Birthdays, Holidays, and Hiking Below Sea Level.

We'll start with Halloween! It feels like so long ago, but my kids were too cute to not share:

Too busy/too lazy to carve pumpkins? Try stickers! I found these face stickers and had the kids decorate that way. They enjoyed it and the results were cute.

Our first time not doing a united family costume theme, instead we split into pairs:

Laszlo as Dobby the House Elf

Paul as Dash

The kids and I are ready to trick or treat, me as Hermione

Two very eager trick-or-treaters and Lee as Mr. Incredible

We had visitors come and stay with us, and I forgot to get my camera out. Suffice to say, it was busy and fun and we got to take them to the beach. Paul insisted on some pictures at the beach. as he always does.

Then the Birthdays! Laszlo's birthday was spent at Knott's Berry Farm. We let the kids each pick out a birthday dessert and say hi to Snoopy and Woodstock for the 30th time.

Laszlo's chosen dessert.

Paul's chosen dessert.

The kids loved their presents and playing with balloons. Paul's birthday was made special by having cousins arrive that night for several days of sleep overs. Here is Paul and his two cousins dressed in his new costumes:

I am sure it comes as a surprise to no one that there were some wildfires in November. We weren't near enough to them to have been in any danger, we were forced to change some travel plans as a result of them.

We had been planning a trip to San Francisco for months, all reservations had to be cancelled, however, because the smoke from the fire got trapped in the bay area. The air was so hazardous to breathe people were being encouraged to stay indoors, Alcatraz Island closed and refunded ferry tickets. It was a disappointment to be sure, but compared to real loss suffered by so many it is a small thing.
But we had this vacation time and we wanted to fill it with something, so I did some last minute searching for places with impeccable air quality and we settled on a rather unexpected destination: Death Valley National Park.

A hike to "Natural Bridge"

Death Valley: Lowest, Hottest, Driest. Death Valley currently holds the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded: 134 degrees F, in 1913. It is the driest place in the U.S with less than 2 inches of rainfall annually. It is also home to the lowest point in the U.S--Badwater basin boasts an elevation of 279 feet BELOW Sea Level.

That little white sign up there marks where sea level is.

The path of salt leading to miles and miles of salt flats.

salt formations on the ground

I am no stranger to deserts. I've always lived in a desert (even if people try to grow Kentucky blue grass like they live in, well, Kentucky) But this place is other worldly. Like, Tatooine. Literally, they filmed Star Wars here. Death Valley is the largest national park outside of Alaska, it is about the size of the state of New Hampshire.

Tips for visiting: Don't come in the summer, make sure you've got plenty of gas, don't come in the summer, wear sunscreen, come in the winter, drink lots of water, and don't come in the summer.
Tragically, due to the last minute nature of the trip, we forgot to bring our camera charger and the battery died. I am forced to rely on phone photos from here on out, which I hate doing when the environment around me deserves so much better.

Awesome sandstone!

Paul and Laszlo loved playing on the sand dunes. Laszlo dug with a little shovel and buried his feet, Paul liked climbing and trying to slide down the big hills.

Artist's Drive was my favorite, the photos don't capture all the color variance. Pale green, pink, lavender, orange, deep red, all in one little spot. This place has some weird geology and chemistry going on that I am not qualified to explain, but the effects speak for themselves. It's the best 8 miles of road in the whole park!

Sadly the green veins don't show very well in a photo taken at noon.

D.V.R.R.: Death Valley Rail Road

And with that we headed to Thanksgiving dinner with our Phillips and Jones family. This year we are grateful to have a home, grateful for our diverse and beautiful world, and grateful to have loved ones with whom we can share it.