Thanksgiving in Miami

All of the Smuckers trekked to Miami for Thanksgiving this year where Benj, Rachel, and the girls are living for one year. It was a nice change to be in the tropical sunshine and to spend time with Phil's family in a new environment. The beach was a real hit with the kids and we also enjoyed a botanical gardens one day.

The water at South Beach was gorgeous and the water was perfect for swimming.

November

Sasha is into "Where's Waldo" books when she sits on the pot. She's quicker at finding him than I am most times!

Phil and I hosted Friend Thanksgiving at our house a couple of weekends ago. I made the turkey and mashed potatoes and everyone else brought all the fixings for a real Thanksgiving feast, a prelude to the actual meal with families last week. The best part is that we stuck all the kids (8 toddlers) down in our basement with a mess of toys and 3 babysitters so we could actually have a relaxing dinner with good conversation. Good times!

Me and my cronies: Kate, Kat, Katja, Sara, Suzanne, and Audrey.

Late October

One Saturday last month we drove into the Jemez mountains west of Santa Fe determined to find the natural hot springs that we've heard so much about. The trail was not well marked and we were definitely lost at one point, but we eventually found the clear warm pools in a sunny clearing about 3 miles in. We stripped down to our suits and took a dip. Sasha was beside herself with joy both because we were swimming in the woods and because there were lots of minnows.

Our first snow came before Halloween this year, earlier than most years. It is magical to be out in the country now and wake up to snow covered mountains, pinon, and juniper. I love winter now!

As per tradition, Phil made me a cake from scratch of my choice on the 30th. This year I was in the mood for Black Forest. Sasha loved saying "Happy Birthday, Mommy!" and helping me unwrap presents.

Utah Continued

The steep switchbacks on the "Angels Landing' trail.

The Narrows is a slot canyon hike that is entirely in the river. The water was freezing and we had to walk with caution due to the slippery rocks so we only made it up to our high thighs a ways up before turning around.

Bryce Canyon at sunset was breathtaking. The unique spires that stick up in the canyon are called "hoo doos" which quickly became a favorite word of Sasha's.

Utah

We took a 5 day driving vacation to Zion and Bryce National Parks in October. The 11 hour trip straight through was made bearable by a newly purchased portable DVD player and Sasha's little potty which we whisked out on the side of the interstate countless times. Honestly diapers would have been a little bit easier on this occasion. Zion was one of those "wow" places that just takes your breath away. We went on several amazing hikes, Angels Landing being the best hike I have ever done. The last 1/2 mile up this huge red rock monolith required hanging onto chains with 1400 ft. dropoffs on either side. We took turns doing this as it was not recommended with a child on your back! I'll post a few more pictures from our travels on the next entry.

W

Sasha was a champion hiker as long as she had a lollipop in hand. Since Halloween when I ask her if she enjoyed eating a particular food she says "Yummy. Tastes kind of like candy." whether it's cold cereal, soup, vegetables, whatever. Is that bad?

At the end of a long hike in the hot sun.

Middle October

These are just a few random shots from this month around the house. These past few months have been so fun with Sasha. It is rewarding to hear her vocabulary expand every day and to see how she is getting more and more independent. No terrible 2's yet, but I'm sure they're just around the corner.

I decided to see if she could just wear her old costume from last year (is that sacreligious?) since she's still so small, but I guess she actually has grown a little. The old cow costume was way too tight to be comfortable. Pictures of this year's costume to follow...

We had a fun day at the pumpkin patch/petting zoo with the mom's group I'm in. Sasha loves pumpkins this year and pumpkin pie even more!

The Aspens

I LOVE fall for so many reasons one being the beautiful colors that brighten the landscape in October. We did the "Aspen Vista" Hike--a must-do in the Santa Fe area the first part of the month. The trail was an old logging road so we took the jogging stroller for a change of pace. It was as if we were walking in a sea of yellow with the aspens at their peak. Sasha particularly enjoyed the picnic lunch at the halfway point.

Early October

It seems that every daily routine now Sasha wants to "do it by myself" including washing hands (she would do it 50 times a day if I let her), buckling her seatbelt, carrying dishes to the sink, putting pants on, etc. It's tempting to get impatient and take over, but I'm trying let her do these things as much as possible. It has also been so nice this week that she has caught on to saying "Thank you, Mommy/Daddy" unprompted and appropriately. Not that I need to be thanked for doing anything for her, but it's just nice to hear.

We have had the most beautiful fall weather this year--clear blue skies and temps. in the 60s/70s every day. We've enjoyed lots of good hikes after work during the week and on weekends.

We woke up at 4:15 am one Saturday a couple of weeks ago to attend the Annual Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. It's the biggest festival of it's kind and they launched about 1,000 hot air balloons at the same time--truly one of the neatest things I've witnessed. It was a great age to take Sasha as she really was excited by all they crazy shaped balloons and it was neat to walk amongst all the balloons on the field as they were being launched.

Fall Color

One of my friends is starting up a business of her own: designing and sewing children's clothing and we got one of her hot off the machine outfits for this winter. Sasha was in a little photo shoot for her trunk show earlier this day and we were inspired to do a little informal photo shoot of our own in front of our house later that day. The yellow aspen trees and chamisa (the yellow flowers below that grow along all the roads in S.F.) were at their peak last week. Gorgeous!

September

We ventured down to Albuquerque for the State Fair. Sasha got her fill of farm animals and Phil and I got our fatty fair food fix for the year. We were surprised how similar New Mexico's State Fair was to Indiana's--just some green chile items on the menus is all.

The weather has been lovely the last couple of weeks. It's just a pleasure to spend time outside our house kicking balls, shoveling stones, looking for geckos, and climbing rock walls.

Phil definitely plays the roll of good cop when it comes to feeding Sasha. He loves to give her sweet treats which lately has included Diet Coke in a big girl cup with a straw. On an unrelated note, but worth mentioning, I haven't had to change a poopy diaper for over a week now. No, Sasha is not constipated, she's almost potty-trained! I will not be sad to put those cloth diapers away.