Is it really fall?

Living in Tucson, sometimes makes it hard to remember that the rest of the country is actually going through seasons. As we are walking around sweating in our shorts and flip-flops, it's hard to believe that there are places not too far away where it is getting ready to snow. I absolutely love the fall and winter here - it's such a wonderful time of year - but I do miss the crisp, cold evenings and the smell of snow in the air and especially the changing leaves and fall colors. Fall here is time for flowers - purple, fuscia and yellow. I get spring fever in the fall - it's so exciting to emerge from the house after being cooped up in it for the long hot summer.

Well, to remind us of what fall is supposed to be like, we took a trip to Flagstaff, AZ for the week during "fall break". A new thing the schools have started here (and other places I'm sure) where the kids get a week off in mid-October. It's a perfect time to travel.

Flagstaff was awesome. My parents and nieces came with us and a friend of Noah's. It was great for him to have someone there to hang out with instead of it always just being us adults. We all rented a house and had a great time spending the week together. Since it was shortly before Halloween, we decorated the house with Halloween decorations and everyday the secret Halloween goblin would come and fill a treat bucket with goodies and toys for each of the kids - even Reese got stuff. They were all amazed and baffled about how the goblin got in and did that while we were gone each day.
We went to the Grand Canyon and all the kids got their junior ranger badges. We went to Sunset Crater where they got another badge. They were so proud of themselves - it's alot of work, but a fun way to learn about the parks. We also visited the Museum of Northern Arizona and the Lowell Observatory. The boys went to Meteor Crater with Grandpa one day while the girls went to the park and before we left town we dipped candles at a store downtown.