Everyone Does Ring-Around-The Rosie

Now that Gus is walking, there are all sorts of wonderful things for him to learn. This is his first "Ring-Around-The-Rosie"

Winter On Its Way

We have had some amazingly warm weather, waking up to 40 degrees and playing outside without jackets in the afternoon. But yesterday, a cold front came through and we woke up to chilly temperatures. Today is Gus' first day in his new winter coat. What do you think!?

A Little Dorothy Hamill?

Even though the weather has been spectacular -- we had yet another 60 degree day today --the outdoor ice rink opened this weekend. Elise and I headed over to meet friends and try it out. This was Elise's first time on skates and her Midwest genes took over. She strapped on those skates, walked right over to the rink, and got on the ice! I could barely keep up with her. She used the little bar thingy and after a few minutes asked me to not touch her. Soon, she was zipping all over the rink, cutting people off, bumping into her friends, asking me to spin her. And when she fell down, she didn't fuss too much, licked the ice off her gloves, and got back up. She said it was one of the best days -- friends, hot chocolate, ice skating. Do we live in Minnesota?




Hopefully our little New Mexico desert kids will be able to hang with the cool Midwest hockey players and figure skaters when they come for a winter visit.

"Another one for Mark and Steve" says Eric

It was "Sports Day" at school this week and Maddie was one proud little Packer girl.
Sorry Minnesota folks...we only have Packers clothes for the kids! If it worries you, you could make Christmas purple around here...

There's Nothing Like a Zoo Day!

Last Sunday was spent at the Albuquerque Zoo. Eric LOVES the zoo, Maddie wants to be a zoo keeper, Elise wants to be a vet, Gus loves the train, I love the giraffes. This family would be happy to spend every weekend there!

There is an awesome jungle gym for the human monkeys. The girls could have stayed there all day but we convinced them to check out some of the real monkeys.

He walks!

Gus has been taking steps here and there for a month. He hasn't had much time to practice since he gets a lot of "help" from his big sisters as they hold his hands and take him around the house or he rides on my back as I make dinner and sweep the floors.

The other night when Eric and Gus were alone, he discovered that Gus takes steps when he is "free" from us. He just walked across the room. So last night, we said it was official and we took these videos. He is upright and ready to run.

High Five Gus!

Eric says "This one is for Mark and Steve"

We love Halloween!

It was a great week of Halloween fun. Four parties, two carnivals, several times to dress up, and no one was sick on the actual day of Halloween!

Woof! Elise wore her costume days before and after Halloween.

Maddie really has been an angel this year.

ROAR! What a cute lion!


Maddie was one exhausted angel after all the fun.

The weather was so warm our lion didn't stay in his costume for long.

Elise took my picture.

We had a blast at an adult costume party.

Party Time

For the third year, we had friends and their kids over after trick-or-treating downtown at the local stores. Eric made some awesome red and green chile for frito pies and his famous guacamole. The kids ate by the campfire while the parents enjoyed beer and conversation. Then a big group went trick-or-treating in our neighborhood.

Ronning family loves face paint.

Watch out for the Price cats and dogs.

Dr. Wohlbier has a sick dog and the pirate girls looked great.

We lucked out and had wonderful weather.

The kids investigated their stash after trick-or-treating.

Eric enjoyed a few frito pies after the crowd left.

Maddie was "out partied" by her brother and sister. She crashed right after everyone left.

Halloween Carnivals

Both of the girls had Halloween carnivals at their schools. At Elise's preschool, our puppy loved the cakewalk, got her face painted twice, and sorta pinned the tail on the cat. At Maddie's elementary school, the girls dressed as angels and had a blast with their buddies late into the night. After many cakewalks, a haunted house, and a zillion tiny toy prizes, Elise lost not just one, but two balloons to the night sky. Poor girl! When the second balloon flew away, everyone commented on her sad, screaming cry. The third balloon was tied on, gripped with all her might, and not let go until she was in bed.

Elise's preschool friends.

Remembering Grandma Jeanne

Grandma Jeanne lives on in these angels.

We enjoyed a warm and wonderful October 19th at Bandelier National Monument. We hiked to the ceremonial cave and the kids were just so good. I had a good long cry the night before and so this day was spent smiling at the warm reminders of my mom. She is everywhere.

My mom loved Eric and knew he would take good care of me.
He keeps me laughing!

Look at the warm sunshine on Gus' face!
Grandma is always keeping her light shining on him.

Check out Maddie's ILU hands! :) Just like Grandma used to do!

Grandma Jeanne loved yellow, autumn, and getting out in nature.
Elise has walked ~60 miles this year with her babysitter.
She is a hiker and Grandma would be proud!