I hope everyone had a happy Halloween and Reformation Day. We had a fun time hanging out in our backyard with a few friends and handing out candy to trick-or-treaters. Here is a picture of Walker as Martin Luther. We are thinking maybe John Calvin next year. Any suggestions?

Walker is now 1 year old, and he had a wonderful birthday! He cleaned up on gifts and is delighted with all the new-found foods he is allowed to eat. He is starting to say so many words (doggies, Bella, Abe, Daddy, silly, bye-bye, baby, hi, yuck, mmm). I promise not to list every word he learns, but right now it is so exciting and easy since there aren't really THAT many! He is cruising all over the place and taking several steps in a row, but he's not walking yet. He had a balloon at his birthday that made him want to walk -- not sure why -- but that died now, so he's back to crawling more. We think walking is still just a little too slow for him!

We are off to go backpacking this afternoon! We are going to the Talimena State Park in Oklahoma to hike along the Ouachita Trail for a couple of Days with Ben, Bella, and Abraham. Walker is staying with Mimi and Poppy, and I think they are going to the zoo! We have been getting ready for the trip all week: dragging out our camping stuff, shopping for dehydrated food and trail mix, bathing the dogs, treating the dogs with their tick repellent, cramming all our stuff into our packs. And now we are ready to go. I'm just waiting for Aaron to get home so we can load the car, my mom will pick up Walker, and then we'll pick up Ben at school! The weather is supposed to be perfect -- sunny with a high in the fifties, so we are excited. Here is a picture of our trip 2 years ago and one from our trip 3 years ago. Stephen and Haley can't go this year because they are coming home today from a 3 week long trip to Europe, but we are planning on enjoying the beautiful colors anyway!