Early December

 We hosted a farewell dinner for our dear friends Katja (second from the left) and Kevin before they moved to Portland last month.  I met Katja the month after we moved to town at a park, and she has been one of my closest friends in Santa Fe.  Her daughter, Imogen, Sasha, and another friend Hudson (above) are good buddies.  Katja was one of those friends that I could always count on for a last minute playdate or sound advice about this or that.  I wish them the best, but they will be missed!

 Sasha, my mom, and I went to see a live production of "Annie" and Sasha wore the Annie dress that my mom had made for me when I was 4.  At the end of the show she got to give the real actress wearing the identical dress a hug which Sasha thought was pretty cool.  I love it that Sasha is getting to the age where we can start attending some cultural events together!

Jack is ready for anything this winter.

Sasha up on stage at her Christmas concert.  She took it very seriously this year and loved singing the songs at home too.

Jack and Sasha all spiffed up after the concert.

When we were in Las Vegas, Phil and I picked up a couple of tiny Coca Cola glasses for the kids for souvenirs.  Now a little glass of coke in their glass is a much sought after treat around here.

Our first big snow proved to be perfect for building a snow bunny/creature.

The slide was extra slippery with snow pants on.

Doesn't matter whose birthday it is, Sasha and Jack are completely psyched.  Aunt Megan's red velvet birthday cake was delicious.

Late November

Thanksgiving weekend at my parents house in Albuquerque was really nice.  My dad and I practiced our duet that we played for special music at our church on Sunday.

A vigorous hike at Tent Rocks on Saturday morning. 

The Yoder family Christmas photo that my parents sent out to people. 

Sasha contemplating life for a brief instant on our hike.

Thanksgiving morning we went to see hundreds of sandhill cranes in a field where they stop in Albuquerque on their migration south to Mexico.

Jack was obsessed with the binoculars.

The big dinner. 

The summit

Tent Rocks

Sasha started violin lessons at the end of October.  After toiling away on a styrofoam violin and a pretend bow for a month, her teacher finally said she was ready for the real violin.  Oh what an exciting day that was!  Violin has definitely been the biggest challenge Sasha has ever met.  We are still trying to find our stride with the practicing.  It's especially hard when the little guy (below) wants to play it too whenever we get it out.

Early November

An easy way to make Sasha and Jack VERY happy:  bubble bath in the big bath tub in mom and dad's bathroom

Phil and I got to go to Las Vegas WITHOUT KIDS for few nights in early November.  Phil attended a spine conference while I shopped, read, and ate croissants!  The highlight for both of us was getting to eat out at some really amazing restaurants in the evenings and linger over long meals.  Thanks mom and dad for making this possible!

 A woman once told me that she thought Jack looked so much like Heath Ledger.  I can maybe see the resemblance a little bit in this picture?

The fountains at the Bellagio where we stayed in Vegas.

Sasha and Jack are starting to really hit it off.  They love playing together much of the time.  Some of their happiest moments are when they are tearing back forth in the hallway on various vehicles or jumping together on the trampoline. 

Sasha and I made this edible turkey to take into her preschool class the week of Thanksgiving.

Sasha always licks the bowl until it's almost completely clean, usually sticking her whole head in there.

Halloween and Hiking

 This was before the Halloween Family Fun Night at our church.  Jack was a fierce lion and Sasha was a beautiful happy flower for Halloween this year.  Jack loved to roar and put his paws up in a menacing way.  Sasha insisted on just wearing her bath towel for her costume.  I got off easy this year!

 A lion zooming on a roller coaster is really pretty funny.

 The weekend before Halloween we did one of our favorite hikes, "Las Conchas", along a mountain stream close to Los Alamos.  There were many little bridges, natural and manmade, to cross which always adds to the allure for Sasha and Jack.  I have decided that hiking with my family is one of my favorite things to do these days.  No distractions, happy kids, happy mom and dad, deep blue New Mexican skies, and invigorating exercise.

 Zipline fun one afternoon

 Sasha at her station on the counter helping cook this or that.  Just liked this picture of her....

 For the actual trick-or-treating, Sasha changed her mind at the last minute and wanted to wear the ghost costume we had lying around.  Jack screamed and hid from her at first, but got used to it eventually. 

He was very brave going up to each house by himself and saying "trick-or-treat" and "thank you".  The last of the candy was just finished off last week.

Mid-October

 October was a fun month filled with fall activities and many afternoons spent lingering outside in the warm sunshine.  As you can see above, Jack is really into football (and soccer, and baseball, and any other activity with a ball).  He loves watching football on TV and exclaims "Whoa, that was really cool" when there is a good catch or a big tackle.  Sasha picked out many pumpkins for our house this year and got very attached to each one, so much that she became tearful in November each time she would discover that another was beginning to turn soft and rotten. 

 We went to McCall's Pumpkin Patch during the week with my mom and dad had a great time in the corn sand box, taking a hay ride, and picking out pumpkins.  Jack loved getting to climb on all the old tractors sitting around the property.

 I have orchestra rehearsal on average 2 times/week so while I'm gone for 3 1/2 hours Phil and the kids find fun things to do at home or out and about.  On this evening Sasha helped Jack by cutting out his doggie for him and he did the gluing, I hear.

 Goofing around in our dressy clothes before our first ever professional family photo shoot.

 The Santa Fe Community Orchestra concert.  I am third from the left in the front.

 Sasha came to the concert for the first half and then went to get ice cream with Phil for the second half.  

"Leaf Jumping Day" at Sasha's school.  Something I took for granted growing up in the Maple City.