More fall adventures

I'm patting myself on the back for all this blogging I'm FINALLY doing! I'm kinda getting caught up! YAY!

It has been such a fun and super busy few months! We made a conscious decision, after a very stressful couple of years, that we were going to spend some time just really enjoying life and appreciating all that we have, most importantly, our family! That means spending a lot of time together and nothing makes me happier! We have also been blessed with such great friends and I have been able to enjoy some really fun girls nights and lunch outings with cherished friends, some extra get-togethers with the Shupe's (who, even after about 5 years of NOT being next-door neighbors, we still miss and daydream about walking next door to hang out!), and Chris has been getting in lots of biking time with his friends at work, which he is loving! Also, I have loved the precious time I've been able to spend with my sister and my parents and Chris' family as well! We've been so busy, but we look around at all the amazing people we have in our lives, and I am so happy to be "busy" with all the people I love the most!

Now, back to some of our fall happenings! This was one of my very favorite days together as a family this fall! It was incredibly warm and seriously the most gorgeous day ever! We took a drive up one of the canyons and stopped about halfway up to go down by the river and throw rocks, which is the easiest, best entertainment for our girls! They LOVE it! Simple pleasures, right?! (Of course, this happened only after I had made Chris pull the car over about 100 times so I could capture some of the beautiful colors and scenery we were enjoying!)

After hanging out by the river, we stopped at the FUNNEST place to eat! It is this cute old place tucked in, you'd almost miss it if you weren't watching for it. We got our own little table outside that was completely surrounded by trees -- the girls thought we were eating in our own little tree house! It was awesome!! And great food! And great ice cream!

Then it was off to Pineview Resevoir and I was so bummed we didn't have our suits with us! It was THAT nice. And it was in October! We got there and the kids immediately RAN down to the water and went nuts! It was so, so fun! Pretty soon, pants were coming off so they could get further into the water! And then Avery totally fell over in the water, so we stripped her down and she was loving that! There were a lot of naked baby pics taken this day! It was hilarious! The girls played and played and played and got sand in every inch of their bodies and hair, and we wished the day would never end! 

I kept telling Chris, as we sat on the beach together, watching our sweet girls playing and having so much fun, that this was pretty much a perfect day! The kind of day where you just feel total happiness, ya know? I could not stop grinning! 

I love this memory!!

 (This was right after she fell in -- she is so confused about what just happened!)