Halloween Time!!

We had a fun Halloween/fall season this year. We started off with the Apple Fair at my brother's housing community, whilst Paul's parents were still out visiting.

Alec loved the games and cookie decorating-keep in mind he took two bites and was done, he's not quite the sugar-a-holic his mom is. James & Kayden got matching fake ladybug tattoos & he wasn't a huge fan-probably a good sign.

We went from the Apple Fair to the Pumpkin Patch, which Alec LOVED!! Our little daredevil tried out all the rides and especially loved the harness/trampoline jump. I was totally expecting him to pee his pants, but he had a blast!

I was trying to pose the boys and get a cute pumpkin shot with both of them...several screams later...this was the best we got:

One family night we carved small pumpkins and I made some baked apples. Alec really enjoyed playing with the pumpkin innards and randomly carving scratches into the side of the pumpkin.

My little beaver & Buzz Lightyear:

We took the boys to my brother's ward's trunk-or-treat so they got to spend time with monkey Kayden & then to our ward's with their other cousin, Ben the Lion. :)

Alec did really good with the candy. Chocolate triggers his reflux, so we don't allow him to eat it, so he refused to eat any chocolate, even when unknowing people tried to give him some. His daddy happily took all the chocolate bars he'd gotten and we handed back out the majority of the candy he'd earned.

Here's Alec enjoying the trunk-or-treat, then going around on Halloween to trick-or-treat. Since Halloween was on a Sunday we let him go to our friend's house & my aunt's only.

Halloween night we also carved our HUGE pumpkin and put James in it:

Red Rock

Alec had been begging to go hiking in the mountains, so we decided to try out a 'dog friendly' trail at Red Rock, before the weather could get too hot. Diapers on a dusty road sounded horrid, so James got to stay with Nana & Grandpa for the morning.

Alec started out strong-running and picking flowers, but after about 10 minutes wanted to be in the backpack...for the duration of the hike.

Although the weather was perfect for us, it was a little warm for the dogs (lots of tongues hanging out), so they'd run ahead to a shady spot and rest until we reached them. Here's Maggie, Milo & Molly acting casual:Tessie, Matt & Paul heading up the trail:Enjoying a pretty little grove we found.

A nice close-up of Toby's tongue, while he tries to beg snacks off Alec.

Milo and Alec resting. I was glad I'd had time to shave Milo down earlier in the week.

I think we'll try a trail at higher elevation next time, since we found loads of cactus bits all over the dogs afterwards. Poor Milo had a huge piece stuck in his tail that we couldn't get off completely until we got home and Maggie had small pieces all over her body.

Alec's First Camping Trip

After a summer of attempts, we finally managed to go camping...in September! Our friends, Matt & Tessie booked a site and we happily headed up with a loaded car to Mt Charleston. Alec had a blast with the campfire, collecting rocks, sticks, pinecones, etc. Of course, the dogs thought they were in heaven. :)
Enjoying some of Matt's chili:
First (ultra sticky) s'mores!
Although he got scared when we turned the lantern off, he certainly enjoyed sleeping between mommy & daddy!
Cuddling Molly (Matt & Tessie's lab).