Dia De Los Muertos

Alright, I think we are all starting to get really wrapped up in this whole Halloween thing.  I mean the amount of parties, festivals, and activities around Halloween rivals Christmas.  Whew!

That said, the girls just love it every year when they get to play dress up at school.  Like it or not costumes are fun!  

This year I decided to steer into the Dia De  Los Muertos tradition instead of just Halloween.  I bought a few decorations for our house and we spent the month of October thinking about all of those loved ones that have gone before us and what we remember about them.  We talked about Grandparents, Ashley, Armando, and some other special people.  I like the idea of remembering those who have gone before us.  I think Ill keep the Dia De Los Muertos around.

This year we hit up the Dia De Los Muertos Festival in Mesa.  It was amazing and we had so much fun!

We spent lots of time in our costume

And participated in the school costume parade.......

We got our first hit of candy at the Red Mountain Ranch Trunk or Treat.  Lily learned first hand that haunted houses are not our cup of tea.  I am thanking Jesus that it was just a bus set up with scary things. 

It sure is fun to play dress up and get candy, but we try hard to steer around the really yucky side of the holiday.  

Lily had a Synchro Halloween Party......after a 4 hour practice (Lordy I don't know how she does it!)

Our Church does an INCREDIBLE Fall Festival and it was amazing this year!.....

And of course we did the Trick or Treating thing on the actual day with our amazing buddies and their girls.  

The concensus at the end of the night was, Thank the Good Lord Halloween is over!

No onto a season of Thankfulness and celebrating the joy and hope of a Savior born to this world!

 

Fall Break 2022: White Sands National Park

 Our final stop for our Fall Break Trip was the White Sands National Park.  It truly has been so much fun to visit National Parks and see this gorgeous country.

In the morning we decided to find the Las Cruces Farmers Market.  It was small but we had a great time, met a lovely violinist from Ukraine, bought some chilies, shopped for gifts, walked the town.

We then got ourselves over to the White Sands just as the clouds and rain started to roll in.  We were really hoping that the weather would hold off, but be cloudy enough to be cool out on the sand.

We were so fortunate because the weather was amazing. Not too hot, and not too cold.  The views were spectacular and even though it is is just miles and miles of white sand, it is breathtaking.

We could see the rain dumping all around us.  It was absolutely breathtaking.

So other than walk on the sand, what is there to do in the park?......

SAND SLEDDING!

And handstanding......

And making sand angels....

And spotting very sneaky wildlife (literally white lizards that have completely adapted to their environment.)

We had a wonderful afternoon (complete with family photos-more of those later).  This park was exquisite and a place that could have been explored even more. The skys were just incredible and we were so fortunate that it never rained on us.

There are just so many cool places on this earth that are so worth seeing in person.  Pictures are grand, but pictures are a small thing compared to the personal experience.

Such a great way to end our Fall Break Trip.