Pumpkin Patch and Other Brisk Outdoor Activities

The weather has definitely made this year’s turn back toward winter. Trees in the lowlands are bright, and those in the mountains have passed their prime. Now’s the time of year for pumpkin patches and hay rides, and not quite so much for horseback rides and nighttime outdoor concerts. As if we care.

On Monday while Landon was at gymnastics and Dad was at work, Mom and Eliza went to Jaker’s Jack-O-Lanterns. Mom didn’t really want to go but with the persistence of the young girl we went. The thing that really got Hallie to go was that Art City Donuts was going to be there. Free spirit that she is, Eliza fairly flew through the air and buried herself in the big corn pile. The latter is something unique that we have not seen in either California or Michigan. Maybe Utah’s unique combination of cool dry air keeps the corn from either sprouting or going moldy. Whatever the reason, the corn pit was a welcome surprise.

The girls also had Art City Donuts, which they brought home to share. Sadly, we do not have cider mills in Utah; thus we have missed out on cider and donuts for the last few years. Half the treat, especially coated in cinnamon sugar, tasted at least as sweet. We’ll have to get some juice and make our own cider! We hear the Big Red Barn just south of us makes cider donuts, so hopefully Hallie can bring home some while on Eliza’s field trip this coming week.

Hallie has felt quite run down with her cold. She went to the doctor (Friday) and found out that she had strep throat or a sinus infection. The doctor said strep was going around and amoxicillin would clear either up. Antibiotics have helped clear up the sore throat, but she keeps not getting enough sleep, it seems, as Eliza documented with Hallie’s phone. Watch the whole thing. Eliza may be an actress someday.

Prior to Hallie’s nap above, she had walked some 8,500 steps between going to her Y Be Fit appointment and going on the Fall Festival Fun Walk around BYU campus with Mike. We were rewarded with apples, molasses cookies, and international folk dancing at the Hinckley Center.

Mike also got the kids lapel pins for us successfully completing the Hike the Y challenge (admittedly a bit early). 

On Thursday, Mike got the Mo-mobile registered as a Utah vehicle. He went with BYU-themed plates because, like when he worked at Wayne State, if you have the option, why not? Hallie has her own ideas for when we get the Kia registered.

We had an uneventful Friday the 13th. That evening, after we watched The Nightmare Before Christmas, Hallie drove up to Krispy Kreme to get their seasonal pumpkin spice glazed beauties: A bit of “Friday Night Spice” this month. It was fun to taste the different donut but probably something we won’t wait in a long line for again.

Hallie was full of surprises for Eliza and Mike on Saturday. The girls got up bright and early so they could drive up to This Is The Place Heritage Park for a surprise mountain horseback ride. Eliza has wanted to ride a horse for a couple of years. Eliza was a natural on her horse Cinderella and wanted to go again the moment they got back to the barn.

Meanwhile, Mike took Landon and his friend Israel to Jaker’s for a boys’ day out. We even say Gavin from school and gymnastics and his family there. Mike missed his beard in the chilly air. Landon seemed unfazed in his sweatshirt and shorts. The kid has antifreeze for blood. We took in the corn pile, haunted shipping container, hay ride, and mazes, and we had lunch too. No donuts today what with last night’s haul, but rather beef brisket and sweet corn (for Mike. The boys wanted hot dogs and chips).

Later, our neighbor Sienna came over to babysit while Hallie and Mike went out to Mike’s surprise: Dinner at Thai Issan in Taylorsville and then David Gray and Alison Krauss in concert at the Usana Amphitheatre. We had a good time and enjoyed the music, but about halfway through Alison Krauss’s set we had to admit that we were moving more to the rhythm of our own shivers than to that of the beat. Much to our regret we left early. Thank heavens for technology—the seat warmers helped us defrost by the time we got home.

We discovered that the staging and sound of Sister Roberta Goes Before Us struck a seasonally appropriate note.  

Even the performers remarked about the cold, and Mike thought it was amusing that Alison and her band started playing It's Goodbye and So Long to You on our way out, as if right on cue. 

  

Sunday proved to be a quiet day at home and at church.  Hallie can’t seem to stay awake. By 9:00 a.m. she was back in bed for a three hour nap. Mike stepped in and got the kids ready for church. When Hallie awoke at noon a mad rush happened with her needing a shower and getting lesson prep finished for her primary class. The three hour block was pretty uneventful, and after church Hallie was set apart to be a Primary Worker (aka Valiant 9 teacher). Mike has been called as an Elders Quorum instructor, and he’s volunteered to substitute in Sunday School and Primary classes as needed. Time for both of us to hone those teaching skills!

By the looks of things in Primary, pie-making skills may also be required.

After church we Skyped with Diamond and Caleb, ate yummy leftover Thai food, and watched some Living Scriptures videos. Thank you Grandpa O. for giving us a subscription!

Oh, and Eliza read to the cat. Fergus has found that his favorite place in the house lies on a bed by the window under the warm afternoon sun. Eliza likes it pretty well herself.