The Draper Suspension Bridge

 This post is out of order but I want to include it. After Sunday afternoon conference Anthony, Emerson, Katie, Abby snd I hike to the Draper Suspension Bridge. I had never even heard of it. It was a relatively easy 3 mile round trip hike on the Bonneville Shoreline trail. The bridge connects the trail over a ravine. It was really cool and such a nice evening.

 

Emerson does not like pictures so it is always a treat if you can get him in one.

He was so fun to hike with. It was just me and him together most of the time and he talked so much. It is so fun to see his spin on life.

Such a fun evening

A little bridge before the big bridge!

I think I want to snowshoe this in the winter. It will be so pretty!

Hee Haws

 I wanted to take Sams kids to a pumpkin patch. Then Sam asked me to take the kids for their anniversary so I combined the two activities. Andrew thought it sounded more fun if I invited Jana's daughter Millie, so I invited her youngest Tiago as well. It was a BLAST! Me and 5 kids living it up on a Friday night! We started with pizza and a park. Then we headed to Hee Haws and played for 3 hours straight. We could have stayed longer but the littlest kids were soooo tired. It was so fun!

Sams kids stayed the night at my house and we played the whole day Saturday. Audrey let me do her hair! She is so cute playing with my old stuffed animals.

Sam and Amanda came and made dinner. Then they headed home. I spent the evening cleaning my house and getting ready for the week. Weekends are always busy.

Stewart Falls With the 9th Graders

 Tanner and I took our students on a hike to Stewart Falls. It was so fun. We had 78 9th grade kids attend the field trip. The leaves were amazing up the canyon. The weather was beautiful. We went on a Friday and it was a great way to end the week. I love being outside with my students it is so fun to do something along side them!

Cross Country

 Cross country is such a fun sport to coach. I have been so impressed with the athletes I get to work with. It is soooo hard. They come, they work hard, they smile, they improve. . . it really is great. This year was extra hard because it was so HOT! Like everyday was hot the entire season. I was so impressed with all they accomplished. We had a great season and it is so fun to watch them succeed.

We had a 7th grade runner win first overall and an 8th grade runner. They both ran awesome come from behind races to win. It was such a fun day. It was also HOT!!!! I am always tired at the end of a coaching season but I also miss it because these kids are amazing.

Mt. Timpanogos

 Two years ago Toni Carlson, Julia Stanger, Jaycee Carlson and I hiked Timp together. It was really fun so we wanted to try to do it again. I had to cancel on our original day because I hurt my calf. That was  a bummer. I was a little worried that if we postponed I wouldn't get to the top this year. Luckily Toni and Jaycee joined me a couple weeks after my initial injury and we made it to the top. Toni's older daughter Kelsey also joined us. It was a fun, long day. Hiking Timp is always long.

It was general conference weekend so we headed to the trailhead after the morning session of conference. This was the latest I have ever started hiking Timp. Latest in the season and the latest time of day. It was October 3rd and we started hiking around 12:30pm. This year has been so hot. I thought it would be chilly on the mountain but it wasn't. It was really hot. The fall colors were amazing.

 

We stopped and took quite a few pictures because the colors were amazing.

Fall is such a great time to hike this mountain

The dogs were in heaven. Moki knows the way to the top of this mountain.

 

Selfies on the top! Finally made it.

It is also fulfilling to stand on the top of a mountain, especially after a long hike.

This was a great hiking group. I enjoyed the company and the pace.

We ended up hiking down quite a ways in the dark. That was new for me but it wasn't bad. I thought I would hate it. It worked out well. Luckily it was a very warm day so we weren't even cold. Didn't need our jackets. We got back to the car around 10pm. It was a long and exhausting day. My calf was really tight but other than that it was so fun. I am so glad I got it in this year.

Fall Fun

 September was a busy month. School is in full swing. I am busy coaching cross country. It is still really hot so I am exhausted after work. This year was busy with all those things. Throw in teaching online and in person, having family visit, hosting sleep overs, keeping the house clean and trying to exercise and time really flies.

Aaron and Jacklyn came to town. We were excited for them to visit. They were going to hang out with us for a couple of days and then head down to St. George for a wedding in Jacklyn's family. So we had a yummy dinner the night they arrived. We visited and played games. It was fun.

The next day towards the end of school I got a call that Aaron had tested positive for corona virus. He is mandatory tested every two weeks . . . . . . ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!!! I was so mad. Mostly mad because California was trying to say I had to quarantine for 14 days. That would have been a nightmare. It was also super lame because Aaron wasn't sick at all, had not been sick, and many people at his work had previously been retested because of false positives. SO ANNOYING. Since he was in Utah he did not retest. After being on the phone for what felt like 10 hours but was actually closer to 6 the state of Utah decided I could quarantine for two school days and the three day weekend, then if Aaron still had no symptoms and I had no symptoms I could return to work.  I spent some more time with Aaron and Jacklyn. We did an outdoor hike. I didn't want to get too close just in case:)

We hiked Stewart Falls. Short, easy and dog friendly.

I did some biking up the canyon alone and with Julia Stanger, a co-worker, on a couple different occasions. I just love the fall colors. They never disappoint!

 Heading down from South Fork. Love seeing this view of Timpanogos.

I am loving my new bike. It has been so fun. I biked so many miles this year which has been awesome. The most I have biked since I got Moki!

As you can see fall was showing off.

Anthony and I spent a Sunday afternoon on the Alpine Loop. We drove up to Aspen Grove. We hiked some of Stewart Falls, not all of it. I strained my calf muscle two days before so I was not walking very well yet, but I wanted to see the colors. It felt like the entire state of Utah had the same idea. It was soooo crowded but it was also beautiful!

Anthony took this picture of Moki and it is a favorite. I love that pup.

The colors were amazing.

Such a nice Sunday.

This jacket came in handy when I needed to blend in with the trees:)

Teaching in 2020 is all about the masks.

But my gym got refinished and I LOVE IT!!!! The floors are way lighter, they repainted the walls, added new mats and replaced the trim. It is so great to walk into everyday.

Anthony and I on another fall hike. We tried to hike scout falls but there was no parking so we did another little trail.

Anthony wanted Chinese food one Friday night. I was the only sibling available. He ordered enough food for a small army:)

I had a sleepover with just Emerson and Audrey. It was so fun. It started with me giving them the winter coats I got them. I love this pink Eskimo.

I let Emerson choose everything we did. We played games, watched wild krats, played at the park, built forts, ate pizza. It was so fun. Usually he has to compete with Andrew for what we do. It was fun for him to be in control.

September was a busy, fun month. And I am happy to report I thought in person school would only last two weeks. It has been going strong. We have had a number of kids quarantined but school has remained open!