October in Arizona

We've recently come to realize why so many people live here. The summers are brutal. Absolutely brutal. But this time of year, oh, it's just bliss. In the last 3 weeks or so, we've gone from low 100's to mid 70's. It's quite strange to be saying that it's in the 70's in October -- I'm used to Idaho's 40's or 50's, or, let's face it, snow! We just adore the cooler weather, and we've been nearly living outside the past few days.

It's also getting darker a whole lot earlier now. We took the kids for a walk the other night around 7pm, and it was completely dark. I did manage to get a few shots with the camera, though.

The sky here is always so clear, so we get a really great view of the stars at night. On our walk this particular night, Derk decided to stop and give Kyrie a mini-astronomy lesson. This picture is of Kyrie reiterating what Daddy just told her. She's such a smart kid, and it amazes me how fast she catches on!

Asher was completely excited to wear his "winter jammies", even though it's not quite cold enough for that yet. He's been begging to wear them for weeks. The funny thing is that they're his same jammies from last winter. I guess that's one perk about having shrimpy kids -- I could sure save a lot in clothing purchases! Of course I say "I could" because I really don't. I'm way too addicted to buying kids' clothes. :) He's also completely loving his new bike and rides it every chance he gets. He's a very slow walker normally ("Look, Mom, A ROCK!", "Look, Daddy, a LEAF!"), so we welcomed this faster-moving pace that is bike riding on our walk. :)

Cambria was feeling pretty worn out, so she opted to snuggle up in the stroller.

Another reason we love Arizona. . .


Does it get any more glorious than that??