A visit from the Fam and the Police

My sister from California came up to Utah the week we got back from Germany. We were so lucky to have her and her 3 little boys stay with us for a week. It was a blast and my kids loved having playmates 24x7. These are just a few of the things we did while they were here.



Visit from the police
Yep, we had a visit from the police the second day they were here.  I had been picking up the fallen apples in the back field that Saturday and noticed a large box upside-down tucked behind the tree. I went over and picked up the box (thinking it had just blown over into the field while we were out of town. But when I picked it up there was a rusty old tool box with a shiny new padlock on it underneath. The inside of the box was insulated - lined with that padded foil plastic lining. Odd, really odd. What in the heck was it doing here of all places? So of course lots of things started pouring into my mind: skeleton bones or a corpse, a dead animal, stolen property, treasure, weapons or even worse a bomb. Who knew - it could have been anything - and of course I thought of everything. 

So I nudged it with my foot and it was heavy - very heavy. I went and told Ryan and after much discussion (and one sleepless night of bad dreams) we decided that we'd call the police. Cause really, who dumps an old rusty toolbox, locked with a brand new shiny padlock, in the back of someone else's property and then covers it with a very large, insulated cardboard box? Yeah, weird. So, Sunday after church we called and they sent two officers over. Yes, I felt silly and foolish for calling them on such a lame matter, but at the same time, better safe than sorry. My nephew K, however, thought this was the COOLEST thing and was so excited to have them over. He loved it so much that he even remembered to thank Heavenly Father for the police officers in his dinner prayer later that night. So sweet.

In the end, it was nothing but a bunch of old rusty tools and newspapers (from March of this year). Darn it, no treasure! The officers took it to enter into evidence in case anyone reported it missing. But it was probably someone just dumping their junk in the back of our property. Makes me feel oh so safe, right?


We sure do know how to kick-off a visit!



Cornbelly's
This is an annual tradition for our family. Ryan usually comes with us but this year he had to work and bring home some bacon. Guess that's what happens when you take off for a month :)  But it was still fun and we can't wait to go next year when he can be there. They added a ton of new stuff to Cornbelly's this year. We almost didn't have enough time to see and do everything. But after 4 hours, we were beat (and cold) so we headed home totally satisfied with what we were able to do.

 

  
  

  

 

   

Gardner Village Witches
Another annual tradition for us. In the past the kids have let me take their official Fall pictures here, but this year there were just too many distractions and they wanted nothing to do with standing still for the camera. But it was still fun.

 This is how Finley would get every time I asked them to turn around for a picture. Yeah. Lovely.

  

This is one of our favorite witches to find. This year they must have placed it near a sewage drain because the smell really was appropriate. The kids are not pretending it stunk - it really did!

And my our reward ... homemade caramel apples from Sweet Afton's - YUM!

Sugarhouse Park
My older sister from So. Weber was able to meet up with us at Sugarhouse Park for lunch, feeding the ducks, and playtime at the playground. It was a blast to see all the cousins getting along so well. They really had a blast.

Seriously, I had the best time with my sister. I don't get to see family enough and I wish we all lived closer. I am so glad she came up for a visit.