with our treasures and headed for an overnighter in Tahoe. After we checked into the timeshare (thank you to Bryan's parents for always being our connection) we hit up the pool. We topped the night off with a movie and popcorn. I think Elizabeth and I were asleep before the kids.