A Fall Day

Sunset over Stansbury Lake

Anna has been obsessed with apples lately.  She is always saying "Apple, apple" while making the sign for it.  I gave her one the other day and she ate the whole thing, core and all.  So, I decided that it might be fun to go to an apple orchard to pick apples.  The closest one was in Sandy.

Yesterday we headed to the orchard, Farnsworth Farms.  The GPS on my phone took me to the wrong place, but it was easy to find. The man told me we were a little late and there wasn't much left.  We picked about 9 pounds of Golden Delicious.  Anna was most interested in the 'icky' apples all over the ground.  We then picked up some decorative pumpkins and played on the playground.  I think Anna enjoyed it. (more below)

Some pictures of Anna at the apple farm.

That evening, after a yummy dinner of cabbage soup & cornbread, we headed to Stansbury Lake to feed the ducks.  Anna LOVED it.  She kept quacking and liked throwing the bread, though she needed some help with that.  After the bread was gone, we went on a short walk around the edge of the lake.  Anna collected red leaves and interesting rocks.  We finished the day off with a beautiful sunset.  The perfect fall day.

Feeding the ducks

Chef Anna

In her chef outfit from a friend's birthday party.

Anna likes to cook...well, she likes to help Mommy cook.  Whenever I start making dinner or baking a treat, Anna comes right over and wants to be a part of the action.  If I don't let her 'help', she ends up right under my feet or hanging onto my leg.  So, I've been putting her in her highchair and wheeling her into the kitchen next to me.

Sampling the gingerbread batter.

Anna's 'helping' usually consists of tasting various ingredients, shaking or trying to get the tops off of spice jars, and mixing small amounts of stuff with her little whisk.  You can often hear her saying, "Misk, misk!" as she stirs vigorously.  She also likes to play with the measuring spoons and cups, banging them together and throwing them on the floor.  She seems to really enjoy being in on the action.

After trying to taste the flour she was stirring.

Her next favorite thing to do is to watch the food in the oven as it cooks.  I turn the light on and she will peer in through the glass.  I've even found her sitting on her little step in front of the oven, watching what's inside.  When the timer goes off, she runs over to me crying, "Uh-oh!" and then reminds me that the thing I'm taking out of the oven is "Hot! Hot!"

Fun Couple of Days

 Yesterday, Steve and I headed to the Capitol Theater to see our fourth opera together.  It has been a tradition for us to go see an opera every October since we met and started dating.  The first was Madame Butterfly (sad), the second was Carmen (sad), and the third was La Boheme (sad).  This one was Fidelio by Beethoven.  It's his only opera. It was sad in the beginning but actually had a happy ending!  Steve says that is must be a comedy then.  I don't agree.

Today, Steve's brother, Ken, and his family came over for a while.  We all went to the pumpkin patch.  I was so excited!  Going to a pumpkin patch to get pumpkins is just right.  I hate picking them out of a cardboard box at the grocery store...boring! I've done it, though, because the nearest patch to me was 30 miles away near Salt Lake. Luckily, I saw a flier for a new one just a 5 minute drive from our house.  It's 3 acres of someone's backyard in Erda.  She said that she decided to do a patch for her grandchildren, since there wasn't one close by.  YAY!!!!!

The weather was wonderful (72) and the pumpkins were great.  Kate kept looking at a pumpkin and saying, "This one's perfect!".  Then she'd walk to another and say, "This one's perfect, too!"  It went on and on.  They have a couple of varieties, but all really good looking.  Anna loved being pulled in the wagon with her cousin, Billy, but not walking around.  She kept tripping.  We got a couple of good-looking pumpkins and took our picture by the hay bales. (see pictures below)

Family Fall Hike

 Friday after work, Steve, Anna & I headed up to Middle Canyon.  We have several canyons here that we've never been to and decided that seeing the fall colors would be a great way to explore.  We packed up some fruit, drinks, and homemade calzone along with a blanket and a couple of jackets.

The trip into the canyon took maybe 15 minutes.  Suddenly, we could see the beautiful oranges, yellows, and reds that haven't yet reached the valley.  We pulled over to a little picnic area and started to eat our dinner.  No sooner had we gotten settled, than lightning started to flash and thunder to roll.  Soon, rain started to drip on our heads.  We decided to eat in the car.  I must say that a picnic in a car isn't very easy.  Anna loved standing in her seat and Steve sat in the back trying to keep her safe.  I sat up front and tried to cut calzone on my lap.  We thought that we might have to go home, but the storm passed by the time we were done with dinner.

Steve had located a geocache in the valley, so we headed there next.  It wasn't very difficult to find, we almost could drive up to it.  We then decided to take a walk around the area.  We were trying out Anna's new backpack leash.  Even with it, the going was slow.  Anna wanted to stop and pick up every rock she saw.  That was a bit of a problem because we were walking on a small road made entirely of rocks.  She'd fill her hands with her treasures, her "rock-oos", then see one more she wanted.  She tried so hard to pick up just that one more rock, but couldn't so she'd drop everything and start all over again.

It was a perfect evening for the hike and we were glad to be able to see the colors before the weather turns bad.  We're hoping to get up there once more.