Happy halloween

Tessa has been wanting to dress up as Dorothy and go trick-or-treating for months. I planted the idea in her head (figuring this would be the last year I could influence her costume decision) and she loved it. Phoebe wore the same costume when she was four and so did cousin Elizabeth (whom we borrowed it from). She made the cutest Dorothy ever, in my humble opinion. She even had a Toto to accompany her, which ended up being her constant companion for the next couple of weeks. She was so thrilled to finally be trick-or-treating that she was full-on running from house to house in the beginning! Phoebe was excited to get out and go walking at first, but I think she gets bored sitting and waiting at each doorstep, so she tuckered out early. Papa Bob and Tim took her home and Gramma Pat and I continued on with Tessa. We were out for a total of 2 hours, which I thought was impressive for Tessa, 3 years old. I kept asking her if she wanted to go to more houses or go home and she kept going. She didn't even ask to be carried. Daddy met us on the last block of our trip home and offered to let her rest which she took him up on. Tessa asked for several days after, when we could go again. I think maybe Phoebe can go to a few houses on our street and then pass out candy at home next year.

Gramma Pat and Papa Bob Visit

Tim's parents drove out for a visit at the end of October. We were able to do some sight seeing and touring while Phoebe was in school. We went to the Pima Air and Space Museum where Tessa got to play in some of the planes. We also went to Sabino Canyon and rode the tram that goes several miles into the canyon. Both trips were a first for all of us and we enjoyed them. And with the cooler nights we were able to roast some s'mores in the backyard.

Fall Fun

Fall in Arizona is a funny thing. It can be scorching hot one day and freezing cold the next. Sometimes it is a gradual change, down one week, back up the next. Here are some various shots throughout the month; our small-town parade, a water fight on the trampoline, Dallas keeping our puppy-friend Cooper in line (at 13+ she's really doing well!), playing in the pecan leaves, my beautiful girls in the bright afternoon sun.

Exploring our Backyard

When Phoebe's in school, Tessa and I have long days to fill and sometimes we go exploring. We have often been to Madera Canyon, just minutes away, and so beautiful. This time we went slightly north to see if we could find the ghost town Papa Jim and Daddy had found once and told us about. We took the wrong road, I guess, and never found that, but we did find an interesting trailhead through the Santa Rita mountains. If we stayed on long enough we would get to the same peak above Madera Canyon. We went less than a mile before turning to head back in time to meet Phoebe's bus. It was a very narrow, rocky trail for the most part and I was impressed that Tessa was not only able but disappointed that we couldn't keep going.

Feels like Fall

Now that it's beginning to "cool off" (meaning highs are "only" in the 80s) it's time to start enjoying fall. We made the annual trip to Willcox and spent the day at Apple Annie's orchards and Pumpkin patch. First stop apples, at Tessa's request. She really likes to pick the fruit and insists on carrying the bucket herself.

We invited Tim's friend Wayne and his girlfriend Odette to join us. It looked like everyone was having fun. The hay ride was pulled by a tractor and didn't actually have any hay though.

We weighed the apples to pay for them. Tessa was investigating the scale. We had homemade pumpkin and apple pie ice cream. Then we headed over to the produce fields a few miles down the road.

Tessa loved running, walking or riding (she did a little of each) through the sunflower patch and checking out the extra tall corn fields.
She wanted to wander in the fields, which we knew would result in her permanent disappearance, so we had to create a race back to Phoebe.

Wandering through pumpkin patch, looking for the right one to cut and take home.

Found it!
Daddy chose Phoebe's because it was perfect, he said. That soft dirt was pretty tough to wheel through.
Probably the last year she'll be able to hitch a ride.
Yummmm, kettle corn!
Wayne and Odette looking picture perfect. They obviously don't have kids! (Although they were both so patient and helpful with ours - even during Tessa's carsick incident)
Looking windblown and disheveled but happy.

They had a trough filled with corn kernels that the kids could play in. It was disgusting to watch one kid using his shoe as a shovel to pour it over everyone's heads and Tessa putting her face in the kernels and swimming through it. When she came up for air some of the kernels stuck to her runny nose. But hey, you're only a kid once, right?

We took home some pumpkin bread and exactly one bell pepper to put on a pizza. We'll see if she'll actually eat it. We had dinner in Tucson and got home late. The kids were zonked out in the car and after being stripped down and put in bed (we only found two corn kernels in Tessa's clothes) it was a quiet night.