Fall hiking in Utah County

I've always felt like Utah County has the most beautiful mountains in the whole state....or the country for that matter. And the hikes are awesomely challenging. We went on a "hike" here in California and it felt more like a nature walk up the canyon. It's still pretty here, but a different kind of pretty. Here are some shots from when we went hiking.


These first ones are up Dry Creek, accessed via North Orem.

Pretty Tree

These ones are up Squaw Peak Road, we met my family up there. The view was even better than what these pictures suggest!

Yes, we just switched spots so both of us could be in a picture. 

And back to Dry Creek again to hike Mt. Baldy. I tell you, I've done Timp a bunch of times...and this was worse! Well sort of. It was a lot shorter, but some parts of it were incredibly steep- and I had shoes that were two big and rubbed the skin off my ankles; no fun. But it was beautiful and I had a great hike with Wes!

This picture does not do the beauty of this area justice. Please go hike baldy in the fall, it's awesome. 

I love how you can see the whole valley!

We each added a rock to the monument.

We made it! And we love each other!

Timp is pretty. 

Coops

Here are a couple of Cooper while we were staying at my mom's house/cleaning up our place. He's just cute. That's the point of this post.

And sometimes he pooped while in the car seat. That's always unfortunate.

That's all. Thanks for visiting.

Family Pictures

About a week after we got home, we had our family pictures taken at Fotogenix, mainly because I had to use a City Deals certificate I had. We used this main family picture as our family Christmas card this year. It worked out nicely to have professional pictures taken so that we didn't have to worry about someone getting a snap-shot for us. Although I would have loved to have Ashley take some :)- wink, wink; nudge, nudge; hubba hubba...okay I don't know what hubba has to do with anything but...

Anyway, here are just 3 pics! Aren't those kiddies so cute?! I guess I'm partial :).

Going home...

About  a week before we were moving back to our condo in Provo, we found out that our renter had destroyed the place. $5,000 and 6 weeks later, we finally got back in! It was a HUGE headache, and yes I'm yelling the word huge. We were blessed, however, that we had a place to stay while our condo got fixed up. We stayed at my family's house. It was nice to have them (especially my mom) help with the kids.   We also learned a few things like; never rent to someone because you feel sorry for them or are giving them a second chance; don't charge much less than your place costs you; and find out if your potential renter has been to jail before :). We now have awesome renters, and our trials make us stronger, right?!

Wes' last day as an intern at Apple, August 24th, was also the day that Steve Jobs resigned. A little over a month later he was when he died. What a difference he has made in the tech world! Wes was sad he never got to see him, but Apple still lives on!

Grandma and Danny's Trip

My mom and Danny were able to come out here for a week to visit us in the summer. We celebrated our anniversary while they were here, so we were able to have our only date in the summer. We went and saw Planet of the Apes. It was nice to have a night to ourselves. Thanks guys! Wes had to work during the day, but we all had a lot of fun sight seeing! It was also nice to have a few extra hands helping with the kids. Here are some of the fun things we did:

Japanese Flower Garden (again)

 Wes and I had already been here, but we liked it a lot, so we brought my mom and Danny back. I love these pictures, they're just so pretty!

Wes came with us to this one.

We randomly saw this guy fighting alone with his sword being videotaped.

Isn't my mom cute?

Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum

First we tried to go here on a Monday, but it wasn't open! It is closed Mondays and Tuesdays...pretty strange if you ask me. When we went back, I forgot my camera! So I only have some pictures of the outside. But the inside was really interesting- they had a lot of replica's of famous Egyptian art, and they even had real mummies. I'm glad we went. 

Some tomb memorial for all the past presidents of the museum.

I know it's side-ways...but I don't feel like fixing it right now :).

Happy Hollow Park and Zoo

If you're expecting a zoo...this probably isn't the place to go. Sure, they have some animals- but not enough to call it an official zoo. But the rides were fantastic for little kids. Evie absolutely loved it!

Okay, this was the best animal part. She could feed the goats, which she loves to do.

She rode each car (policeman and fireman) about 4 times!

The ladybug ride. I think we need a membership.

Danny with the Danny the Dragon sign. That ride was unforgettable.

Riding on Danny the Dragon.

An awesome playground.

This is called the crooked house. I think it's mostly to look at.

We also rode the merry-go-round many, many times.

Monterey Bay Aquarium

This was by far the most popular attraction that we visited. It has over 1300 reviews on yelp, 700 on tripadvisor, and hundreds on other sites. And the majority of the reviews are 5 stars. It cost a pretty penny, but we all enjoyed it.

He won the prize for the cutest baby ever at the aquarium.

Grammy and the fishies.

There was a wave of water behind glass- it looked like it was going to hit you. Evie got scared every time.

Not sure what she's doing here

Evie loved the kiddy section where she could dress up like a fish.

She also loved playing in the water.

It was so fun to have uncle Danny with us.

These just look so cool.

Hugging the fake sea horse.

Isn't that gorgeous?

He's still cute. 

17 Mile drive through Carmel Beach

This was such a pretty drive, I wish I would have taken more pictures to remember it! We'll have to go again with Wes since he missed it.

Evie really enjoyed the beach...but I was freezing! She definitely got Wes' body temperature.

Winchester Mystery House

The heiress to the Winchester rifles moved to San Jose and built this ridiculous mansion. She actually never stopped building...something about evil spirits. Crazy lady. Anyway, the house was pretty cool, unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take any pictures inside. Pretty disappointing, but oh well. So here are some bad shots of the place from the outside. 

The separate gun museum. Wes was able to come with us to this one.

Wes' Birthday

Wes celebrated his 25th birthday last summer! I wanted to have a big party, but we were away from family...at least most of them. It was so nice that my mom and Danny were able to be there to help celebrate with us. We went to Olive Garden and had cake and ice cream after. 

It doesn't look like much, but it tasted really good!

We got good use out of Evie's birthday hats!

Um, don't look at the mess. But what's a Sperry birthday without a well thought-out birthday card hand picked by my mom? 

Saying Goodbye

It was hard for Evie to say goodbye, but realizing we were going home 2 weeks later made it okay :). We had a great time and are grateful that Grandma and uncle Danny were able to come visit! 

 

 

 Come back to California soon!