Halloween

As the end of October approaches, it's important to get out and enjoy the sunshine at the playground -

Halloween's important, too - the whole city enjoys the holiday, and our neighborhood is a magnet for families. 

Lucie was very excited to Trick-or-Treat like the big kids this year.  We squeezed her into a raccoon costume, since she likes to forage for snacks off forgotten plates and unguarded lunch boxes and bags.  However, when she saw her whiskers, she immediately started meowing.  So officially she was a raccoon-kitty.

One of our first stops was Adel's Wine Cellar, where Brennan & Lucie routinely hit up Adel & his brother Aldo for candy.  Later that evening, Adel handed out treats for adults, too - it was red and came in a go-cup!

Did I mention Lucie was excited to Trick-or-Treat?

Brennan decided to revisit his Sheriff Woody costume this year, which was a big relief after his initial claim that he wanted to be a helicopter for Halloween.

Once she got the hang of it, Lucie charged right in - and it was no good to hand her a treat, she wanted to get into the bin and pick it out herself.  It also didn't take long for her to realize she had a bag full of candy right there in her hands:

She also really enjoyed watching the Lorax Dance Party.

Brennan was brave enough this year to touch all the giant spiders - but this jumping one surprised him:

Yes, it gets so crowded it can be hard to get to the candy. Mommy & Daddy didn't have costumes.  There was on & off rain. And our night ended at the pediatric ER -  but we had a pretty good time.  Tomorrow it would be November, when the rain shows up for real, the time change makes night arrive too soon, and the march through the holidays begins.  

A few days later, after a 90 minute tour and Q&A at the local elementary school, I thought Roux & I deserved a treat, too.  

So we drove down the coast and went for a hike in Montara, followed by fish tacos.  It was awesome - the only screechy little voice we heard all afternoon belonged to the parrot a few tables over.