Once Casey had the mandatory evacuation order for the fire he came to Arizona to join Zane and I. The next day we took off to visit the Anderson's who recently relocated to Godley, Texas. We had a wonderful visit with them. Zane got to do lots of work around the farm. Zane also fell in love with all the dogs there, he liked to take them for walks and play fetch. We enjoyed beautiful sunny weather, amazing Texas sunsets and even had an amazing thunder and lightning storm roll through with a tornado watch!
It was wonderful spending a week with the Anderson's and we are thankful for their hospitality during the evacuation. On the way back to AZ, we stopped in Pecos, TX. We made a stop here on our Spring trip to Kingsville, TX, and Casey wanted to check out a few more of the sights there.
On our way home we spent a day at my parents helping my Dad pour some concrete for a new fountain.
That afternoon we went on a bike ride with Grandpa. While we were in AZ, Casey went and looked at a mountain bike that had an XXL frame(these are rarely made). The bike ended up being really great, so we headed home with a new bike.
We arrived back home on October 14. What a relief it was to come home to Hartland being completely protected from the fire. A huge thank you to the many fire fighters that worked on this fire and those who helped protect Hartland. The first order of business was getting rid of the horrid smoke smell in the house. I bought a lot of vinegar and backing soda to help with cleaning and the smell. We have a box fan that sits on the upstairs landing with two furnace filters placed on either side, this is what they look like after a few days:
Zane and I did a field trip with our charter school to the local pumpkin patch. Zane had fun with his friends and finding the perfect pumpkin.
We finished the month with Zane's first time trick or treating. We spent the afternoon and evening with the Embry's. Zane loved getting all the candy and seeing everyone dressed up in fun costumes.
We finally feel like we are back to our normal routines since the fires. We have one more National Park that we will visit next month, so check back for more fun adventures.
