Fall in Albuquerque

I LOVE the weather in Albuquerque. I never thought I would say this but I am really liking living here now. The seasons are so beautiful and it is so nice to get back to my roots with all the outdoor activities. Lately it has been about 65 degrees and sunny. A small chill of wind but the sun and blue skies are so lovely it just makes you want to spend all day outside. Which we do often. This weekend we decided to take a little adventure and travel up to the woods. The drive was amazing. The autumn colors...orange, yellow, red, green, the woodsy smell, and the sun shining down on us. We hiked up in the Sandia Crest listening to the animals, climbing on trees, and enjoying the adventure. The kids had a blast and even hiked about 2 miles which is amazing. I felt so at peace, and it reminded me of my dad. I have been thinking about him a lot lately and this was the perfect day to reflect on my life and memories with him.

Cloudy Days

I swear whenever it rains my kids act like they have never seen rain before, and let's face it they haven't seen a lot. But seriously whenever it rains they run out of the house for a great time in the cold rain, usually with no shoes on. I have to explain to them that when it rains that usually means it is cold outside. Last week it rained a lot here, which I happen to love being from the great Northwest. So I wrestled the kids into their rain coats and boots and we went out to play. There is something about stomping in puddles that brings a smile to a child's face. I love the rain. I love the smell and I kind of like the gray skies. Makes me want to snuggle up with a blanket and a good book. I did get a few shots before I decided to get out of being soaked and warm up inside.

Harvast Festival

Man is October flying by or what? I can't believe it is almost Halloween. This is by far my favorite time of the year and my favorite holiday however I haven't even gotten around to many fall activities because we have been so busy. We did however take a trip to the Harvest Festival at the bio park this past weekend.

(On another note why do pumpkin patches cost so much money these days. I remember going to the pumpkin patch with the pumpkins on the vine for free and picking out the perfect pumpkin with my dad growing up. Is that so much to ask for? )

Anyways, the Harvest Festival was really fun. They have all kinds of Halloween decor around the park and new exhibits including a creepy crawly room complete with snakes, softball size spiders, and glow in the dark scorpions...not that we haven't seen enough scorpions in AZ lol. The kids thought the bugs and creepy crawlies were so cool. I was a little grossed out, but just a little.

There was also a country twang band playing, lots of tractors and chickens, and of course pumpkins everywhere. The day was brisk but sunny, perfect fall weather. I really couldn't have asked for a better day to spend with the family outside enjoying the beautiful fall in NM.

Gearing Up for Halloween

The kids are full on ready for Halloween. Jackson asks me every day...is it Halloween day? We are going to Arizona for Halloween this year because Brandon needs to take a class for his CFP in Phoenix (he is taking the test in less than a month AAHHH). I am excited and sad because it is so beautiful here right now. The trees are yellow and orange, the weather is a brisk and sunny 68 degrees, YET I miss Arizona so much.

Anyways, we have been practicing our Halloween dress up a lot lately. Costumes every day. We had a few friends over the other day and all the kids ended up dressing up and pretend playing. The boys were pirates (of course) and the girls were princesses. They pretended to capture Captain Hook which is a blow up penguin and slaying the giant sea monster (a stuffed octopus). I just love watching them allow their imaginations run wild and create crazy adventures.

It's Official

It's official 1 whole week and no accidents and no diapers! Amazing! I am so proud of my boy. He is really independent wanting to go potty all by himself. He really is a take charge kind of boy and stubborn. I need to remember this for the future. He will do it when he wants to. Same thing with walking. Walking around the furniture for 3 months and will not let go...then one day he does it and never falters. I guess he is a bit of a control freak like his mama.

We have had an agreement for months that if he fills up a potty chart with stickers he will get a bike. Well that happened in about 4 days, lol. So we went and bought a bike. He was a little scared and nervous at first (like always) but by day 2 he was riding it around the park with no problems. A couple of spills but got right back up and rode again. Another word to describe him DETERMINED.


Honestly I can say this now but I can't believe how easy this has been. All my moaning and worrying for him to be out of diapers and now that he is he just goes, no problem. I guess he really did know when he would be ready. Wisdom to all you mothers...trust your child. Most of the time they know what they need.

Cancer Watch...An Update

Some of you are probably wondering how my mom is progressing in her treatment. Well this past week was a not so good week. Up until this 3rd treatment my mom was feeling pretty good. A little tired but for the most part she was feeling good.

She had an amazing opportunity to have a makeup consultation with professionals through the breast cancer society. They taught her how to make her eyes pop and some good skin treatments. At the end she took home a huge bag of free makeup including a lot of high end products. She even learned how to tie some special scarves around her head. This was a really nice pick-me-up for her as last week she began loosing her hair.

Last week she received her 3rd treatment and I think that all the chemo has been building up in her system because it hit her like a ton of bricks. She was super tired, nauseous, and didn't sound like her chipper self. Thankfully only one treatment left in this round and then she will get a nice 3 week break. Hopefully she will be feeling better before that last treatment.

Now for a few words or pictures of encouragement:

If these girls can do it you can pull it off:




Love you mom.

SUCCESS!

Yup, you heard it SUCCESS! Jackson is officially on his way to being completely potty trained. I didn't want to mention anything too soon in case I might jinx it but it has been 3 days of no diapers. It started with a meltdown.

This weekend I was running a little short on diapers but I didn't want to go and buy more until Monday because I have a Costco coupon. So I told Jack that he had to wear underwear this weekend. Yeah he freaked out. He threw a huge tantrum and cried for like 20min complaining about needing to wear a diaper. But then I asked him if he needed to use the bathroom and he said, "No," so I said, "why do you need a diaper?" I think it clicked. He stopped crying and decided to go with underwear and the toilet. 3 days now, no diapers, and only 1 accident, even through the night.

CELEBRATE and thank goodness. Let's just pray it continues.