Halloween 2008

Happy Halloween! We had a great time trick-or-treating. We headed out for a bit up and down the street with friends. Everyone got into it and the streets were full of trick-or-treaters. We also went to a small Halloween party afterwards, where the kids got to run around while the adults got to talk. How nice is that!

Last Hike with the Wilsons

We met up with the Wilson's for a last hike, this one in Zion National Park (Kolob Canyon). They are winding down their station in the U.S., and this is the last we'll see them for a while. We'll hope to meet up with them again in the future. We also saw a little more of St. George, which was nice. It included a stop to see one Jacob's friends, David, who's Dad was recovering in the hospital there. I had hoped to take the kids to see Pipe Springs National Monument on the way home, to see the gardens and the longhorn cattle, but Annie was sleeping and Jacob was very into the movie Speed Racer on the portable DVD. I'll be sure to post some Halloween pictures and some pictures from our trip to Sedona next weekend.

Quick Trip to North Rim

After waking up this morning, we decided to make a day trip to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We bought our new yearly pass earlier this month, when we visited a small park called Pipe Springs National Monument. I didn't bring my camera for the Pipe Springs park, but we'll likely make a stop there if we travel towards St. George or Las Vegas. It was a nice little park - scenic, a short trail, interesting - but not a place you'd spend too much time or a place to go out of your way to visit. Anyway, the North Rim closes for the winter season, so we thought we'd head back for a last visit in 2008. We basically got there, walked around some, viewed the canyon, ate at the restaurant, listened to an interesting ranger talk on condors, and then headed home. We did see some wildlife today: On our way out this morning, Brian noticed a red-tailed hawk perched on our back yard fence. It was just hanging out there, and didn't leave until sometime after we drove away. Then we saw a coyote rambling near the highway (not that big of a deal for this part of the country), plus a few deer inside the park, and I got to see my first porcupine.

Happy Birthday Jacob!

5 years old! We had a nice birthday party at the bowling alley on Saturday, but I forgot to take pictures. Just running around keeping track of the 5-and-under bowlers kept me from even remembering that I brought my camera. I did snap one post-party picture, with Annie in the purple party dress. Today, Jake celebrated with his pre-school class, and then we had a small celebration at home. Since we had cake on Saturday and cupcakes at pre-school, I decided to frost some sugar cookies for tonight for a change. When I was making the cookies, I needed my rolling pin, which I do own, but NEVER use. I finally gave up and remembered the kids had a plastic one in their playdough stash. I washed it off, and it worked quite nicely. The birthday boy got some great gifts, and he loved them all. I wish all of our friends and family could have been here with us. Hard to believe it has been 5 years.

Soccer, Flagstaff, Lake Powell

It has been a while since I've posted anything. We've just been busy - the kids are in pre-school, we've got soccer games two nights a week, miscellaneous things have popped up, and I've been working regularly. But all is very good. Jake is loving soccer and has improved greatly since last season. He's also become quite competitive, so much so that it is slightly embarrassing. We've also met up with our friends from the U.K. for a quick day trip to Flagstaff. They were touring the area with family, before they leave for their next deployment in the Falkland Islands. (We'll miss having them in the States!) The weather has maintained a summer like quality -- mid 80's and sunny, so we were glad to get back out on the lake with Steve & Christine and family. Thanks for inviting us, as always.

Pretty soon we'll celebrate Jacob Alan Sweatland's 5th birthday. So, I'll be posting some pictures from then (and hopefully in a more timely fashion.)

Brian Head, Utah

We ended up scratching our original plans for the weekend (Hatch Chili Festival in New Mexico) and decided on a last-minute, closer-by trip to Brian Head, Utah. Brian Head is a small ski-resort town about 145 miles from us with a plethora of ski condos at reasonable summer prices. (http://www.brianhead.com/) We started on out on Saturday morning and stopped at Navajo Lake for a picnic lunch, then a few miles away we pulled into Cedar Breaks National Monument for a 1-2 mile hike to Alpine Lake, and finally we arrived into Brian Head in the mid-afternoon. We checked into our condo and then went back to the ski hill to watch a mountain biking competition, complete with a live band and beer. Jacob said "I want to do that when I grow up." There is a cute picture of him just watching the activities. On Sunday, we set out for a scenic drive to the Parowan Gap Petroglyph State Park, then went to Zion National Park - Kolob Canyon entrance. We hiked another 1-2 mile scenic trail there, headed back to Cedar City for a late lunch and finally we finished the loop back to Brian Head. Monday morning, we packed up to return home with one small detour to the Brian Head Summit - 11307 feet - which was windy, cold and cloudy. Southern Utah has some very scenic and diverse landscape. Brian spotted many fishing opportunities and he may be heading back next weekend.

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P.S. Our Annual Park Pass expired on our trip - Sunday, August 31st. At lunch, we wrote down on a napkin with blue crayon the number of parks we visited over the year: Bryce Canyon NP, Zion NP, Zion NP-Kolob Canyon , Grand Canyon NP - South Rim, Grand Canyon NP- North Rim, Cedar Break NM, Mesa Verde NP, Bandalier NM, Wupatki NM, Sunset Crater NM, Tuzigoot NM, Montezuma Castle NM, Montezuma Well NM, Hubbell Trading Post NHS, and, of course, Glen Canyon NRA. (NP= National Park, NM = National Monument, NHS = National Historic Site, and NRA = National Recreation Area.) Not too bad. That's not including some of the BLM land we've set foot on as well. Let's see if we can top that for next year !

Thanks Kelli & Johnny

Aunt Kathy & Uncle Mike sent a birthday present for Annie, and included some great hand-me-downs. I was fiddling with my camera, when Annie & Jacob both came out wearing their new and new-to-them items. So, I snapped a video to say thanks. (I should do this for everyone who gave a gift!) Jacob concentrated on the superhero pajamas, but there were many great items for him. Annie, of course, loves the ballerina dress, and she now offficially has a girls Dora bed. Thanks for the sheets! Thanks for it all!