Whoops...

I just realized I never posted about our mini-vacay that we took a month foreva ago. Time just gets away from you sometimes, y'know? Just a warning, this is a hecka long post with tons of pics (which is why I have put it off for so long). WELL, Sept. 18-20th we went down to Fillmore (UT) to visit our good friends the Bailey's. If you are not familiar with where Fillmore is, you drive to the middle of nowhere, then keep going for about another 45 minutes. THAT is Fillmore. :) We got there Friday evening and, once Chad finally got home, we went to the "Apple Days" dinner that the town has. Luckily, Apple Days was the weekend we were there this time, so it helped to provide a lot of free, fun entertainment. :D

Kenzie and her oldest, Logan, dancing to the live band after dinner.

Shane and Lexi eating the delicious food! Lexi was mesmerized by the band. She didn't know what to think! Lol-I love the look on her face in this one.

Ye-haw! Apparently, the guitarist on the left (wearing the white hat) is a semi-old guy who teaches at the high school. He was AMAZING on the guitar!! I was so impressed!

Kaden had fun dancing to the band.

The next morning, we decided to go a little ways into the mountains (about a 7 minute drive away) and go to a picnic/camping spot to play in the river.

Gaines (who is 6 weeks younger than Lexi) ready to go play in the water!

A short walk down to the river. Logan and Kaden were so excited!

This is a calm spot that the Bailey's come to. The kiddos loved it and it killed time before nap time as well as got a lot of energy out. :)

Kaden on Logan's "secret trail" that led to another part of the river that went under a bridge.

Kaden checking out Logan's "secret spot."

Shane is obsessed loves to take nature pictures wherever we go.

I thought this picture was so cute. Chad helping Logan in the freezing cold water.

Lexi and Gaines got to hang out on a blanket (while Lexi ate dirt and rocks...not even kidding).

Logan pushing his dump truck in the water.

Kenzie filming me taking a picture. :)

The babies again. Having fun!
I think Lexi is eating a leaf in this one.

Kaden was the only smart one who stayed out of the water. :)

Kenzie convinced me to do my longish hair curly. Shane prefers my hair straight, so when he saw it and I asked how it looks, he said (in a complaining tone), "Fine, but why did you do it like that?" So, I found Chad and asked his male opinion. You could tell how much more trained he is than Shane by his response.
Me: Chad, does my hair look totally horrible?
Chad (studies my hair for a minute, then says): No, it definitely does not fit in the totally horrible category. It looks great!
I soooo need to get Shane trained better!! (It's probably not fair to Shane that Chad prefers curly hair on women...haha)

More nature shots.

Gaines wasn't the biggest fan of the freezing water.

Neither was Lexi. haha

We didn't know Shane was taking pictures until he said, "I'm going to keep taking these until you two stop making goofy faces and smile!" Oh fine.

Chad was the biggest kid of all. He went around with a stick hitting the tree branches. Notice Kaden watching his every move, trying to figure out how to copy him. :)

Headed back.

Back at home, Gaines and Lexi were laughing at Shane playing peek-a-boo. It was hysterical!

After naps, we went to some more Apple Days fun. They had a horse drawn buggy/carriage/thing, a whole playground for all the kids, more from the town band, face painting (for the kids), ames, and horseback rides. Okay, when I was told there would be horseback rides, I was picturing what Kaden had done before at Thanksgiving Point, where the ponies are all connected to a lead-exercise thing and they go in circles all day. Uh...no. I forgot this is a small town horseback ride.

Logan on the horse. Yup. A horse, not a pony, and a human being leading the horse around, not a machine. I asked if it would be okay if I rode with Kaden (since last time he freaked out by himself). I thought he would do better with me on there with him. Maybe I didn't make it clear what I meant when I asked to ride, too, or maybe they thought I knew what the heck I was doing, but all I know is I hopped up on the horse, Shane handed me Kaden, and then the guy threw me the lead rope, said, "Her name is.... (I forgot it)" and patted her on the butt to get her going. WTHeck?! Are you kidding me?! The last time I was on a horse was at least 10 years ago and this horse was sick of being led around all day. She wasn't used to it like the ponies Kaden had been on before, and she wanted to run. My mothering instinct kicked in (to save Kaden from a runaway horse) and I tried to remember everything from my horseback riding lessons from so long ago. All the while telling the horse, "Please don't run, please don't run, please don't run."I asked Shane if I looked confident. He said, "No. You look scared." Well great.

The horse did NOT want to stop. I finally got her to stop and quickly handed Kaden over to Shane, then jumped down before she could take off with me in tow. :)

Chad hanging out while Gaines slept in his arms.

Fresh picked apples-YUM! Kaden didn't eat it. He semi-licked the spots I had bitten, then gave it back to me. P.S. We tried freshly homemade apple juice and holy hannah it was good!! I have never had apple juice that really and truly tasted like apples!

That night for dinner we decided to have a BBQ with hot dogs and Brats *gag*.

Gaines and Lexi with Jasper's tail. Can you see the green on Lexi's chin. Yeah-a leaf. :) (Their two cats are Jasper and Emmett, although Emmett ran away a while ago.)

Can you see Lexi giggling like crazy at Gaines? It was adorable!

Kaden and Logan petting Jasper. Kaden was totally in love with this cat. He followed it everywhere.

Jasper hanging out by my legs...and getting pet by Kaden (of course).

Jasper and Chad. :) I can't believe Chad actually smiled and looked at the camera!

Kaden wondering why Jasper kept running from him.

Kenzie feeding Logan.

The men at the grill.

Lexi eating toys instead of leaves...or grass...or rocks. I swear we really do feed her!

Kaden was not the biggest fan of the hammock. We keep trying to get him to love it whenever we go, but he doesn't love swinging while lying down. Whatev.

On Sunday, we went to stake conference with them where Elder Russell M. Nelson spoke for about an hour of the meeting! It was fantastic. After eating a huge, delicious dinner at Chad's parent's house, we headed home.

Here is my dream home. It is in Nephi. Every time we pass it I make Shane take a picture (I am the one driving because of Shane's eyes). And, yes, if I ever got the chance to move to this house, I would pack up in a heartbeat without a second thought. Even though it is in Nephi...which is close to the middle of nowhere, but not quite there. I think I could survive there....if it was in this house. *sigh*