We spent some time in the mountains this week. The scenery is so gorgeous, with the leaves changing colors and the sky so blue.
This day we went to Silver Lake with friends, the kids had no school on Friday so it was the perfect outing for the day.

The weather was warm but not hot and it was a beautiful day!

We saw two moose, chipmunks, fish and lots of birds. It was nice to spend the day outside enjoying nature.

One night last week we went on a Elk Drive to see lots of Elk. The kids had fun spotting the elk, we saw quite a few from out car. Lizzie does a really good elk call, and loves to use her binoculars. It was gorgeous where we went near Jeremy Ranch as well.

Danny took boys and their friends on an outing to see Apache helicopters. He has a student who flies them in the Army and he let the boys come and explore the helicopters. They LOVED it!
Another week of Fall has come and gone.

Lizzie Lu Lu begs to go to the zoo everyday now. Her favorite animals to see are the Big Cats. She begged enough that we went again this week with friends. She LOVES the carousel and we had a fun day enjoying the beautiful autumn weather at the zoo.

We had our annual Fire & Ice ward/neighborhood party this week. It's a chili and homemade ice cream cookoff. It's a really fun event, with live music, yummy food, the fire truck comes and everyone has a great night.

Here are some pictures from the summer I got from Monica this week. She has a super nice camera, and I love getting pics from her.

Cute Isaac!
 Off for another week of fun and craziness!!

Lizzie started school this week. I can't believe my baby is old enough to go to preschool. I  miss her when she's at school but I know she's learning and growing without me.

This spunky three year old started preschool this week. She goes Tues/Thursday in the morning for a couple hours. She was SO excited, but nervous and scared too. She loves her school at Ms. Lisa's house and is having fun learning.

We went to the zoo with cousins this week. We had a blast seeing all the animals, eating lunch etc... It's starting to feel like fall, it was a gorgeous sunny warm autumn day.

Danny and I are doing weekly one on one dates with the kids. Taylor needed new soccer cleats, and socks etc... so we shopped at Big 5 and then got a treat at Baskin & Robbins. I am in shock that Taylor is in 6th grade. I remember 6th grade really well, and I'm feeling old. He is a good boy, smart, nice and talented in music, sports etc... He has a small problem eating his food without making huge mess! Love you Taylor!

Taylor and Grandpa Shields hiked Deseret Peak last week. It's about a 10 mile hike and it was a great day for them. They said it was rainy and cold up top. They had a fun day together and were really tired and sore after.



Last Sunday after church we packed up and headed to "The Land" to camp for Labor day. It's a wonderful place to camp, the kids loved it! We had fun with the family and Great Grandma Shields came too. She's 87 and still enjoys camping!  How great is that? Here's some pictures from our time at the land.



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We walked out to the point to see the sunset, it was so beautiful! The sun was just setting and the light was perfect.



The kids had fun on the rope swing, playing in the dirt, gathering wild flowers, catching lizards, eating and making s'mores, playing with cousins, sleeping in the tent etc... It was kid heaven!



 



It was a great way to spend Labor Day!



School started Monday morning. It was an early morning full of mixed emotions. We have a lot of kids in the walking group this year! They are a cute bunch of kids.

Here are the kids all ready for school.
Isaac is in first grade!
Emily is in 3rd
Taylor is in 6th grade this year.
It's fun having all three at the same school. I hope they have a fabulous year at school. I miss them so much while they are gone, and Lizzie really misses them!
She asks about them all day long.

I'm sad that Isaac is at school all day now. He is growing up too quickly!  He is turning into such a good boy, and he's too cute!

We walked the kids to school and waited outside with them until the bell rang. Off  they went!
I love these kids so much!

Lizzie earned a lunch at "Old Mcdonald's" by having a lot of potty training success!  She loves playing there and begs to go all the time.
She had a really hard time the first day of school, she REALLY wanted to go with the kids.

Here's some pics from the week.
-Lizzie and her friends.
-We had a big breakfast one day this week before school with our friends on the street.
-Isaac sleeping with his pants off.
-The kids had a huge read a thon in our basement with a bunch of friends one night. They all read for a long time, it was quiet in the basement.

The kids love playing with Joey and dressing up in crazy dressups.
Life is good!

We had a wonderful last week of summer. I think we are all in denial that school is really starting. I wish summer could last forever!  We spent a fun day at 7 Peaks with cousins and friends. It was a perfect day.

Lizzie continually keeps us laughing. She insists on wearting her googles when she takes a bath. We went and did some school shopping. Everyone got new shoes/clothes for back to school.

Lizzie and her friend Nellie. These girls have fun together. We love having lots of friends and great neighbors on our street!

Thursday we had our ALL day street party. The kids were SO excited. We had the bouncy slide from 9am-dark and the kids played on it all day long! It was really the perfect day and a fun way to end our summer!

This week also brought a lot of rain showers and rainbows. Danny built a stage with the young men for an Eagle Project. The girls had fun dancing on it. And Isaac got to go to the Zoo with Mono and her girls.

Natalie & Richie had their first wedding shower/party. It was at our neighbors the Randalls house. We had a delicious dinner and then visitied with friends and neighbors. We are so excited for them to get married in October!!! They are super cute together.

The big news this week is Emily got a dwarf rabbit for a pet. It's her first pet and it's so cute! He is names Joey, and she adores him.

All our neighbors and Emily's friends came over to see Joey. They all think he's so soft and cute.

Eden was here this weekend. She's so cute and we all love her! We really wish she lived closer, and we could have her at our hosue everyday.

Grandma Deppe came to visit this weekend. We had fun with her, and the kids love to spend time with her. She took the kids school shopping and we all had fun! We miss living near her in Boise, ID.

We had an amazing summer!!!
I'm sad to see it end.
Tomorrow school starts it's going to be an adjustment for all of us!

Elizabeth is finally potty training. She has not been interested at all until now. She's doing great and we are all so happy about it. She starts preschool in 3weeks so it's perfect timing.  She really wanted a rainbow snowcone for doing her potty training.



We went on a fun fieldtrip this week downtown with cousins. We went to the church museum, visited Grandpa Shields at his office, and played at the Playland at City Creek. It was a fun day and everyone had a blast!



Happy 1st Birthday to Eden! She was here on her birthday for dinner and we had a yummy treat for her. She is the cutest little girl! We love Eden!

We spent a day at Seven Peaks with friends. The kids love going there and it's a great way to spend the day.

We came home from Seven Peaks changed our clothes, and headed to the Zoo for the Member's night Sunset. We went to the zoo with Danny, ate dinner there and had a fun night together. The zoo is all remodeled and really nice. Lizzie wanted to ride the train so we did. These summer nights are the best!

This weekend Danny surprised me with an early anniversary get away. We went to Deer Valley Friday night. Jen & Chandler watched the kids, which was SO nice of them. Saturday we slept in, went to breakfast, then headed to Jordanelle for a day of paddleboarding. It was so fun and relaxing and wonderful to spend time together. We have been married for 15 years! It has gone by really quick. Love you Danny!  Thanks for a fabulous surprise.