I've said it before and I'll say it again...I LOVE FALL! While technically Autumn doesn't start until late September, in the Elflein House there are a few indicators that fall is on the way and therefore we consider it FALL.
The first thing is GREEN FREAKIN CHILE! Working in Hatch, Chile is at the forefront of conversations most of the year but it's not until you smell that one-of-a-kind smell of chile roasting that you know it's time. We like to get our chile at Hatch Chile Express every year. We stick to the medium Big Jim chiles, as we find that they heat up more and more the longer they are frozen. They offer to blanch the chiles in an ice bath after they are roasted which serves two purposes. First, it preserves the green color and plump flesh of the chile (if you're a chile lover, you know what I mean here). Second, it pretty much peels the charred skin off of each chile. That way when you get home all you have to do is bag 'em up. So yummy!
And of course, we saved a bunch of chiles from the freezer and treated ourselves to Chile Rellenos that night.
The next sign of FALL around our house is football. Football of all shapes and sizes! The first Thursday of the college season we went to an Aggie home game. It was the first game we had taken Sophia to and she did AWESOME! She was cheering and cheering "Goooooo AGGIES!!" She's quite a sports nut so she loved it. As it turned out, that was the only game they actually won so we were very glad to see it. Poor Aggies :(
Next on the list of Fall to-dos is our ANNIVERSARY! We celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary and 13th anniversary of "us-ness" over Labor Day weekend. As usual, we went to Albuquerque to spend the evening in Old Town at the hotel where we got married. There was a Lobo game that weekend as well and that's where the celebration began.
Saturday, September 1, 2012 - Tailgating with Greg and Shauna
The next day was our official anniversary. We wanted to spend some time with Soph before dropping her off with my Mom so we could go be romantic :)
We started the morning at Flying Star. Our favorite ABQ breakfast destination.
Next, we went to the UNM campus to walk around. (We love to walk around university campuses) We went to the Duck Pond where Ken gave me his fraternity lavalier over 12 years ago. Basically the fraternity equivalent to a promise ring. Sophia fed the ducks and mommy nearly had a heart attack because the ledge of the duck pond was clearly unsafe :)
Then we took her to Explora! So fun! Even at her age she had a great time working with all of the different experiments. Wonderful sensory activities for all ages.
And finally, we dropped her off with my mom and got started with our celebration. We got dressed and went to Hotel Albuquerque for some pictures. Then we went to dinner at Desert Fish. It was a truly awesome weekend.
The following weekend was not so awesome. I got a call that my dad was back in the hospital and wasn't doing very well. I flew back to NC to be with him. This time, by myself. It was the first time I had ever been away from Sophia for more than 18 hours or so.
This was the first weekend of the NFL season so my dad and I decided to have a football party in his room. We certainly made the best of a bad situation and in the end, he pulled through the weekend.
He wanted to order a $50 dollar pizza, just to say that he did it. It was quite yummy! I recommend Mellow Mushroom Pizza to all!
Meanwhile back home, daddy was playing Mr. Mom. He did a great job with her...except for one thing. My beautiful little girl's hair!!
A couple of weeks later, Sophia and I were off to NC once again. This time, the trip was planned. She did so totally awesome on the plane! She's quite the frequent flyer!
When we landed, I put Sophia in the stroller but didn't strap her in. She second she saw "Papa" she jumped out of the stroller and took off running for him. Seriously, Skype is AMAZING!! It's like she talks to and sees him everyday! She picked up with him like it was nothing new. Totally awesome. He's such a kid himself, they had an awesome time together.
Before we got there, my dad had a list of things he wanted to do with her, including go to the pumpkin patch, make cookies, drink hot chocolate, and make caramel apples. We did it all and had a great time.
My Uncle Doug, aka Boy, is a master wood carver so he carved Sophia's pumpkin for her. Just a little better than our typical triangle-eyed jack-o-lanterns lol
And our October adventures didn't stop there. The next weekend we were back in Albuquerque for the Balloon Fiesta!
Next up - Las Cruces Pumpkin Patch!
That same weekend we did some other fall-ish activities at home.
We made pumpkin pancakes...
We made pumpkin pancakes...
Next up was a mini - Mommy and Daddy- cation. Ken and I took off to San Antonio for the weekend to attend the wedding of our friends and neighbors Mike and Stephanie. It was a great trip. San Antonio (specifically the Riverwalk) was so romantic. This was the first time we had been away together since having Sophia.
Once we returned, it was time to wrap up October...Halloween! Sophia loves Halloween! Loves pumpkins and witches and ghosts and bats and and and...
She really loves things that are SPOOKY!
And then we carved our pumpkins. As Sophia said, "We have one happy, one ghost, and one spooky pumpkin."
At school, they had a Halloween parade. Mine is the pirate in the front.
And at night, we went trick-or-treating for the first time. She LOVED it! Wanted to keep going and going!
Overall, this was a super fun and BUSY fall!
Sophia was so excited every step of the way and we really can't wait for Christmas now!
"Look! I a PUNKIN!"
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