October has proven to be super busy for us. Both Scott and I have had lot of things going on at work and both kids are taking swimming lessons and Isaac is also in soccer. It has been a fun month, though.

At the beginning of October, my parents came over to take care of the kids for a night. They were able to see a soccer game and enjoy a beautiful fall Saturday. They took the kids to our favorite pumpkin patch.

Here's the big red tractor they love.

How tall this fall?
Meanwhile, Scott and headed to Portland for my 6th running of the marathon. This year I ran it with two of my friends. I was happy with my time, 3:41, which was 3 minutes slower than last year, but still one of my fastest times.

We were able to meet up with another friend at BJ's where we celebrated everyone having a good run. Hear we are: Barb, Peter, Crystal, Skip, me and Scott. Once again Scott was a great support to me and I was grateful he was there! (The sign said - Go team Light of the Hill - we are all from the same church).
The very next weekend, we took a fall vacation to Pheonix. It was perfect timing - the weather was in the high 90's and it was a great time to take a break from work and life.

Here is the gang at Carl and Michelle's.
We developed a pretty good routine of hitting a neighborhood park by 8:30 where the kids played for a couple hours. We were able to find 5 parks all within walking distance from the house.
We got in lots of walks going to all the parks - it was nice!
The afternoons were spent at the pool. The water was chilly upon first entering, but that didn't phase the kids too much. They had so much fun splashing around.

One day the kids stayed with Michelle and did crafts and played at parks, while Scott, Carl and I hiked Camelback mountain. I had wanted to do this hike for a long time. It was a tough climb, but the scenery was so pretty once at the top.
Thanks Carl and Michelle for the best vacation. We all had a great time!