Instagram September-October

The boys enjoying the pumpkin patch with the ladies during Priesthood Session of Conference

Porter had a scissor scare when he opened the scissors to cut the grass, but instead cut his eye!  We were worried their might be serious damage and spent the evening at Primary Children's.  We were so relieved when we got the good news that is was just a surface injury with no permanent damage!

No visit to BYU is complete without a visit to the creamery for ice cream (or in this early morning case, donuts!)

My neighbor spent the afternoon teaching me how to make 100% whole wheat bread that actually rises!  Love how it makes the house smell.

Owen's yearly allergy testing.  Still positive for peanuts (darn!) but for the first year, all tree nuts were negative.  He is loving his newfound Nutella sandwiches!

Got to celebrate the upcoming arrival of Jordan and Jessica's baby girl!  We can't wait to have another cousin close by.  

San Diego in September

The boys and I traveled to San Diego for 2 weeks at the end of September to "babysit" 3 of my siblings while my parents enjoyed a 30th anniversary trip!  I was a little nervous how everything would go, not having any reinforcements for 10 days, but everything worked out and we had a great time.    

Headed out!  The boys did great on the plane-- easiest flight yet!

Although we had celebrated a few weeks before, Porter officially turned two while we were there.  He loved having cupcakes at "More Mimi's" house to celebrate.  

It was so fun to see my BFF from high school and her two cute kiddos one afternoon.  

We visited Grandma Urry one day.  The boys had their first ever Lunchables and thought it was the coolest thing ever!

Owen got a quick checkup of his teeth.  No cavities!

"More Papa" took us on a tractor ride in the Gator one night.  

Dinner at In N Out with the gang.

It was so warm while we were there!  Mid 90's!  I was grateful for neighbors who share their pool.  We had a fun afternoon swimming.

Lunch with "More Mimi"

We fed Blue and Sunny lots of carrots!

 Papa U & Luke flew back to Utah with us.  (They were visiting for General Conference.)  Owen loved sitting with Papa on the flight.

 Despite the fun, the boys definitely missed their Daddy and were so excited to see him again.   

I am grateful that I was able to help my parent's out for this much deserved trip, and enjoy some California sunshine at the same time! 

Family Birthday Celebrations

Owen turned 4 on September 3 and got to have his first friend birthday party.  He wanted it to be Dusty themed (from Disney's "Planes") and was so excited to eat a "chocolate Dusty birthday cake".  

We had planned for a larger plane to go on top of the cake but Owen insisted on the smaller one.  I figured why mess with the birthday boy, so the smaller plane it was.

(My talented friend Annie made the cake!)

So happy to be 4!

We had the kids color some Planes coloring pages and also decorated the candy bags for the pinata.

His party was in the morning, so we just a few snacks for the kids.  Easy!

Owen and his friends getting ready for our "Wings around the Globe" competition.  

We bounced balls on racquets for Dusty, from America

We did a tea cup water relay for Bulldog, from England 

We spun hula hoops for Ishani, from India

We did a parachute shake for Rochelle, from Canada

Last, we took a swing at the pinata for El Chupacabra, from Mexico 

(My talented friend Adriana made the pinata-- it is a cloud!) 

Owen was in his element opening presents and having us sing Happy Birthday to him.  He was so happy!

This year was Brad's 30th birthday!  My in-laws were awesome and kept the boys overnight for us to have a quick getaway.  We watched the BYU opening football game at a sports bar in Park City.  (We had the place to ourselves, so we got to watch it on the projector & have it piped through the restaurant!)  We stayed at the Zermatt Resort and enjoyed a visit to the hot tub, sleeping in, using the onsite gym, and exploring Swiss Days in Midway.  It was so great to have the one on one time together!

  

We also had a family birthday party at Blackridge Reservoir in Herriman to celebrate all of the Hardcastle birthdays in August/September: me, Brad, Owen, Ron, Spencer, and Porter.

Owen having fun building a sand castle.  It was a beautiful day!

Part of the gang enjoying the sunshine.  

We went back to our house for cake and presents.  My sister in law Angie made this yummy ice cream cake.  

The boys were pretty excited about their new "Fire and Rescue" helicopters

 Last, but not least, Porter turned 2 on September 21.  We were actually in San Diego at the time, but he had celebrated with Owen & the rest of us earlier in the month, so we kept it pretty low key.  We had some cupcakes and he was so excited to have us sing "Happy Birthday" to him.     

Happy Birthdays to us!

Summer Camping Trips

It's no secret that Brad loves the mountains, and I think the boys are developing that same love too!  We were able to go camping three times this summer and wish we could have had time for more.

#1:  In June Brad and Owen went away for an overnight camping trip.  Here are some of the pictures Brad sent me while they were gone-- needless to say, I think they had a great time!

What's a camping trip up Big Cottonwood Canyon without a little fishing?

Hotdogs for dinner!

In the morning they hiked to Donut Falls.  Yes, that is the outfit Owen wore for the hike.  I couldn't believe it when I saw the pictures... Dad is a little more relaxed than Mom!

Eating donuts at Donut Falls 

#2:  In August my brother Grant came to stay with us for a week. It was so nice to spend the one on one time with him, and the boys loved having a buddy for the week.  We hadn't done a family camping trip so we packed up and headed to our favorite campground up Big Cottonwood Canyon.  Some of the Hardcastle's joined us for campfire Friday night and we had a great time!  

Porter checking out the scenery 

Getting ready for some s'mores with Grammy!

Porter was loving his s'more.  Yum!

Grant, Chris, and Angie

Brad and Porter ready for s'more #2... or 3

Brad and me

The next morning we went on a quick hike to "The Rock"- a hike Brad and his brothers did frequently when they were younger.  We went a little further up to Snowbird ski resort, then called it good.  We packed up, ate lunch, and headed home. 

#3.  Last weekend we decided to do one last camping trip before the season ended.  It was definitely colder than in August-- it got down to the low 30's overnight!  We layered up and managed to stay warm thanks to our Little Buddy heater.  We even had a visitor come through camp-- a big Bull Moose!  Owen wasn't too sure what to think of him, but Porter thought it was awesome!  We kept our distance but enjoyed watching him make his away around.  Owen loved riding his bike around the campground, which was mostly empty so we didn't have to worry about all the car traffic.  It was a nice, quiet getaway. 

Riding around the campground

Porter made quite the fashion statement Saturday morning.  It was pretty cold!

Our friend "Bullwinkle"

Staying warm by the campfire

As we headed home Owen announced that he wants just him and Mommy to go on a camping trip together!  We will see about that! :)