First Fall Day

We're definitely getting colder here. Two weeks ago, Ian and I were in 105 degree Arizona... Today it barely topped 50 degrees. The sand trucks were lined up on freeway overpasses this morning bracing for our first deep freeze...and our mountain passes (within sight of our bedroom window) are expecting snow.

Grandma Trish came bright and early this morning and it was shaping up to be a perfect day for a brisk...and I do mean brisk... walk. They went out with the wagon and gathered fall leaves, and then later, after I arrived home, Ian and I went out again for almost 2 hours.

We gathered leaves, met neighborhood dogs, played at the playground... Broken record here again, but how hard was it to believe that a year ago Ian hadn't been outside more than a few times in his entire life. Even 7 or 8 months ago, he was petrified of being outside without holding someone's hand, and wasn't about to touch things like leaves without a breakdown.

After dinner, Shawn sketched Ian and Polli while Ian attempted to color. He still doesn't love crayons, but cooperated long enough to achieve the scribble backgrounds I was hoping for, for some Fall cards.

Shawn is scuba diving tomorrow, so I'm working on some plans for our day. If the cool, sunny weather holds up, we'll do something at one of the local farms. We'll also be shopping for a "midweight" jacket somewhere between his many windbreakers and his one stay-puff winter coat. He could also use a slicker and boots!

Oh yay, another then/now... This one is for Ian's yellow winter jacket. The very same jacket. In December, he was wearing a snow suit and a few other layers underneath. I can't believe it was the same jacket... and he's obviously no longer afraid of the great outdoors.

The trails in our neighborhood have circuit equipment that reminds me so much of the ridiculous exercise equipment throughout the parks in China. He's getting in touch with his roots here.

Blurry, but one of my favorite pictures ever. How can you stress out about the economy after looking at this?

A moment of reflection at the park.

These were such nice Bichons. Bish and Free. He even let Ian hold the leash for a minute, which we know he loved.

He loves this duck pond.

Doodling with dad. Shawn is a great role model for creativity. So many people don't know that about him, but he's more than just a software guru.

After about a decade long break from anything artistic, Shawn breaks out the crayons with Ian and comes up with this striking resemblance to Polli in about 3 minutes.

Ian's didn't look that much like him, but still cute.