there’s always a rebel

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We drove up to the mountains last weekend hoping to see the beautiful fall colors. We make the trip every year to the same sweet spots, and I won’t mention any names, but someone got us lost twice! TWICE!

The trip ended up being a total bust. We spent 3 hours in the car and a half hour in the mountains. By the time we got there the sun was setting and it was getting chilly. I have to give props to Ryan, he was man enough to pull over and ask some very nice firemen for directions. It didn’t help that during this whole adventure we made 645 stops to let the kids go potty; that’s no exaggeration. It was one of those trips when you wonder why you thought this was such a great idea in the first place. We even missed the timing of the leaves, they were more neon yellow/green than the nice deep orange/yellow/red. 

Every year we to try to take a family picture by balancing the camera on a mound of dirt. The kids think its funny to watch me run back and forth trying to beat the timer. The first few frames look like this, the camera slipping down the mount of dirt while I awkwardly try to throw myself into the picture. And look at my dirty jeans, all in the name of a good picture, right?

Brinley had a knack for looking away just as the picture was taken. And Ryan is 9 feet tall.

Nice canned smile I have there.

Drew’s got the picture takin’ thing down to a science, but he had to take a turn looking away.

Trying to keep the kids interested, but still can’t get everyone to look at the camera at the same time.

I think this is the closest we are going to get even though I look like I’m trying to make a quick get-a-way. Maybe I was?

This one would have been perfect, but it was Rowan’s turn for a meltdown. If only my photoshop skillz were up to par, I could do a headswap. Nah, I like the imperfections. It’s our life, and 10 years from now the “outtakes” will mean more than any perfectly posed picture.

I think we will be going back this weekend for another try. And this time Ryan will be taking a map!

thirty8 cents

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Bike Boats Chapter 2: As we were leaving the park we came across an 8-year-old entrepreneur. He was selling crawdads for a dollar. The kids were curious so we dug deep in our pockets and came up with a whopping 38 cents. Drew was able to haggle with the kid and walked away with the biggest baddest crawdad that was for sale. Attaboy Drew, we’ve taught you well!

The kids were both terrified of the little creature. Drew finally worked up the courage to dump him out of the cup and watch him walk away.

After some pretty heavy coaxing Drew finally decided that he wasn’t too much of a threat and started using weeds to tease him. Drew named him Sebastian (think Little Mermaid) in an attempt to get Brinley to warm up to him, but Brinley wanted nothing to do with him.

 Drew even got brave enough to touch him! 

Ooooh, SCARY! Looks like this crawdad is about to open up a can of whoop- …you know the rest.

There goes our thirty-eight cent investment…

bike boats

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Disclaimer: If you don’t tune in to see pictures of my obnoxiously adorable children, then bail out now. Consider that your warning.

Last weekend we continued our mission to extend summer as far as possible. We’ve heard about  EB Rains Park and decided we had better get out hiney’s over there before they shut down for the season. We were after the paddle boats, which Drew called “bike boats” – how appropriate! I don’t know why it took us three years to discover this place, it was awesome!

First mate Drew, ready to cast off. Arrrr!

Deckhand Brinley, always ready to monitor the snacks. Aye aye!

Rowan & I went ashore for a moment to capture this photo of the USS Webster Lake #8.

Drew’s legs were just long enough to help Daddy pedal if he sat on the end of the seat. Note his sandals are on the wrong feet. One of the many ways he expresses his individuality…

Every once in a (great) while Ryan can take a decent picture. I was pleasantly surprised when I found this gem, not only because decent pictures of me are hard to come by, but also because he managed to focus and get the exposure right! Yay for Ryan – even a blind dog can find a bone sometimes! Heee…I have to tease him.

Brinley was sure that we were at Lake Powell. Well if a paddleboat and life jacket is all takes…

What fun would a boat ride be if you didn’t get to hang your feet in the water?

When we finally reached dry land we headed to the playground where D&B went from sailors to astronauts.

Oh Summertime, we miss you already.

Rowan says she prefers her swing at home. Maybe because it plays music?

Or maybe she was freaked out by the swing monster.

Brinley dubbed this the “Girls only swing.”

Rowan was such a trooper, she loves the sling – it’s the easiest way to pack her around with me and still feel involved in what everyone else is doing. She is happy as long as she has her hands to chew on. yum!

The day couldn’t end without a small tragedy. Brinley got a little too close to the edge of the water and slipped right in. “Oopsie Daisy” she said after she calmed down.

Since her pasty white flesh was now wet and smelled like pond scum, it was time to high-tail it out of there. The mosquitos were hot on her trail.