Lights, Camera..... School Photos!

October 1st, day the government shut down. Also, the day for scheduled school photos! I admit, we got a rocky start that morning. My alarm clocked failed. Thankfully, Bryan came in and woke me up. I had 25 minutes to get the kids fed and dressed. Isaac was getting his photo taken later, so luckily he didn't need the attention Ava needed for to prepare for a lasting portrait..... lol
Thank goodness for hair accessories. That saved the day on a bad hair day. Haha
Picture day went really smoothly this year, almost without a hick-up. Overall, it was pretty calm. The lady in charge was trying to "pose" the kids. I think this made them focus on what they were doing with their hands & legs, and were not so mindful about their facial expressions. But, eventually I think she got some smiles :)

Matthew is one the the first ones up, looking sharp in his cowboy hat and shirt. The rest of the kids waited patiently in line for their turn on the block........

Ava, listened and followed instructions........

She looks so beautiful; and tall!  *sniff* 

Then, a quick shot of the whole class. What a great looking group of people!

Baby G.R.A.C.E

My cousins, Micah and Rachelle Hanks, came out to the west to visit family. They currently live in Illinois, so this rare visit was a special treat. It was even more special to meet baby Grace. I was able to sit and visit them, along with Grandpa and Grandma over at Bethel. What an adorable little family!

Grandpa Hanks and Grace had a heart to heart :)

Sleeping beauty........

But, not for long! Too much going on, I guess.......

After all, she needed to voice her opinion in the conversation ;)

Then, there were hugs & kisses from Grandma.....

What a great visit!
It was great to see you Micah, Rachelle, and Grace! 

Fall Hike

September 26th we got our first snowfall in the mountains. It was the day before I drove to Ely for my last work day there. It always looks pretty with fresh powder, especially when the trees are still changing colors. Here are a couple of snapshots I got of the mountain on my commute......

My friend, Gretchen, planned a hike on Saturday and invited us to go. My sister, Rachel, and her kids just happened to be here visiting too. We all met up at the visitor center and eagerly drove up the scenic drive to take in the views. We stopped at Mather Overlook.

Group shot of the kiddos: Ernesto, Ava, Isaac, Matthew, Hayden, Alex, and Hayden. Emma and little Isaac were asleep in the car......

Alex was feeling good in the sunshine :)

We headed up to up to the parking lot to access the trail to Stella Lake; one of the hikes we thought 9 kids could tackle. I've mentioned it before, but it's much easier for kids to hike with their friends to help support each other.

We saw some wild turkeys at 10,000 ft. They looked plump enough for a thanksgiving meal  ;)

Slowly but surely, we made it to beautiful Stella Lake.....

The colors weren't as dramatic compared to last year, but it was still beautiful. We were thankful to drive up and see it before the government shutdown.  Here is a picture that Gretchen took on Monday:

Sad. 

Gretchen also did a great blog about the Stella Lake hike on her blog:
http://desertsurvivor.blogspot.com/2013/10/a-fall-hike-with-nine-kids.html