We've had another busy week around here!  On Tuesday night, we went to the tennis team's end-of-season banquet.  It was really nice.  They showed a slide show of pictures from the season.  Sarah had tons of fun.  We're so glad that she decided to participate in that.  It has been a great experience for her!

On Wednesday, Bethany's preschool group went to the pumpkin patch.  Benjamin and I came, too.  They had a petting zoo and a maze and a bin full of corn in which to play.  We also went on a hay ride and picked out a pumpkin.  The pumpkin was the only thing that cost us anything.  We had tons of fun!

Yes, Ben liked the tractor best of all.

Thursday and Friday of this week, all the girls were out of school for Fall Break.  Kevin couldn't come, so the rest of us packed up and went to Antelope Island.  We chose a wonderful time to visit the Great Salt Lake for the first time.  In October, it is beautiful and cool and almost bug-free.  We had a great time!

Gorgeous, right?  The view and the girl!

Aw, brother - sister love.

We had our picnic at the beach!

Yay for Pringles!

It was a hike to the water!

Ben's not into family photos.  Not like he is when a tractor is present.

Does this count for swimming in the Great Salt Lake?

We saw hundreds of buffalo!

And a coyote!

We visited the old ranch on the island, too!

Here horsie, horsie, horsie!

Watch out for Megan and her lasso!

Oldest and youngest sharing a moment.

Mariah loves finding new trees to climb.

On our way back we zoomed over to another famous spot on the Great Salt Lake, of particular interest to our family.  I finally got to visit Saltair, the dance hall where my Grandma and Grandpa Elton met and fell in love!  There is absolutely nothing around that place.  It is a castle on the edge of the lake in the middle of nowhere, well, except for the interstate which is handy.  It is all locked up since it is just used for rock concerts occasionally on the weekends now.  Still, we agreed that it would be a very romantic place for a dance, especially with the balcony out back that looks out on the lake.

We couldn't stay long because Kevin, Savannah, Sarah, and I had tickets to see the BYU Spectacular that night at the Marriott Center.  We were exhausted, but Kevin had KFC waiting for us when we got home and that recharged us.  It was a fun concert.  Kevin and I love sharing our alma mater with our kids, so that's something, too!

Friday was rainy and cold!  So we went to see a movie.  We got a babysitter for Ben and we all finally got to go see BRAVE!!  We loved it.  Before the move we watched a preview for a new Monsters, Inc movie.  It started by showing a closed door and saying in a deep voice, "From the days of the very first bedtime, children have known that there were monsters behind their closet doors . . . " Pause . . . Then Beth, "See Mom?  I TOLD you!"  It was so funny.

That night the girls spent the night at Grandma's house.  Yay!  Fun for the girls!  Fun for mom and dad!  Savannah had to return to work, though, so she was home and Ben, of course.  Those who went had a great time with Grandma.

Saturday was rainy most of the day again, but it cleared up enough for us to have family pictures taken up the canyon that afternoon.  It was gorgeous up there -- color everywhere!   Hopefully they turned out well!