Nolan Goes to Nursery

Yesterday, was Nolan's first "official" day in nursery!  He has been coming with me to nursery ever since I was called in there about 3 months ago.  So, he was pretty used to the kids, leaders and what went on.  I had the day "off" yesterday (we have enough people so we can rotate out- which is nice) so I just walked him up there, dropped him off in the younger kids class and tried to leave.  He clung to my leg which he never does, since he is so social and is typically running into every room.  But after one of the leaders showed him a ball, he ran over there and I left.  It was nice to sit in Relief Society and Sunday School without having to chase him or be out in the hall with him, but I did miss him and hoped he was doing OK and getting along with the other kids (not hitting, throwing etc).  When I went to pick him up, he came running over and was so happy.  He held his picture that he had drawn one mark on all the say down the stairs into the chapel. I can't believe he is getting so big and old enough to go to nursery. 



Zion National Park

 Last weekend (October 12 - 14) we went with Jared and Annie down to Zion to meet up with Ryan's dad.  We left Friday after work around 6:30 pm and got to Hurricane (where we were staying) around 10:30 pm.  We all shared a room that night and I was happy Nolan slept through the night since he didn't sleep much at all on the way down. 

Saturday, we got up and took our time getting ready.  Had breakfast at a local cafe and headed for the park.  Ryan had planned on us doing the Observation Point hike which would take most of the day.  We parked Craig's new truck in town and caught the shuttle.  We didn't start hiking until 1:00 pm, which I wouldn't have done in the middle of the summer.  But there was some cloud cover and the temperature was perfect.  We knew it was going to be 8 miles round trip, and was listed as a moderate hike. 

After completing the hike, I would say it is a strenuous hike since it is uphill the whole way, tons and tons of switchbacks, steep drop-offs (nothing like angel's landing) but well worth it!  Nolan was a trooper in his pack and loved being carried, he didn't complain/scream at all.  I wish he would have slept on the trail, but luckily he slept once we got to the top for a little bit.  Craig did awesome and Jared helped to carry Nolan for a bit giving Ryan a break.  Before we entered the park we stopped at a local store for some sandwiches to eat once we got to the top, which tasted great.  Why does everything taste so much better outdoors?

Everyone kinda split up on the way down, Jared/Annie made it down first, me/Ryan were second and then Craig.  It wasn't a race or anything, we all just went at our own pace on the way down which was nice.  Jared and Annie had a bet going on what time we would reach the bottom of the trail....not sure who won on that.  We were all exhausted after the hike and just headed back to the hotel.  Ryan and his dad went to the store to get some dinner for everyone and we all ate in our hotel room.  I fell asleep shortly after dinner with Nolan while Jared, Ryan and Annie went to the hot tub. 

Sunday, we got up and had breakfast in the hotel.  Packed everything up and went back to Zion.  This time we just drove through the park.  We drove through the tunnel to Mt. Carmel.  Stopped there to eat lunch at Ho-made Cafe or something like that.  Next time I am in Mt. Carmel, I am definately going back to this place - totally touristy and I loved it!  Lunch ended, Craig went south and we went north.  The drive home went quick, thank goodness!

 

It was a fun weekend with everyone!

Pumpkin Patch, Wagon Ride & Hay Maze...Oh My!

Last night me and my mom took Nolan over to Wheeler Farm to visit Josh and Macy who were working there.  My dad and Ryan were both out of town, that is why they didn't come along.  I haven't been to Wheeler in a long time....in fact I'm not sure I have ever been there.  Anyway, Josh and Macy have been working there for fun this fall and we wanted to check it out. 

Nolan loves all things Halloween so I knew he would have fun....I just didn't know he would have that much fun!  He loved walking around the pumpkin patch looking at all the inflatable things and having all the pumpkins around.  He found a stem of a pumpkin on the ground and carried that around with him all night.  He would not let it go.  Next, we took him to the hay maze and he loved running around in there.  I loved that Nolan could run around in there without me having to say, "NO" to him all the time.  We did follow Nolan through the maze and ended up going out the way we came in, but oh well.  Last on the list was the wagon ride and Nolan didn't like waiting in line (no Disneyland anytime soon for us since all you do is wait in line), but he did love the ride and sat still the entire time looking at all the lights and just wondering what in the world was going on.  He even held my hand which was pretty cute. 

We had a fun night at the farm and I was glad my mom suggested that we go out for the night!



First Campfire

Wednesday night we went up Millcreek canyon to have our first campfire of the year!  I have been wanting to do this for a while so i'm glad we finally made it happen (even in October).  We went up with Charlotte, Tony and baby Jett and had fun.  Nolan loved seeing the fire and I am so glad I had the idea to take his backpack with us because Nolan would have been all over the place for sure if we hadn't "contained" him. 

Nolan thought it was so funny to tickle Ryan 

Charlotte and Tony - baby Jett is under the blanket

The Living Room

Saturday afternoon we went on a hike with Annie, Jared and Ottis (Annie's dog) up to the living room.  I had been there before, but it had been a while.  Ryan was our fearless leader and he lead us along the craziest path!  We wound up in the gully and were hiking through scrub oak that i'm pretty sure only animals go through.  After a bit of our wandering Jared went up to a high point and was able to tell us where to go to find the right path again.  We all gave Ryan a hard time about it, especially when we were on the way back down and realized just how easy the hike could have been.  We enjoyed lunch in the living room and had a fantastic view of the city!  Salt Lake really is beautiful and I am so glad we live here and love being back!