Sally the Salamander

...Or Blackie-greeny as Bennett and Jacks so imaginatively named him.

Matt found him on our back porch just before the snow storm hit and saved him from freezing.

The boys had a blast with BG. They sang to him, talked to him... stared at him. Jacks life long dream of having his very own baby dragon had finally been fulfilled.

The dream was short lived. Our pet salamander lived with us for 6 hours, 27 minutes, and 3 seconds.

Then was flushed down the toilet.

In the morning Jacks was devastated to find out his baby dragon's mom came to take him home.

Snow

Awesome.

On the flip side, an enthusiastic shriek echoed through the house at 6am as Bennett and Jacks realized it was snowing.

Bennett is really excited about the snow. He's been wondering for weeks when it would arrive.

Jacks was more excited to have something to scream about this morning. He loves testing out his lung capacity.

Obsessed

Ever become obsessed with an idea and couldn't rest until you saw it fulfilled?

Mine was a turkey shirt for Jemma. (Odd, I know)


For some reason, Jemma had to have a turkey shirt for Thanksgiving.

Well, I saw my obsession to completion.

I found some cute fabric, appliqued it, then stitched around the feathers and turkey.

I'm pretty proud of it...I don't know why, I just am.

*Please don't look to close to my sewing abilities...It leaves a lot to be desired.

Hmm...Haven't Decided What To Title This One Yet

Sunday morning I had the great idea to wrap Jemma's hair in curlers.

She woke up from her nap with a blond 'fro

Jacks has started dressing himself....

I've decided to let him continue.

He has such a sense of style.

And yes...that is his pet rock.

Halloween

Our Halloween started off on Friday. All the shops on Main Street (and it is a LONG main street...no kidding) hand out candy to the trick-o-treaters'.

The kids and I arrived at 3pm (when it was suppose to start) and there was NO ONE. It's the first time in my kids lives they've experienced being early or on time for any kind of event.


Once the schools let out, it was madness. There were kids cramming both sides of the street.


We had a really good time. The kids enjoyed it and Matt was even able to meet us towards the end. It took us 2 hours to walk both sides of the street. Needless to say I was exhausted and the kids were definitely ready to dive into their candy buckets at home.

On Saturday our ward had a mini carnival and a trunk or treat, which the kids also had fun at. Especially at the youth hosted spook alley. Bennett and Jacks went through about a million times, so I think it's safe to say it should have been called a fun alley.

On Sunday we decided to light the pumpkins and let the trick-or-treaters enjoy

WARNING

Do NOT play hide and seek with Bennett...

That is if you suffer from low self-esteem.

I was hiding behind my bedroom door. Bennett quietly crept into the room muttering, "Now where did that Old Woman go? Where did that Big Old Woman go?"

After hearing such terms of endearment directed towards me, I couldn't resist jumping out, causing him to shriek in terror like a little girl.

Yellowstone

We made our annual fall trip to Yellowstone National Park
We love going in the fall because the colors are beautiful this time of year, the animals are out and about, we are virtually the only people in the park, and Matt loves to taunt the animals in hopes of a close encounter.

This year the weather was unusually hot (good thing I only packed our warm clothes). The tourist were still out in abundance, and the animals were pretty scarce, except for the buffalo.

There were a plethora of buffalo.

We did a little hiking...

Enjoyed the scenery...

And Matt was able to taunt an animal or two.


The trip was a success. I'm pretty sure we'll be there next year. Same time, same place!

Fall

One of our favorite things about fall is Grandpa Tom's pumpkin patch.

Desperate Times

Call for desperate measures.

We found a house in Lander...that means we moved, again.

Our move was hampered by some Wild Things. Luckily, I found rope and was able to put the trailer to good use.

Sinks Canyon

Since arriving at our house on the FT. Washakie Indian Reservation we have devoted most of our time trying to find fun and entertaining things that take us off the reservation. Thus we journyed to Sinks Canyon. It's located about 10 miles south of Lander and was surprisingly well worth the trip. There was a little park that included a gigantic stone buffalo, which we promptly threw the boys upon and then screamed at them to be careful the entire time.

Jemma can not get enough of the slides. It happens to be one of her favorite pass times. And of course, we had to take a glamor shot of Matt up top the gigantic stone buffalo.
And last, but not least. We found out why the area is called Sinks Canyon. The river drops down a hole and runs underground for a few miles. It empties into a cave and looks like a sink that is draining...go figure. The river pops above ground and a little pond is created off to the side. And in the pond are GIGANTIC trout. Seriously, these are shark size...or I mean, really abnormally big trout size. There's a viewing area where you can feed them. It is about 20 feet above and really is amazing to see. We of course by-passed the trout feed and threw our chocolate chip cookies into the water, which the fish loved.