SoCal Allens: October optimism

A pessimist would say that we are almost a month late for our September post while an optimist would say that we are a week early for the October post.

We tend to see the dog bowl half full, which was accurate in Albuquerque until Miles decided to knock it over moments before the picture above.

Going back in time nearly two months here is Jill's family posing in front of yet another glorious SoCal sunset while Miles plays with his yellow maraca.

Jill's cousin Diana enjoyed some one-on-one time with her favorite blue-eyed blonde-fuzz baby during yet another family together.

Here the Molina ladies of SoCal enjoy a nice boba at Infuzion Cafe. Diana's possessed expression [third from left] reflects the addictive nature of the sweet and mysterious nectar that we call boba.

On the subject of addictions, Pete continues to enable his daughter Jill's shopping addiction. To be fair Jill did not buy all of the clothes pictured here, but she came awfully close.

Miles was so overcome with excitement during the shopping spree that he fell asleep at Calvin Klein surrounded by some well-dressed headless creatures.

On the way out of the outlet stores Jill posed with her haul and her father's credit card that made it all possible. Happy birthday Jill!

The next day in Palm Springs we visited Jill's grandparents who were thrilled to spend the day with their great-grandson.

After a nice lunch someone was kind enough to make a photo of the whole clan.

On another wacky weekend in SoCal our friends Veronica and Monica came over to visit, allowing the band to reunite for a performance that one can only hope was their farewell tour.

In our perpetual search for family fun we decided to visit the LA County Fair.

Miles enjoyed the balloons and Abueloca enjoyed her grandson. What else is there to say?

Miles' cousin Gavin also joined us at the fair. Here he sends a nice shout out to his favorite aunt Jill.

Miles had some fun with Jill's sunglasses, proving once again that big objects look hilarious on little people.

Unfortunately the Elton John look-alike contest was the day earlier.

If you ever find yourself at the LA County Fair, we highly recommend the Krispy Kreme Chicken and Swiss sandwich with a side of honey. Imagine a jelly doughnut hollowed out, cut in half and garnished with a fried chicken patty and slice of gooey Swiss cheese. Brilliant!

In a reunion of sorts, we were thrilled to catch up with our friends Paul and Sharon who recently returned to SoCal with their adorable twins after more than 1,000 days in a trailer park in Georgia.

Here the whole family poses at the Pier for what we think could be the perfect Christmas card.

On another weekend we spent some time at our local church's Fall Festival. Miles is still a little young for some of the events like mini golf, wall climbing, and motorized bathtub racing, but he did enjoy the clown who made a balloon animal as a souvenir.

This is what the fall looks like in SoCal: all the flavor of Halloween without the wind chill.

Here we are celebrating our friend Ronin's first bithday with a nice celebration in the park. If you flip back to March you will see some great pictures of Miles and Ronin on a playdate. They really do grow up fast.

The highlight for Miles, beyond the cake, was this really cool baby contraption that is basically a long tube with pretty colors for them to explore. Miles gives the product an enthusiastic goofy smile.

This past weekend the SoCalAllens, NorCalAllens, and BostonAllens flew to Albuquerque for the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. The adventure required an early morning flight for Miles.

In this picture Miles is enjoying an apple in Corrales, NM on the property of Peter's Aunt Chris and Uncle Paul.

From the smiles all around you can tell we are watching Game 1 of the Red Sox series against Cleveland. For the record the SoCalAllens are predicting a Red Sox ALCS victory in 7 games.

After a nice BBQ at the house and some sleep the first night in Albuquerque, we woke up at the crack of dawn on Saturday to catch the bus to the Fiesta.

These pictures do not do justice to the incredible experience at the Fiesta, but here is a little sample to give you an idea of our morning.

Miles is just waking up in this photo. Imagine falling asleep on a bus and then waking up surrounded by 500 hot air balloons. Life as an infant never ceases to amaze us.

Once Miles got his bearings he enjoyed the vantage from his Dada's shoulders.

Eventually Miles learned to point and wave to his favorite balloons. We are looking forward to returning when Miles learns how to speak.

For Peter this was his favorite balloon. A team from Brazil designed, created, and piloted this craft in perfect disrespect for the noble heritage of the hot air balloon invented by the Motgolfier brothers in Annonay, France in 1783. Yeah that's right, we know stuff here in SoCal ... like how to use Wikipedia.

Here are our gracious hosts cousin Samara, Uncle Paul, and Aunt Chris. Cousin Alex is absent here, but he did make us laugh our arses off Saturday night when he performed improv with his troupe The One Night Stanleys. To get a taste of what Alex is all about, check out this link [Alex is the one who wakes up with a sword].