One day in September I was feeling like we hadn't been out to appreciate much of the natural wilderness here and so decided to take a field trip to Oso Flaco Lake, just a short drive north of Santa Maria near Guadalupe. It's a recreation area where there are trails, which include a boardwalk and bridge that spans the whole lake and leads into protected sand dunes and eventually out to the beach. I was envisioning a leisurely walk for me and Simon and a pleasant stroller ride for Stuart, then we'd find a nice spot on the beach and enjoy a picnic. I didn't take into account the fact that I was in my first exhausting trimester of this pregnancy, nor did I know that parts of the boardwalk would be covered with sand through which I would have to drag the stroller. We enjoyed seeing some waterfowl in the lake, then wildflowers, raccoons and insects in the dunes. We still hadn't made it to the beach, but I was getting pretty tired. I started seeing signs warning hikers of previous mountain lion sitings in the location we were hiking, but felt like we had made it so far and should persist until we at least saw the ocean. I hauled the stroller backwards up a sand dune and we finally saw the water, only to realize that it was a very remote beach with no bathrooms or other services (plus the thought of marauding mountain lions). So, I convinced the boys that our picnic would be more enjoyable at a table back near the lake we had crossed and we hurried back. The picnicking spot on the bridge was indeed more pleasant than the windy dunes and the boys had fun and burned calories for at least thirty minutes running up and down the bridge's length.

During the fall semester I participated with the boys in a Mommy & Me class offered by the college here. We met weekly at a nearby church and enjoyed use of lots of toys, crafts, and activities. The boys had opportunities to practice social skills and I met nice moms and had some interesting discussions in the weekly parenting session that was offered. One week we took a field trip out to a ranch and got to see some farm animals and play on farm equipment. One of Simon's friends was moving to Colorado soon and talking about snowboarding, so they both pretended this big pile of hay bales was a snow-covered mountain and had fun pretending to snow board down it.

Our birthdays have become more fun and exciting now that the boys are so excited about them. In typical, low-maintenance fashion, Dwayne requested no more than a chocolate cake with ice cream. He got the day off from work and took the boys to a storytime at the Natural History Museum and also to play at the Children's Discovery Museum.

Our two fall seasons here have meant lots of apples from our friends, Dan & Myndi. They have two trees, a fuji and a golden delicious, from which they gave us an unlimited supply of delicious apples for eating fresh and preserving. We made a LOT of applesauce, some caramel-apple butter and attempted apple pie filling, which wasn't actually successful in a water bath canner. After two-processing attempts and turning totally mushy, it's now in freezer bags to be made into apple crisp. Simon loved helping with the process, especially using a little magnetic wand to pick up the lids out of the hot water.