October

October was marked by many of our annual fall traditions.  I feel like we have similar pictures from last October but Sasha and Jack have changed so much in just one year. 

We woke up early one Saturday morning and drove up to Aspen Vista hike.  The kids each took a bag and collected beautiful leaves for our fall centerpiece.  Sasha also enjoyed making a leaf collage between two ironed pieces of wax paper. 

We didn't get any great pictures of our visitors, but we enjoyed 5 days with Phil's parents at our house.  Phil took some time off and we acted like tourists in our own town for a change.

Jack enjoys a good French pastry now and again. 

While Jan and Jon were here we visited some home decor shops that we've always wanted to go into, but haven't taken the time to do yet.  Sasha and Jack were very patient in the Indian textile shop......

At the rug shop.....

We woke up at 4:30 on Saturday morning and all drove down to Albuquerque to watch the ascension at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. 

Another weekend we went to McCall's pumpkin patch.  It's always a great day there in the corn kernel sand box...

in the corn maze...

on the giant bouncy pillow (everyone's favorite)

and lastly the hayride out to pick out pumpkins to take home.

My birthday (the day before Halloween) fell on a particularly busy weekday.  Sasha's violin lesson was that afternoon, then Phil met us straight from work at Five Star Burger for dinner, after which we headed to Sasha's violin recital (Song of the Wind), and then back to our house for Black Forest Cake (baked by Phil the night before) with my parents and Megan. 

Halloween was all it was cracked up to be.  After several parties and parades in the days leading up to the big day, Sasha and Jack were still psyched to hit the streets for some good old-fashioned trick or treating.  Jack was Superman and Sasha was a China doll. 

Jack literally tore down the sidewalks in our adopted neighborhood looking for porch lights that were turned on and hollered at the top of his lungs if he saw one.