Pumpkin Carving

spix_101030_6627, originally uploaded by eouio.

Aimee is getting more elaborate with her pumpkin carving demands each year. I've come to find it's all about the tools. Next year I'm doing anime characters ;)

Beaten and Battered

Beaten, originally uploaded by eouio.

Hillcrest ended their winning streak when they played Skyline, who has also been undefeated for the year.

It was rainy and wet, but we started out strong with a touchdown on our first possesion. Somehow we lost our momentum and our lead after that and struggled for the rest of the game to keep our spirits up.

Hopefully our boogyman has been faced and the outcome will be different when we meet them in the playoffs.

Ian had a good game. The wet weather and some badly worn cleats seriously hindered his tackling, but he had a strong running game and I'm sure his kicking would have been spectacular if we had managed to score more ;)

Millcreek Canyon Photos

We snapped a couple photos as we hiked along. Sadly my memory card was filled before we headed down and had some really good light, but my poor little compact Fuji did ok for the last couple shots of the day. Click any of the pix to head to the slideshow.

Millcreek Hike - video for Aimee

Just putting up a quick video of part of our hike this afternoon with the kids and Liza. Aimee is off for a geek getaway while I'm home entertaining the kids. Ian and Avyrlie know how to pick footwear, so I love to take them up for short hikes up the local canyons when we have the chance.

Today we drove up Millcreek and headed up the Terraces Elbow Fork trail. It seemed less popular and less populated. In fact, we didn't see a single other person the entire time. Liza did great the whole hike. She stayed within sight and had a blast chasing squirrels and bombing down the hillsides. Avyrlie hiked up the entire way (2 miles) and then hitched a ride on my shoulders on the way down. Not a single complaint or whine the entire time, except from Ian when we turned around to head back. Next time we'll have to do an over-nighter :)

Gardner Village with the Richardsons

Friday we were invited by the Richardsons to do some kid photos at Gardner Village. Rachel was careful to schedule for the absolute craziest crowded time of day because she understands my love of photoshopping strange old men out of the background ;) As packed as it was, everyone there was very polite (unlike a certain blue box shopping hell I could name) so we got all the photos we wanted. Only one small mishap as Thomas decided to detour straight up the wall of mud and ended up adding some characteristic caked on dirt to his otherwise spotless outfit.

Thanks to the Richardsons for a fun afternoon and all the cute kid pix!

(click the pic for the slideshow or here for the set)

Kearns Touchdown

Ian started the game against Hillcrest by returning their opening kick-off for the first touchdown of the game. I'm not sure what TD this video is, but the whole game was about this easy. It was just a sad day for Kearns.

Kearns TD - Too Easy from aaron smith on Vimeo.

Tailgate Party

Aimee and I, along with coach Hinton and his wife, hosted the Thursday night tailgate for the football team this week.

Last week there were a TON of people out for one of the coldest tailgate nights we've had to date. This week has been really warm so we planned on at least the same number of people. Not so much. We were giving away dessert and muffins afterward and ended up taking home and whole tray of brownies and 60 muffins.

Minimal attendance aside, it was a ton of fun and the food was good. Coach Hinton made chili of three-different-levels-of-death chili and brought the chopped jalapenos for true masochists. His wife made peanut butter rice krispie treats with chocolate icing which I am now craving. Not sure why I didn't snag some left-overs...

Aimee and I did cornbread muffins and cream cheese iced brownie bites with fruit on top. I'm pretty certain the consumption rate would have been at least triple without the fruit. All the kids thought they looked far too healthy ;)

Mighty Hunters

Mighty Hunters, originally uploaded by eouio.

Ian headed up to Kamas with Uncle Aaron to help him pack out whatever he shot. At least, that was the plan ;)

Nothing got shot (except these two by the camera) so Ian got off easy. He says different as he complains about how far they had to hike and walk, but then he says he'd do it again anytime. Teenagers...

Ian had a lot of fun and we had a pretty good meal when we took Ian up that night. Best butternut squash soup I've had in a long time.

Almost fall colors

After Ian's game on Saturday we went up to Little Cottonwood Canyon and snapped a couple pix of the Wilsons. Click the pic to check out the rest of the set :)

Pumpkin Patch

Grandma took the grandkids out for pizza, pumpkin picking, and some McPlaytime.

(click the pic to view the rest of the set)

So Close

Ian was held scoreless against West. He had plenty of yards and caught a couple sweet passes, but was stopped just short of the goal line each time.

One Inch Short

Battle for Yards

Hillcrest was definitely outsized against West and had to fight for every yard. They really together played as a team, fighting for each other on the field.

Disliked For All The Right Reasons

Ian was greatly disliked by West on Saturday. I've never have much problem with him irritating the opposing team, but when the opposing, dirty deed teaching coaches decide to target him, I do get a bit concerned.
It was a tough battle. West played a dirty game. The refs must have had little brothers on the the team and I can't post any of the opposing parents' comments and still call this a family website. In the end, we just outplayed, outclassed, and outscored them.

(West coaches had the same expressions every time we ran past them ;)