Up to

I haven't posted much lately, so here are a few things we have been up to. We went to the book fair and had Clifford sign a book. Colton loved him and followed him around. Lydia was terrified and stayed in the bleachers the whole time.
We said goodbye to our dear friend Swathi, who moved to California to be with her husband. She just completed all her bench work for her PHD. Yay Swathi!
We visited the fire department. Pretty sure I enjoyed it more than the kids.
We rode the bike to this park. They love tire swings.
Lydia got to bring this bear home for the weekend from her preschool. I think this is the only time Colton touched it because other than this, the bear was attached to Lydia's hip. It went to the mall, to the playground, to bed. I think the only place it didn't go was the bathtub!

In other news, Mike's intramural football team is 2-1. The tournament starts this week.
I just finished reading "The Host" by Stephanie Myer. (Author of Twilight) Can I just say without offending anyone, that I am tired of Stephanie Myer? Though a very different plot from the Twilight books, I still found a lot of parallel's in this science fiction. Drama, drama, drama. I enjoyed the Twilight books, but I don't think there is near as much talent there as what is celebrated. However, after "The Host" I read "The Last Song" by Nicholas Sparks. HE is a writer! I cried and cried. Not about the romance part, but about the story of growing up and loving your family!
On the way home from Ohio, we hit a deer. The driver side door won't open. You can hardly tell there is a dent, but I think we will get that fixed tomorrow because already I am tired of crawling out the back!
Colton has learned to jump. He seems to now think this is the best mode of transportation.

I like hiking!

Awesome mall. I loved the architecture. It was such a calming place.
Impressive Michael Jackson impersonators on the Strip.
Mike's co-worker, Johnny. He's from China and never been around a horse before. He rode this big "powerful" horse.
Bryce Canyon. We drove up and enjoyed a half day there.
Mike on top of Angel's landing in Zion's. That is the scariest hike I've ever been on! I didn't make it all the way to the top because the last half mile you hang onto this chain that's secured into the rock and just shimmy around the mountain. If you mis-step, it's a 1000 foot fall! I know there was a time when I would have done this, but something about having the responsibility of children changes you. (Dad- you would have been proud. You would have been pretty upset with me had you seen this thing!)
Another hike at Zion's
The barn at Mike's house. The colors on the tree's got pretty washed out, but it was a beautiful evening. I thought the silhouette was cool.
Colton carrying this poor patient kitten around any chance he got.
The swing. Wee!!! It's a tall one. You glide through the air.
Mike's sister carved and painted these awesome veggi-tales pumpkins!

Call this a photo log. Over the last week, we went to Ohio and dropped off the kids where they stayed for the week. We flew into Las Vegas, stayed a night, and then headed up to Zion's National Park in Southern Utah where Mike had a chemistry conference. My mom even came down and spent a few days with us. The hiking was awesome! There are no real hikes in Indiana. It is too flat. Vegas was fun to see, but if you don't drink or gamble, the selection of awesome things to do is limited. We didn't catch a show or ride the rides on the stratosphere, which were about the only things that interested us, but that's alright. Zion's was much more our style. I read a book by the pool or window shopped while Mike was in his sessions. It was a nice week.