Lovely Fall Day

Today really was a lovely day, and it definitely felt like Fall. It started out with a beautiful fog that made everything look a little other-worldly. Since Terral's dad helped us get the heater going the other day, we were nice and cozy inside.

My sister Sarah and her family slept over last night to break up their trip to D-land. I love that we can accommodate people now! Ethan was asleep when they got here, so he had a fun surprise of two cousins that came running as soon as they heard he was awake! Ethan and H immediately started acting silly. It was really fun to see them all play. And I was glad that we had gotten some good visiting with Sarah and Kyle the night before since the morning was full of activity and corralling little boys.

Of course they all got a house tour, and we showed them the chickens too. And we had squeegie eggs for breakfast. But all too soon, it was time for them to get on the road again. Luckily, we get to see them in a week on their return trip. :)

After they left, Terral took Ethan outside to play while I showered. He was excited to tell me everything they did when I was done with my second breakfast. (First one didn't deign to stay in my stomach.) I can't remember everything, but they did things like balance on the concrete borders, saw big branches into pieces, and play with tractors in the dirt. Oh, and they played Rocket Moon. :)

Well, we decided it was such a beautiful day (the fog burned off as soon as the sun came up) that we wanted to go for a little ride. So we hopped in the car and took off in the direction of Summit. I don't think I'd ever been there before. It's one of those little towns that you always see the sign for but never stop because there just isn't a reason to. Well, we were really glad we went there today. As we were driving through just enjoying ourselves, we saw a handmade sign advertising a pumpkin patch. We decided to turn around and check it out.

Turns out the patch was in the backyard of an older gentleman. He said his granddaughter had come and planted them all. He was really nice, and we visited with him while Ethan inspected each pumpkin. The vines tripped him up a few times, but he was having so much fun he didn't seem to mind.

 Here he is with the pumpkin he picked out.

 We also ended up buying a box of apples (for $5!) while we were there. Yummy! I used them in dinner tonight and intend to make many delicious things with them. :)

After our impromptu stop, we continued on to Parowan so we could gas up the car. While we were there Ethan got antsy to get out of the car, so we decided to find a park. When we found the park, we also found a Fall Fest going on. I guess this day was just meant to celebrate the new season!

When we parked, I saw a little shop called Half Moon Trading Post, or something like that, and we went in to check it out, just because we could. They had lots of interesting things inside. We were particularly interested in the handmade leather working. I was impressed with how reasonably it was priced! I think we will be going back sometime. :)

When we finally made it to the park, Ethan took off running. I just love watching him run. :)

 He and daddy played with the swings while I investigated food options. We ended up with tamales.

 We might have stayed longer, but it was Ethan's nap time and we hadn't brought any extra diapers with us. And we didn't find the bathrooms until it was too late. But before we left, we played in the leaves for a little bit. I showed Ethan how to kick them, which he thought was pretty fun. Then he found a leaf with two stems coming out from it, and it instantly became an airplane that he flew around and around. What a cutie!

 Well, we made it home and took a nap. When we (Ethan and I) woke up, we had some more visitors. Terral's parents had come to see Ethan, but I found them outside helping Terral work on the power washer that we had borrowed from some friends. They got it going, and then put it to work!

Ethan got to play with his grandparents while Terral worked some more on the garage. There's plenty more to do, but every little bit done feels good!


It was fun to have a Saturday that really felt like a Saturday. We got to visit, play, relax, celebrate the season, and work all in one day. I certainly wouldn't mind having more days like this. :)


PS I nearly forgot to mention one of the loveliest things about today. Terral was able to feel our baby this morning!