Hopefully you didn't... umm... what Caleb said

Here I am, as promised by my darling husband. He really has a way with words, does he not? 

Every year Caleb and I lament the buckets full of candy that find their way into our home due to trick or treating. We love the dressing up! Costumes are the best, and the anticipation is enjoyed for months. But we could do without the candy. 

Plus, Zion National Park happens to be absolutely gorgeous at the end of October. 

 Why have I never packed a camp kitchen in clear totes before? This changed my life. Genius.

The deer welcomed us to camp, bright and early the first morning.

Hello, friend. Looking for some breakfast? You won't find any here. Not for you, any way. *Muah!*

 And guess who else came? Hanna! And Tom! And CJ and Emily! And DeAnn and Cortney! It was a party, man.

 The kids were awesome hikers, as expected. They're such troopers. They love being out on the trail as much as we do, which makes for a blissful life - I tell you what.

Plus they're weirdos, which makes everything more fun.

Caleb just got a new camera, as did CJ, so they were playing with them most of the time - which I LOVE.  

Watch your step, CJ. Please.

The Watchman Campground gets a huge thumbs up from us.
Isn't it funny that we gather 'round the fire even when there isn't a fire?

Millie had this face 90% of the time.

 Partially because Batman was there, and she has a dog crush on him.
Isn't this van awesome? Be honest. You've always wanted one.

 They put gravel down in the spot where you pitch your tents, which is so genius! It makes the best floor ever! We were supes comfy.

And Tom got his lumberjack on.

 I love this face. And this face loves riding the shuttle.

 The weather was perfection the first two days, and we enjoyed every second of it.

Then the weather turned to a different sort of perfection. A rainy sort. Which made the bus rides extra fun.

We spent that day checking out the visitors centers and museums.

 Caleb thought the photographers were more interesting than the clouds.

 The rain let up while we were learning about the canyon's formation, so out we went again!

This little one is determined to be big. *sigh*

 These big ones are determined to be little. *sigh* (jokes, HanTom, I love you guys)

 Oh! And we celebrated Halloween!
 The big kids went to hike Angels Landing, and Hanna and I took the little kids in to town because we heard tell there was a carnival. We found it! At the Post Office! Springdale is cute like that.

 We had the handsomest cowboy in town.

Along with a right lovely cowgirl.

 We had a beautiful blue bird.

And a Kitty, who for some reason wasn't loving her M&M's.

 We didn't know what time the carnival started, and as it turned out we were 30 minutes early. So we found a nice lawn and waited it out.

 Millie has been in character for about 15 months now.

 And what a carnival it was! There was food, games, and prizes. What more could you want?

 They all won some cute little toys, had a great time, and we headed back to camp.
We did find one street that had some houses on it, so we stopped and walked up and down it knocking on doors. Only one person was home, but they had candy! Counts, right?

 Quite the bunch, if you ask me. I'm so glad they're mine.

Jonah: "We didn't really get much candy, Mom. But lets do this again next year, it's fun!"

That was exactly the response I was crossing my fingers for! Success!

And just because they were so adorable, the camp hosts rode around in their cart and handed out candy. I want to be a camp host when I'm old and adorable.

Emmy and Jonah had their own tent this trip, which was a new one for our family. We usually all squeeze in together. They loved it! Oh my heartstrings! Stop growing up!

As mentioned before, great company, gorgeous location, good food: what a trip!

I love these hooligans more than I can say. SO MUCH. Thanks for being awesome, you kids. 

And Caleb, don't ever sell your camera again. Because this.