Pumpkins + Trick-or-Treating

We made the trek to a favorite farm for pumpkin picking, homemade donuts, fresh-pressed apple cider, and farm animal watching -- or in the case of Stella farm animal attempted touching.

Checking out the hens.

Stella's first donut -- love at first taste for this lil' one.  Shortly after this photo was taken, she proceeded to walk into the donkey pen to "visit" Ethel.

Anders and Iver amused by the antics of the goats.

The Four.

The Bigs.

Meg and Iver in search of more tractors.

Heading down to the pumpkin fields.

All of us.

The final pumpkin picks.

Our dinosaur and skeleton at the zoo.

Dino on the loose.

Pumpkin carving.

Skeleton on wheels.

Working on their carving masterpieces...

Anakin Skywalker practicing his moves.

The candy collection begins via Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, and a skeleton.

Gumby love.

Attempting to scare the kiddos.

Spooked?

Providing entertainment with one of the many, many kazoos we picked up at the Stobin household.

Who is Gumby?

Eric revealed!

The Southwest

Back in mid-October, the bigs and I headed south to Arizona for a family wedding and a bit of desert exploring.  This was their first time in the Southwest -- they were awed by the variety of cacti, the red rock canyons, and eating dinner poolside (in October!).  And, as expected, spending time with extended family was awesome -- and long overdue.

Dressed and ready to head to Elizabeth and Richard's wedding.

Anders, Jorja, and Aunt Vesta at the wedding (the sole photo I have from the event).

Visiting the Desert Botanical Garden.  The gardens are amazing and extensive -- I could have spent hours and hours beyond the 3 we spent there!

Jorja taking field notes.

Relaxing in the shade.

Strolling the trails.

J's turn with the camera...

and A's turn.

Barrel cacti.

Love the whimsical nature of these cacti.

Jorja stiking the pose of the statue in the background.

Checking out the dial.

Jorja taking the lead -- map in hand.

Playing with the water feature.

Pounding mesquite pods.

The ubiquitous saguaro cactus.

Exploring the view.

Post-wedding, we headed to Sedona with Lori and Morgan to hike one of Lori's favorite trails.

Lori hitting the trail.

The fall colors were spectacular.

One of many, many creek crossings.

Searching for wildlife in this snag.

Fish sighting.

Birthdays

A and J turned 8 in July with high -- and answered -- hopes for skateboards.  We headed over to a local skate shop, let the kids loose, walked out with their new boards and pads and quickly realized we had no plan for teaching them without anyone ending up in the hospital.  We immediately proceeded down the stairs to the indoor skate park tucked in the ground level of the building, talked with the manager, and enrolled them in skate camp starting the next day.  Whew -- adult embarrassment and potential injury averted!  I skated back in middle school, but I claim zero muscle memory.

A circus arts birthday party!

Waiting for camp to start.

Riding at one of the local skate parks.

Stella getting in on the action.

Jorja riding in the bowl.

Rolling by.

Even with their new skateboards, they still love to do this...

Riding at Fort Flagler back in June with Scout.

Iver turned 3 in September complete with a school bus cake.  His love for yellow school buses remains strong despite their near absence over the summer!

Awesomeness!