Pumpkin Patch Plus Some

We went with some of our new friends - the Beck Family - to a pumpkin patch this past weekend.  I've been to pumpkin patches before and thought this would be more of the same.  Some hay, a few rides, moon-bounce, and of course lots of pumpkins.  I'd seen signs for this place on the way back from work - it's called 'Corn Belly's' and was by far the grandest of all pumpkin patches in existence. 

Imagine Disneyland with a harvest theme and you have Corn Belly's.

I'll post some pictures to give an idea of what we enjoyed.  The girls enjoyed the slides, princess dress-up castle, the corn maze, and the pig races most.  I think the high point for the Beck's was the pumpkin cannon that fired pumpkins a 100 yards at some old cars.

Inspriations

I planned to fill this blog with stories about our family in Utah.  Today I wanted to pass along a story that is both heartbreaking and uplifting.

I work with a guy named Vance Checketts.  He is one of those people that just impresses you after spending a few minutes talking to him.  I interviewed with 10 people and Vance was the last person I met with.  We spent an hour talking about life in Utah and how my family would make the adjustment.  He was more concerned about the transition we would make than the job at hand.  Later I emailed him to ask a couple of questions about schooling and health care in the area and Vance responded with answers as well as his home phone number and his wife's cell phone number.  I was sold on the leadership here at Decho after that experience.  Vance and his wife have 9 children - amazing.  And he recently returned from a trip climbing Mt. Denali which blows my mind.

Vance's sister and brother-in-law were involved in a plane crash months ago.  They survived but had a very difficult and long recovery.  Stephanie received horrific burns and still struggles with her day to day life.  This video was a feature from the Oprah show.  (Sorry about the subtitles!)
Video of Stephanie and Kids

Here is a link to the original story:
Original Story

And here is a picture of Vance on the summit of Denali with a tribute to Stephanie:
Vance on Summit

Views from Utah

Just a quick update with some pictures of some different things we've seen here at the house.

Rainbows, Snow, and some really pretty scenery when we took a drive on the other side of the mountains.

The drive is called the 'Alpine Loop' and it meanders around the Unita National forest through the American Fork canyon and then around the Timpanoga peak.  At the end you pass Sundance resort - very nice drive especially with the fall colors.  Lauren slept through it all.

We got our first dusting of snow on September 30th.  From work I could see the storm hovering around the mountains all day.  Becky said it snowed off and on for a bit at the house - but nothing that stuck to the ground.  The mountains stayed 'snowy' for a few days but that has mostly melted off.  Still...snow...in September...uh oh....

One of the real interesting things that happened I didn't have a chance to get any pictures.  A Moose ran along the road behind our house this week!  Going out on the back deck I noticed some cars stopped and heard what sounded like a horse.  Then I noticed the huge black moose trotting down the highway.  Becky and girls got outside in time to see it jump into the fields and run up the hills into the mountains.  Those things are a lot bigger than I ever expected!

The girls also got to visit a petting farm and the zoo recently.  They loved both.  The zoo was fun because they had a bunch of baby animals there right now - elephant, giraffe, snow leopard, etc.  It's a very nice place where you feel much closer to the animals than back in DC at the National Zoo.

I'm throwing in a picture of Bella and a spider we saw out back - both are about the same size.

Keeping the pics small - I think you can click on them for a bigger view!