Hiking Close to Home

Alanna the Fashionista 

(her choice in hat and layering)

Last weekend we decided to hike from the front door, especially since the weather has been nice and warm (although since it's February, it's a little disconcerting). One block to the north of us is the edge of town, and we can get on a trail that heads up the top of the mesa nearest our side of White Rock. As we climbed up the side of the mesa, we explored some of the caves that may or may not have been native homes at one point in history.

 The day was so clear and lovely. 

The Sangre de Cristos to the east presented a 

blue horizon, viewed from the top of the mesa.

 Also from the top of the mesa we could see our house: 

it's the red roof to the left of the red roof that's in 

the center of the photo.

(I think. It's hard to tell in this small format).

Alanna has become such an independent girl that 

she had to hike until it was too hard for her short little legs to climb. 

She then fought, screeching and thrashing, having to go in the Ergo.

All the hiking and fit-throwing tired her out, however, and she 

had to take a mid-hike nap.

Finally, on the way home we had to stop at the park to swing for a bit.

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!

Camping at Heron Lake State Park

We had a blast!

.....Our campsite.....

.....Rhys looooooved swimming in the lake even though the water was cold!.....

.....Alanna would have spent more time swimming, but as I said, it was cold!.....

.....The view from our campsite.....

.....Los Brazos from across the lake.....

.....Blue skies, great tent, perfect spot.....

.....ahhhhh.....

Cousins

We had family here over Memorial Day Weekend. The cousins are getting so big! Kylah is nearly 8 years old, Rhys turns four in July, and Alanna just turned 1. Wow.

And here, Alanna was lucky enough to take a cozy nap on Grandma one afternoon.

Santa Fe Southern Railroad

We were so fortunate to have Grandma, Grandpa, Kylah, and Aunt Ginnie here over Memorial Day Weekend. We finally rode the train, which was so exciting!

 

....This pretty much sums up Rhys's experience....

....and this pretty much sums up Alanna's. After she fell asleep and took a nap, she was in a better mood....

....If only we were all this flexible! Rhys is looking at the rails go by through the slats in the open flatcar. In front and in back of the flatcar was a coach car, each of which was manned by a host who told stories and facts, served alcohol, and sang songs....

....Daddy kept Alanna cozy while she napped....

....The smoke from the steam engine. The coach cars were actually from the 1890s, and so we couldn't go very fast because they might have fallen apart en route....

....We had an absolutely gorgeous day. This is pretty much what all of the area around Santa Fe looks like. This is looking northwest on our return trip at the Sangre de Cristos mountains....

 .....Just in case you were wondering....

....Whoo Hoooo!!....

Awakening My Inner Hippie

Aaron has told me title of this post should actually be "Reawakening My Inner Hippie." I've suppressed this particular aspect of my persona for a few years– I think because of the intervention of "modern western" medicine in Rhys's premature birth (which brings up so many emotions I really can't express them in an online blog). I'm now moving back to my mostly vegetarian, shampoo-is-merely-a-money-making-conspiracy, aromatherapy anyone?, mmmmmm-patchouli-smells-yummy self. So: I prefer eating vegetarian, although I've found my son is a willing and ready carnivore; yup, I'm not using shampoo at the moment (with mixed results, but it bears more study– I'm using baking soda and a vinegar rinse, if you're interested); with the colds going around the house we've been using steamy tea tree essential oil for treatment of stuffy noses and coughs; and, well, I do love the smell of patchouli. Above is my homemade beeswax-olive oil-honey lip balm and the horehound lozenges (also for treatment of colds) I made yesterday. Our cleaning supplies have mostly consisted of vinegar and baking soda for a while, but now they're pretty much exclusively those two ingredients, with the addition of a general purpose cleaner I got from a friend (below). I'm even cutting out high fructose corn syrup (which isn't too difficult since we don't consume much of that anyway) and already make my own laundry detergent. I'll be donning flip-flops as the weather gets warmer, and I'm growing my hair out long again. I don't plan to go bra-less, encourage dreadlocks, or smoke pot. Does that make me only a hippie wanna be?

Oh, and, I'm planning to start making my own granola....


.....
Here is the all-purpose cleaner recipe:

2 TB salt
1/2 cup vinegar
*60 drops orange essential oil
*30 drops lemon essential oil
*30 drops grapefruit essential oil
water
2 TB eco-friendly dish soap

Start with an empty quart-size spray bottle. Add 1 cup of warm tap water. Use a funnel to add salt. Swish the water until the salt dissolves. Use funnel to add vinegar. Remove funnel and carefully add essential oil. Fill bottle with water to one inch from the top. Finally, add dish soap. Replace sprayer and shake gently.

*You can use ~120 drops of whatever oil you have or like. I (my friend) use a combo of bergamot and lavender because they are inexpensive and I like the smell. I (Britton) used lavender and tea tree oil.

Autumn Images

--Happy Fall!--

--Pressing apples into apple cider at our friends' house--


--Napping on Daddy while he's on the phone--

-- Napping on Mommy while she does housework--

--"No, Mommy, I'm not really sure how this sand got stuck to my snot..."--

--"I'm funny!"--

On the last photo: Rhys's sense of humor is really developing. He's experimenting with what other people might find funny– and how he can get them to laugh. He'll do something, such as putting on Daddy's shoes and clomping around the house, and then inform us, "That's funny!"

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday, dear hubby! Rhys and I decorated for Daddy's birthday yesterday, September 30th. Or at least, I did, anyway. Rhys played with the balloons and sang "Happy Birthday", which was helpful to get us in the mood. I don't know if Aaron wants me to divulge how many candles are on his cake, but as you can see, it burned very brightly when they were all lit! We're all so lucky to have our hubby/daddy in our lives and we love him very, very much.