Gardening with a Green Thumb?!?

It's almost the end of October, so it's time to plant bulbs which will bloom in the spring and the fall garden. We've had a strip of soil along the house on our back patio just begging for some attention, so I planted almost 200 bulbs (tulips, freesia, iris, daffodils and paper whites) which should bloom in the spring - just in time to welcome us home from Africa! In addition, I've planted a fall/winter garden, but had to limit the selection of vegetables to things that would either be harvested before Christmas, or would be self sufficient through the winter/spring since we'll be away for several months. I planted arugula, spinach, two different kinds of lettuce, radishes and tons of different herbs including cilantro, mint, parsley, rosemary, and sage. I can't wait to see everything start to bloom!

Pumpkin and Apple Picking in Willcox

Fall is my favorite time of year, and believe it or not, you can actually still enjoy it in Arizona. It was a perfect Sunday for pumpkin picking! We headed down to Willcox for pumpkin picking with Larry & DeDe, the Eric Leber family and many other friends to enjoy an afternoon outdoors in search of the perfect carving pumpkins. In addition to a large pumpkin patch reminiscent of Charlie Brown's, there was also kettle corn, hayrides, sunflowers and lots of other fresh produce, jams and baked goods. Yum! We also made a pit-stop at Annie's Apple Orchard to stock up on apples to make homemade apple pie and even enjoyed a slice of pie with homemade ice cream while we were there. Double yum! Apple picking will always remind us of visiting an apple orchard in upstate New York the weekend we were in engaged. All in all, a great way to kick of the fall! See more photos.

A Baby Shower for Mom and Max

19 days and counting until Max's anticipated debut in the Simpson family! Jeannie had her baby shower in DC this weekend with friends, hosted by our "middle sister" Margaret at Chef Geoff's. Mom arrives on October 26th from Italy to keep Jeannie company the last few days, and I'm planning on arriving on November 1st (assuming that Max is on time), but we'll have to play that by ear. We can't wait to welcome the first nephew (on the Lynch side) into the family!

AZ Odyssey

We didn't realize what we had signed up for (which is probably a good thing) until we found ourselves running a 10 mile stretch of road between Mirana and I-10 late Friday evening. It was the AZ Odyssey, a charity race that raises funds for domestic violence to support the Tucson Centers for Women and Children and the Avon Foundation. As a relay team of 12 men and women, we covered 195 miles around Tucson, running over 28 hours straight. Comprised of 36 legs, with distances between 3 to 8 miles each, we each ran 3 legs of the race. Unfortunately, we realized after covering 13 to 19 miles each that we really should have been training for a half marathon (at least), but as individual segments we thought 4 to 6 mile runs weren't a big deal. Needless to say, we were exhausted by the end, but thoroughly enjoyed the team atmosphere and the scenic views from ever corner of Tucson. See more photos.

The Lebers Lounge in Rocky Point, Mexico

The Leber brothers and their better halves kicked off the first every other year ("EOY") trip with 3 days at a beach house in Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point), Mexico. There was plenty of playing on the beach -- horseshoes, bocce ball, swimming, running, and walking. When we were tired, we relaxed and read, napped and ate lots of yummy food. We also had some memorable game nights of Scattegories, Pictionary and What If. And yes, the ladies came from behind in the third round to WIN Pictionary! (We're not a competitive bunch at all...) A perfect weekend getaway! We're all looking forward to 2009, and let's just hope we can line up enough sitters to watch the quickly growing clan of Leber little ones! Pictured (L to R): Natalee, Mark, Aumi, Eric, Christina, Todd, Christine and Scott. Apparently we chose to put the giants on the left and the shorties on the right?!?