Halloween

BWAH-HAH-HAH!  Are you ready for Halloween?

We were so excited for Halloween we decided to start early, at the Discovery Museum's Goblin Jamboree.  When I ponied up for the early entry "VIP breakfast package",  I'm not sure I'd envisioned paying extra to provide a bowl of granola for a pretend cat - 

-- but on the other hand, Mommy & Daddy have developed severe allergies to waiting in line for, well, everything.  Including the Pumpkin Spinner -

or negotiating the "I want to ride a pony" (Lucie) & "I don't want to ride a pony" (Brennan) sibling dynamic.

Guess who won that one?

Plus there were bouncy houses, and the excitement of trying out the costumes early.  Given that Lucie claims on a daily basis that she is "just a little kitty", the only real question was what color cat she would prefer to be:

As for Bren, it's been All Planes All The Time this fall, so after our visit to the USS Midway he was thrilled to wear his pilot costume.  He was a little confused as to why every adult called him "Maverick".

OK, on to the main event - trick or treating on Belvedere Street!  We had special appearances by Bat Boy Ian (also Panda Boy Huckle, but he was asleep through most of it) -

WW II WASP Gangi -

and Captain Enzo America !

Once the Grattan Pre-K Wrecking Crew was back together (minus Sebastien - we still miss you!), it was pretty much "see you when I need you to carry something, Mommy!"  

Seriously, if he hadn't handed over custody of the Trick-or-Treat pumpkin to Gangi, who knows when we would have seen him again.  When it was time to post bail, maybe.

Bean preferred to trick or treat with her main squeeze, Daddy -

but she did make some new friends:

including this thing (???!!!!)

After the big Halloween bash on Belvedere St., we had a few more days before Gangi had to go back home to Michigan.  We went to the Zoo & rode the train -

- and the Grizzly bear statue.

The kids also liked pretending to be peacocks:

We also took Gangi to see the Bay Bridge lights.  Thanks to the time change, it's dark WELL before bedtime, so the whole crew got to go.  We ate cheddar bunnies, watched the lights change, ran up & down the Embarcadero, and made our very first visit into Sinbad's restaurant, because we had an emergency of the "Mommy I need to go potty" variety.

In other news - Brennan lost his first tooth!  His fake "I'm smiling for the camera" smile shows off the gap perfectly.  Also they wanted pictures with this year's jack-o-lanterns. (Remember all the pumpkins we brought home from Healdsburg?) Gangi made this one-

- and by special request, I made this one.  Yes, it's a half-*ssed Death Star.  Sorry it's not better, but my hands were sooo tired, and my vegetable peeler will never be the same.

Pumpkin Patch

 Our balmy fall has stuck around, so there's been EVEN MORE fun outside-

                           

While it was entertaining to try a change of scenery for last year's pumpkin run, we went back to the tried & true with Grandma's Pumpkin Patch in Healdsburg.  We started our day with a Louisiana-style breakfast at the Parrish Cafe (Yay, beignets!) - then it was time to pick out pumpkins.

You might think that 1 pumpkin per kid would be sufficient.

You would be wrong.

Because Mommy needs a pumpkin, too, and someone would be more than happy to pick one out for her.  And then we need a little pumpkin.  And because we have two hands, we need a little pumpkin for our other hand.

And it's always fun to ride in the pumpkin cart and drive the tractors.

After a morning among the pumpkins, the grown-ups get their reward - stops at Michel Schlumberger for a tasting & lunch on the sunny patio,

and Preston to refill our wine jugs.  (Brennan and Lucie like the cats, and discovering where pomegranates come from)

Now that we sort of have our school routine down, Brennan has gone back to swim classes at the YMCA.  Sometimes Lucie tags along and gets to swim with Mommy while Bren has his lesson, if Mommy has her act together.  One sunny Wednesday, Mommy unbelievably had her act together well enough to pack up the swim gear and 1) get the kids to their respective schools; 2) volunteer for kindergarten library time; 3) get to her doctor's appointment on time; 4) get a flu shot after the appointment; 5) pick up Lucie before nap time sets in at preschool; 6) get Brennan to a right-after-school doctor appointment for his flu shot; and 7) be done with all of this in time for swim class.  Which, of course, was cancelled.  So we went to Ocean Beach.

