Our Animal Kingdom

Our yard is quickly becoming a kingdom of "crazy" animals - each day we are finding more. We have had a lot of deer from day one. The best part now is that we have expanded our yard into their regular daily path so we now have deer found footprints on our trampoline in the mornings. I am waiting to catch one jumping and enjoying the tramp. We have a mother and baby bunny that have been living in our front yard since the spring. We always look and see the baby waiting for us when we get home. But try as they might - that bunny is too fast for the girls to get very close. Chipmunks have now made their homes in our rock wall. They come out and play with each other - chasing and jumping tree to tree. They are actually quite entertaining to watch. Piper gets so excited to see them when she is outside! They are really cute. And of course we have the occasional snake here or there, too. New this week (just in time for Thanksgiving) - TURKEYS. There are 7 that roam the yard and get up into the trees that line the driveway. So cool!! But I won't let my brother-in-law and his gun anywhere close to them. I don't want a thanksgiving dinner from my backyard - I like to buy my turkey at the store. (Stayed tuned for pictures - I have not been able to get a good one yet...) Today we we found this:

A tiger salamander - cool, huh? Mia has taken over feeding it and researching it online to learn more. The girls are really pushing for a dog, but luckily with all of the "natural" animals running around we have put that on the back burner for now!! Besides, with mountain lion sightings in the area a little dog would not be safe in our yard. Now onto the FALL colors around here!

I have really come to love this time of year here in Utah. The mountains look like they are on fire with the red and orange glowing in the sunlight. Fall is in the air. And now comes the anticipation of the first big snow...and lots of cold weather (and skiing). But for now I will just continue to enjoy the amazing colors at our house and keep an eye out for any additions to our animal kingdom!!

We Love SPAIN!

Jason and I just returned from an amazing week in Spain! It has been on our "places to visit" list for a while now. Some of our good friends (Christine and Fred) moved there three years ago and we have wanted to go visit, but with having a third baby and moving to Utah we kept putting the trip off. Well, Jason was invited to a conference in Seville, Spain so it finally was our time to go! We had a few days in Madrid, and a few days in Seville. No kids, no real schedule and lots of time to eat, explore and enjoy being together. It was just what we needed!! And I loved every minute of it. Some of our favorites parts of our trip in ESPANA: - Spending time with Christine and Fred - Discovering my new favorite dessert - churros con chocolate! - Eating our meals at outdoor cafes on the quaint Spanish streets - Enjoying olives before each meal - Joining in a Madrid city running race at Retiro park like we were locals - Visiting old churches, palaces and buildings with incredible architecture - Spanish tiles (awesome colors)! - Taking high-speed train from Madrid to Seville and seeing the beautiful countryside - Going to a bull fight - and realizing how gruesome those can be! - Sleeping in and staying up way too late! - Sitting by the pool in Seville while Jason was in his conference - Being with Jason (and no kids) for a week!

The time went way too fast, but I was ready to get home to my little girls. Not that they missed us much - they had a fun, young couple with their cute little boy staying with them that kept them entertained all day. And then my mom came in for the last few days and spoiled them. It is always so fun to go away, but even better to come home and be all together again. :)