Pumpkin Patch

Pajarito Trail Fest

Last Saturday was the Pajarito Trail Fest. I ran the 10k, which has 1600 feet of elevation gain (and then loss), so "running" the race may be a bit of an overstatement. I jogged when I could and hiked the rest. I wasn't in as good of shape as I wanted to be in, but I finished it 5 minutes faster than my goal, so I guess that means I was successful. And as Aaron pointed out, I could still smile for the camera at the finish line, which means I must have had fun.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Daddy celebrated his 35th birthday on September 30th. We were so happy he celebrated with us! For a birthday dinner we had tomatoes and basil from the garden with soft mozerela cheese and grilled sausage from the farmer's market. Daddy's cake was angel food cake with two layers of praline whipped cream and ganache on top. Alanna had trouble keeping her hands out of the cake, as you can see. In fact, she got rather upset that we had to eat dinner first.

 Daddy's present was a box-within-a-box wrapping job, so it felt like he had lots of opening to do. We decided to have fun with it since his present, an iPod shuffle, was about 2 inches cubed and not very impressive as a present to be opened.

I think these grins sum up the evening pretty well.

And finally, Daddy got to blow out his candles and we ate cake!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

We love you!

Autumn Colors

 Last weekend's hike was in the Sangre de Cristos outside of Santa Fe, where we went to see the changing leaves. The aspens are always so gorgeous at this time of year. Even though Alanna and I had colds, it was worth the journey and the experience.

This is Daddy's self portrait with Alanna. Lookin' good!

Dancing on the Chairs

Alanna is Rhys's little imitator. She loves to follow what Rhys is doing, step by step. Apparently, he decided to start dancing on a chair, so Alanna had to follow suit. And make silly faces, too. I missed the actual occasion as I was sick in bed, but I imagine it was as hilarious as it looks.

Cuke till you Puke

These are lemon cucumbers. We discovered that the lemon cucumber vine is particularly... productive. I estimate we've harvested 150-200 cucumbers this summer (from just one plant!), with more still on the vine. They're starting to go at this point, but I think we're going to make some refrigerator pickles with them this weekend. The skin is a bit tough, but the inside is quite delicious, juicy and sweet. Much, much tastier than the traditional kind.

Pretty in Pink

Jam Session

And here are the 16 jars of fresh peach freezer jam I made today. It's so wonderful to have a good friend with a fantastic peach tree in her backyard!

As a note, our camera seems to be experiencing a long, slow, pink death. This isn't a great picture, unfortunately.

Playing in the Mud

This is the look Alanna gives when you ask her to smile. So, she's actually having a lot of fun playing in the mud and water, even though she looks like she's about to cry...

Hiking in the Jemez

We try very hard to spend time as a family doing something fun every weekend. Sometimes it's only a trip to Santa Fe to do errands, but often we manage to hike in the mountains. It's evidently one of Rhys's favorite activities since he play-acts hiking and spending time in the Jemez Mountains nearly every day. He's been relentless this week in asking to go "hiking in the Jemez", so we'll definitely have to go this weekend. In fact, even as I type this,  Rhys is on the couch with an assortment of cars, dinosaurs, and a big puppy, and they're all going camping in the Jemez...

 We forget to bring the baby backpack on this particular hike, so Daddy 

helped Alanna along when she got tired.

We've outfitted Rhys with a small camelbak backpack, which means he  also does 

a lot of peeing in the woods since he's so well hydrated.

Alanna is an excellent hiker for having such short legs!

First Whipped Cream Beater

She enjoyed it!

Working Boy

I asked Rhys what he wanted to say about this photo. He is helping us in the garage by shredding paper (we recently cleaned out our filing cabinet). This is what he wanted me to write: "God bless me and God bless you." I'm not sure exactly why this picture made him say that, but its a good sentiment, anyway.

Noodle Hair

Alanna is modeling the latest fashion in noodles....

Yummy Dinner

 We had this dinner several weeks ago- a mixture of our garden begs, farmer's market vegs and farm eggs. We enjoyed it!

A Duck and a Puppy after Bath

Grammy's and Grampy's in August

 This is the one picture I took in the week we spent at Grammy's and Grampy's in Colorado. This sums it up pretty well for Rhys, though. Alanna got sick. 'Nuff said about her (and my) experience.

Fires

My mom and dad are currently being threatened by the Fourmile Fire. Mom called my tonight to tell us that their part of town has been put on alert to be prepared to evacuate in case the winds change direction overnight.

http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_16024451?source=most_emailed

There are some photos too.

Backpackin'

Alanna loooves to imitate Rhys. She wants to be a big girl! So, when Rhys puts on his backpack to go to school in the morning, Alanna has to put on her backpack too. She is so cute rambling around with her hat on her head and her backpack on her back.

 

Song Man

Rhys has been very musical recently. Yesterday, he regaled Alanna and me for the twenty minute ride home after gymnastics, and was quite animated, creative and hilarious. If we're at home, there's usually a dance number to accompany the song. Recent song titles include:

"Checking on the 'Puter" (Checking on the Computer)
"Going Up the Mountain to Jail" (Just what it says....)
"Ketchup and Honey" (Referring, presumably, to our family's favorite condiments)

And yes, I do wonder what the heck he's thinking and where he gets his ideas!

Bathing Beauty

Alanna tossed this ribbon over her shoulder and posed on the couch for me. I thought she looked like an old-fashioned bathing beauty.

Eggplants, Peppers, and Beans, Oh my!

So that you don't have to be subjected to yet another photo of produce, I'm just going to post in words about the garden. It's tasty and productive right now: eggplants, peppers, 3 kinds of string beans, almost cucumbers, almost cantaloupe, the last of the peas. The pumpkins are ripening, as are the tomatoes. Yum!

Well, Sometimes it is...

Today was Rhys's 4th birthday! We are so amazed... and so proud. We had a backyard swim/play party, and I think everyone had a great time. I know Rhys did. He informed me after the party that he turns 5 tomorrow-- presumably so he can have another party. We've also been talking about the nearby elementary school and that he'll go there for kindergarten. So, Rhys told me this afternoon that he was ready to go to Chamisa now that he's the ripe old age of 4. Well, he didn't actually say that, but it was certainly implied with his body language. Or maybe I read a little more into this interaction than was actually there...