And had a fantastic time!

San Diego

So, our kitchen needed some repairs that would put it out of commission for 3 days, plus possibly present a health/injury hazard for the 5-and-under set.  And we had some 2-for-1 Virgin America vouchers that expire in February.  What to do?  Why, go to San Diego for a few days, of course!  First stop, the USS Midway!  We had to bring Bravo (he has a very important cameo in "Planes") as he missed living on aircraft carrier.  

It was actually pretty cool.  The sheer size of the thing is kind of mind-blowing. The kids loved all the airplanes, especially the ones they could climb inside.

Tiny Starbuck

As for the adults, it was pretty much one extended opportunity to make as many "Top Gun" jokes as possible.  

Negative Ghost Rider, the pattern is full.

It's classified.  I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.

Highway to the Danger Zone

We stayed on Harbor Island, and through some luck scored the one room up on the suite floor, so it had a huge deck and balcony.  It was bigger than the hotel room, and it had a great view of the places we'd rather be staying (downtown/Gaslamp district for Daddy, Coronado Island for Mommy).  However, our travel companion's highest priorities were:  1) is there a pool?,  2) will we see boats?, and...

3) are we going to Sea World?



The biggest hits were watching the orcas swim around and practice with trainers in the morning, and the rides and playground at Sesame Street's Bay of Play.  Here's the part where the ride operator told me there was no photography while riding on Elmo's Flying Fish:

Less successful was the "One Ocean" show with Shamu & Co.  Turns out, the Soak Zone is no joke.  I'd actually brought the ridiculous Disney ponchos from our last SoCal theme park adventure, but no one around us was wearing them, and after a few light sprinkles from jumping orcas, I dismissed them as overkill.  Luckily, I at least left my phone & wallet in a Ziploc bag.  Because when the whales turned their flukes on us, it was sort of like having buckets of water thrown at you, except with a slow-motion "wow, I can't believe there's really a wall of water coming at us, why did I put those ponchos away" element of disbelief.  Lucie cried, screamed, and clung to me like a barnacle, Brennan sulked and hid under a poncho anytime an orca swam by, and we left before the show was over.

Of course, back at the hotel, neither one seemed to mind getting wet.

Brennan didn't seem to harbor any hard feelings.  His orca has been his constant companion since our trip.  His name is "Dusty"  (coincidentally, the name of the hero of "Planes"), and he only splashes bad people, and smokers.

Lucie, on the other hand, spent the rest of trip pointing to pictures of orcas and stating, "That whale splashed me", and muttering to herself in the back seat, "no splash Lucie, no splash Mommy, no splash Daddy, no splash Brennan!"

The next day was Legoland!  Neither Mommy or Daddy had ever mentioned the existence of such a place, but somehow the little boys' secret communication network had let the cat out of the bag.  

My childhood memories of Lego are mostly limited to painful walks across Uncle Gavin's lego-strewn floor, so I have to admit I wasn't dying to go.  But I didn't want to hear about How I Never Took Brennan to Legoland for the next 1-10 years even more.

It's definitely geared toward younger kids - there's not much that goes particularly high or fast. Despite that fact, they are weirdly strict about the age and parent-to-child ratio requirements.  Lucie, for instance, handily made the height requirements for this sedate horsey ride, but couldn't go because she's under 4 years old.  And no amount of coaching could get her to claim to be 3, much less older.  We probably spent the most time in the splash zone - no age required, no height required, no parent required - 

-and, as the little guy in the blue trunks soon demonstrated, no pants required!

We then of course had to go to the gift shop, which is about as bananas as you'd expect.  I think I lost each kid at least once.  I also encountered a very scary pirate:

I wish we would have had a little more down time - I would have loved to just relax on our ridiculously large balcony - but the kids had a fantastic time, and still love all their special San Diego souvenir toys. And, realistically, how can you possibly relax on a 12th floor deck with a kindergartener and a pre-schooler?

The kitchen was fixed & we had a good trip - Mission Accomplished, San Diego!

(...but we might be a little tired)