Fall Break

I don't think I've ever fallen this far behind in my blogging!  I guess that is an indicator of the pace of our fall activities.  Luckily the pictures have patiently waited for me to document the last couple months.  Almost two months ago, Morgan and Elliot came for fall break.  We had made plans to go to Pinetop and enjoy the fall colors, so we packed everyone up and headed north.  We even packed a few toys for Elliot to take along.

The cabin is so relaxing.  No matter how many activities we pack into a day, there is always time to sit down and relax.  Actually I had just finished reading a story to Elliot, and Dan was trying to catch the moment, but Elliot was too fast for him.

We finally persuaded the Porters to join us in Pinetop.  Not that they were reluctant to do so - our schedules just never meshed.  It was fun to have them there.  We took some walks, rode bikes, did some RZR riding, and generally relaxed.

Elliot thinks Adam is his personal playmate, and he is!  Elliot also loves popcorn and shared a few kernels with Adam.

It wouldn't be a visit to Pinetop without a picture of Luna relaxing.

Elliot enjoyed the duplos we brought.  His mom played with these when she was little!

Uncle Bryce spent some time entertaining Elliot too.

Can you tell we adore this little guy?  Most of the pictures include him!

Bryce has some competition for time behind the wheel.

One afternoon we took a drive to Big Lake.  Dan spent many summers camping here with his family.  It was a trip down memory lane as we drove around the lake and the camping areas.  This is a picture of the lake at the marina.



Dan in front of the Big Lake country store.

The rest of the crew in front of the aspen fall colors.

Then it was time to head back to Gilbert.  Bryce had to get off to a stake youth conference that went from Thursday to Saturday, and Dan had a meeting at the hospital.  That meant Elliot got to play with the rest of our toys that we didn't bring up to Pinetop.  This train set started out with Morgan and Lindsay when they were little, then it was passed along to Bryce and Adam.  What started out as a small set of tracks and train cars was added to through the years.  Michelle spent many hours building trains with the boys.  Now it is Adam's turn to build trains for Elliot.  He started out with a simple oval and Elliot had fun with it.

Then Adam graduated to something a little more intricate.  Notice the track heading off to the netherlands under the dining room table.  Not sure what Elliot thinks about so many choices for his train cars to travel.

Soon Elliot was checking out all the tunnels, bridges and curves.  And mostly did what he is best at - dismantling the track!

Fall break does not necessarily mean fall weather in Gilbert.  So Adam and Elliot took advantage of the warm day and played with water in the sand.  This is an activity that is hard to outgrow.



The time to head back to Seattle crept up on us, and as Elliot saw his mom packing, he wasn't sure he was ready to leave.  He gathered up his blanket and pacifier and joined Adam for one last time.  We had a great fall break!