Fall Leaves

Last weekend we were so excited that we got to go see some fall leaves in Spearfish canyon! Last year the weekend we planned to go turned out to be the horrible snow storm that killed thousands of cows and buried the state in snow, so we missed it entirely. This year, we had several errands to run in the morning so we made it up the canyon in late afternoon.
















The weather was perfect- high sixties, no wind and sunny! It was a lovely afternoon.























 Usually when we go on hikes or walks, Joshua complains the whole time and lags behind, but this time he was walking ahead with Jonah without a frown in sight.













































I had Elora wear a pretty shirt so we could take her birthday pictures somewhere different than our usual grassland background or interior, but I was worried that it would be freezing like it's been in years past and we'd just have our coats on the whole time. I'm so glad it was not only warm, but we weren't there right at midday so we got some pretty light too! Yay! Of course there were the other issues of reflective glasses and a weird hair day, but as you can guess, that will be our next blog post.























It was funny because Jonah kept climbing on rocks and posing, asking me to take his picture. I think he was jealous that Elora was getting all the attention this time. I wish he'd been so keen on posing when I was actually taking his pictures a few months ago!













































This hike in Spearfish canyon is the perfect length and difficulty for kids: about one mile, just a few inclines, and it ends in some pretty waterfalls! (If you think Jonah and Eli look like they're grimacing in this picture, you should've seen their smiles in the other photo.) Sheesh.






















Halfway down the trail is a little dam with a walkway, where you can go out and see fish swimming in the deeper water. We were all enjoying the view when Joseph and I turned around to find Eli with his pants off, practicing his long-distance peeing off the other side of the walkway. Three-year-olds. At least no other people came right then!























 I was happy that we had such a nice walk, and got some nice pictures- even of Joseph! But I was sad that I forgot to have anyone take a picture of me. Not that I don't have enough already, ha.























We were hoping to go to a cornmaze/ pumpkin patch after our hike, but we weren't able to find anyone who knew where it was. It was probably for the best though, as it was about dinner time by then, and everyone was already worn out. It was a fun day!