Mt. Rushmore

On our way to Ohio, we decided to take what Mark and I dubbed "The Great Northern Trek." Mark had never been to Mt. Rushmore, so we drove pretty far out of our way to visit the monument. I'm not fully sure if it was worth the extra hours we took getting there, but we did have a great time visiting. The Black Hills area of South Dakota was very pretty. We even saw a bunch of big horned sheep right off the road. The monument is cool, but only holds the kids' attention for about two seconds. However, there was a Presidential trail that went to the base of the monument. It mostly consisted of a boardwalk with lots of stairs. Not terribly stroller friendly, but the kids had a blast. It circles back around to an art studio where they have sculpting demonstrations - however, it was closed when we were there. But the monument is an amazing feat. Also, our trip to Mt. Rushmore let me check off both Minnesota and Wisconsin from my list of states to visit. I only have twelve left!

Washington, Jefferson, T. Roosevelt and Lincoln

Mark

Hannah and Matthew

Henry and I

"Come on, Daddy"

View from the cave

How cute is he!

Fall pictures

Right before we left for our Ohio trip, I had my sister-in-law Jess come over and take some pictures of the kids. I wanted a cute fall picture of the three of them, some 3 month old pictures for Henry and some soccer pictures of Matthew. We took the group picture and then when I took Matthew to put his soccer clothes on, Jess took some pictures of Hannah, Henry and her son Daniel. However, Matthew threw a fit, and we never did get any soccer pictures taken. Oh, well. Two out of three isn't bad. 

Happy Fall

Matthew, Henry and Hannah

Hannah patiently waiting

3 months old

Look at those blue eyes

What a cutie

Daniel and Henry

Daniel

Twin Peaks

At the end of September, Mark's dad was in town for work. He arrived late on a Thursday night and stayed at our house. However, since he got in after they were asleep and left before they were up, the kids didn't actually believe that he was staying at our house. On Saturday morning, Mark, Anna and Elwin hiked Twin Peaks. Then in the evening, the kids had a fun trip to Dunkin Donuts with Grandpa.

They fell asleep waiting for Grandpa

Reading Curious George with Grandpa

Hannah Boo

I Am a Child of God

Matthew learned "I Am a Child of God" for the Primary program, and is singing it all the time. On our trip to Ohio, he would ask me, "Are you a child of God? Is Hannah a child of God?" He would even point to random people at rest stops and ask, "Is he a child of God?" Super cute. So here's a funny video the my two silly gooses.

I Am a Child of God

First Day of Preschool

Matthew started Preschool right after Labor Day. He goes Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings for a few hours. Since we only have one car, I specifically chose the only preschool in my neighborhood so that we can walk there if need be. Even though it was my only option, it is actually a fantastic preschool. The teacher is a friend of mine, and she is wonderful. Matthew seems to be having lots of fun. Look how big he is getting. I can't believe he goes to kindergarten next year.

First Day of Preschool

Labor Day Weekend

For Labor Day weekend, my brother Jacob came up with his family and we had a fun Pingel get together. My nephew Daniel turned one, so we had a birthday party on Saturday at a park in Woods Cross. It was fun to watch all the kids play together. We had a cookout for dinner and then the men went to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch a UFC fight. We had a pretty quiet Sunday with games, and then on Monday morning we hiked the Green Pond Trail at Snowbasin. It's always fun to see family.

Matthew

Henry with Aunt Serene

Violet

Uncle Aaron and Katherine

Mark and Hannah

Daniel and his Aunt Ginger

Matthew and Hannah

Hannah and Matthew

Aunt Jess, Daniel and Uncle Benjamin

Katherine, Violet, Ayden and Matthew with Henry

Henry and I

Let it Go

Hannah singing "Let it Go"