Our weather did change. We got to about 29-30 degrees a couple of nights in a row. We didn't have much rain, only enough to make the car windows spotted and dirty. It has warmed back up to about 40 at night and 80 during the day. This time of year the human family takes precedence over the animal population.

We took the grandkids and most of our family to Apple Annie's in Wilcox,
Arizona. It has become a tradition. We all pile in our cars and drive the 30 miles or so to Apple Annie's Pumpkin Patch. Once there we take a hay ride to the huge field of pumpkins. There the grandkids find their own unique pumpkin. They all love running around finding that special one. Then we load all the kids and pumpkins back on the hay wagon and pay for the pumpkins. I'm sure it would be cheaper to just buy pumpkins at Walmart but it wouldn't be as much fun. After the pumpkins are selected we go to Apple Annie's sprawling apple/peach orchards for lunch and gift shopping. There are always tons of people, but we went early this year so it wasn't so bad. We got hamburgers and kettle popcorn. The best part is dessert, which is a huge slice of apple pie topped with an even bigger scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream! I bought a whole pie to enjoy at home later. I also bought some pumpkin butter and a small jar of flavored honey.

We ended up with about 6 or 7 pumpkins. On Halloween they all got carved up into various scary faces and lit with candles. After that everyone got into their costumes and went to Benson for Trick or Treating! We has a knight, a ninja warrior, a pirate and a princess. Cute, cute, cute! The little ones got the hang of things very quickly and came home with their sacks full! Enough candy to last a year! Great fun and great memories for all!

Now it's time to start thinking of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Sometimes it seems overwhelming this time of year. I have agreed to participate in the neighborhood yard sale this year too. I have been cleaning out closets and trying to get organized for that, which is this coming weekend. Steve is taking a day off from work to help clean out the garage and set up for the sale. I'm making pillows and bags for bags to sell. I have gone through my book collection and clothes but I still feel like there isn't a whole lot to put in the sale. I will put out some of my fleece from the alpacas and the goats but that doesn't seem to sell in a yard sale. People usually want a "bargain", which means the lowest price they can convince you to give up your stuff. I have to think of it as cleaning out and getting rid of stuff I don't want any more. A little change in my pocket for "junk" is better than paying the dump to take it. And there is always that old philosophy, " One man's junk is another man's treasure". So we do the work and hope for the best.