The Fall!

November 11, 2015

Hooray for fall! The reprieve from the heat has been amazing, and now that the rain has come our property has begun to green up. I can't over-emphasize how lucky I have felt as of late. The weather and air quality has truly been awesome for us. 

 Sierra, Eve, and I have been able to get out in the common area of our neighborhood and explore with friends. Sierra is so much fun to be around outside, she loves to hike and run. I'm so happy to see her enjoying nature that it's hard to stifle. If she wants to wade in the big puddles, we take off her boots and socks and away she goes!

 On my runs around the neighborhood we stop and greet 3 of our favorite horses. One is exceptionally nice and recognizes us when we come by (it could be the carrots too). Sierra and him have become so familiar that he always lets her pet him on the nose now.

 My friend Julia (Auntie JuJu) came to visit and we brought her to my friend Emily's surprise party this past weekend. Emily had a tumor removed from her thigh 1 year ago (and truthfully you would have never known)! Her family and friends came up to a friend's house in Shaver Lake to celebrate. There were a bunch of kids there so Sierra had a great time too.

 We had to shop for clothes for Gus' new job this week so we drove to town, and on the way both girls fell asleep at the same time... a RARE occasion.

 Baby Eve is getting stronger and pushing up better on her tummy.

 She doesn't really sit-up on her own unless perfectly placed (as in this picture).

 I was able to complete a new oil painting this month, which I haven't been able to do in a long time.

 Halloween was a blast, we had Emily and her family over for dinner before going around the neighborhood. Sierra only lasted about an hour due to lack of sleep, but she really did seem to enjoy it and talked about it for days afterwards.

 We are constantly reminded of how lucky we are to have family so close, the girls get to interact with their Grammy, Grandpa, and Great Grandma frequently.

 Sierra loved her costume, she was a Hula Girl and she even did the hula (we were able to wear the costume multiple times).

 My mountain bike is back in business now, which means I can stop borrowing Gus's bike and we can ride together. He did a ton of work to rebuild my bike while the carbon repair was being done.

 We took a trip down to the LA area and were able to spend a few days with Joe, Elsa and their new baby Eli! We had fun going to the beach, a pumpkin "patch," and just catching up.

 We also visited Auntie Crystal and Uncle Onkar in Pasedena, and went to the "Kids Space museum" while we were there.

 We stopped in to Joshua Tree for a night of camping in Grandpa Jerry's truck (THANK YOU)!!

 While visiting our friends Lizzy, Andrew and baby Vivian in Palm Springs we went out to explore the area. We all got out for a hike, played in the pool, and actually had some alone grown up time together thanks to Liz's parents!

 Sierra modeled for Grandma during banned books week. She read her a great story about Tango the penguin with two daddy penguins. It is a true story and I am completely surprised that this children's book would ever be banned!

 We visited our friends Jenna, Derek, Wricker, and Colten up at the Shaver Lake playground for a hike and a picnic this month too. Wricker is the same age as Sierra and just as verbal, physically active, and spirited as well.

 Sierra went to the Fresno Fair with Grammy this month and had a spectacular time! She loved seeing all of the animals :) Gus and I switched off mountain biking and carrying "Baby Eve."

It was another spectacular month, where Gus has found and started a new full-time job and I picked up some more part-time work as well! We were able to see a lot of friends and feel revitalized by the change in weather!