Happy Halloween!

Trick or Treat!

For the main event, I tried my hand at vampire makeup. Zachy liked it, and that is what matters most.

After this picture, we decided to paint Alex's cheeks red to match Pikachu's. And then we didn't get a picture of it. You can kind of see the red on the last picture.

Part of the night we walked around with friends, but it was a fluid group with people meeting up and splitting off at times.

We had planned to stop by the house and switch out parent duties, but the kids said they were done trick or treating. I'm pretty sure they just wanted to start eating candy. Mady didn't even wait for the picture.

Preschool Halloween

Mady's school celebrated Halloween today with a parade around the neighborhood and trunk or treating in the parking lot.

 One of the classmates lives around the corner from school, so we stopped by for some treats!

Singing songs before the piñata,

 and enjoying the snacks on the stage.

Pumpkin Patch

Today we had a fun time at the pumpkin patch in Petaluma. First up the kids climbed the hay bale pyramid. Mady was able to get to the top, but then she wanted help on the way down.

Then they saw the huge corn pit. I'm pretty sure they would have stayed here all day.

Alex joined up with some young adults to help bury one of them while Mady and Zachy continued to roll around.

Eventually we made it out to the pumpkin patch and everyone looked for the perfect pumpkin.

Mady, Zachy and Alex also had a lot of fun digging up potatoes. We wound up with 11 pounds of potatoes, and I had to find some new recipes to use them all!

Once we had our pumpkins and potatoes, we sent Daddy walking back with the wheelbarrow full of produce and we took a ride on the tractor trailer.

Mady liked the baby cows. She was petting this one, but I wasn't quick enough with the picture.

For a snack we had some ice cream from the local dairy and then another turn in the corn pit. We almost lost Alex!

Random Stuff

Today the boys were off from school and we did a mix of activities. First up, Alex and Zachy joined Mady at her music class.

After class we went over to the shopping center and tried out the indoor tennis court. It was a lot of fun and we were the only ones there. Eventually someone hurt themselves so we moved along.

Later, after lunch and a nap we rode bikes to the park to slide, swing, climb and fly away!

Preschool Pumpkins

Mady's school met at the pumpkin patch today. This year there is a new pumpkin patch at Alameda Point, which is walking distance from our house. So Mady and I walked over. The class played in the jumpy house, saw some animals, had a picnic lunch, and of course picked out pumpkins! Mady found her pumpkin early in the day and didn't let it out of her sight!

Luckily her pumpkin was small since we had to carry it home!

Big Change

We were very sad to find out that our neighborhood decided to remove the gorgeous elm trees on our street. The plan is to replace the trees. But it will be years before the new trees can provide the beauty, privacy and shade we love. When Mady saw that the tree in front was gone she said "So sad. Tree is gone. No more shade." The wisdom of a three year old.

Goblin Jamboree

It is time for Goblins at the Bay Area Discovery Museum. The drive didn't take quite as long as we had planned for, so while we were waiting for the park to open, we had time for a picture with an awesome background.

Alex and Zachy made a beeline for the jumpy house, but Mady decided to mix up a special potion.

Once she had all of the ingredients in her cauldron, she was given the final, magic spell.

When the boys were younger, the gravel pit was always their favorite. Some things never change!

Parking lot train rides. This ride was in the morning, just before the rain started.

And this ride was at the end of the afternoon, after the rain.

Mady really enjoyed riding the pony. She even wanted to wait in line for a second ride.

But before her second ride, she asked her brothers to join her.

Even though it was drizzly for most of the day, everyone had a lot of fun. We played in the glow in the dark train room, jumpy houses, tug boat, gravel pit, hiked up to the giant bell, listened to Jimbo Trout (and bought his CD, Mady's new favorite car music) and played lots of Halloween carnival games. On the way out, we stopped for cotton candy, but it was so humid that it was melting faster than the kids could eat it. So Sticky!

Lindsay Wildlife Museum

Alex's class had a field trip to the Lindsay Wildlife Museum today. After arriving at the museum, we had a class picture before a bit of free time at the park nearby.

Then we went to the museum to learn about native animals. Our first station was about reptiles. Some of the kids were brave enough to touch the snake. An interesting fact we learned is that the western fence lizard protects itself by shooting blood from its eyes. Ewww.

Next up, mammals. I think they were trying to see if they could jump as fas as a jack rabbit. Spoiler ~ they can not.

And finally, raptors. All along the top of the display area were owls and other birds of prey. Of course they were tethered, but it was a bit startling at first.

 Not a real eagle.

 But a real bear.

Blue Angels

The Blue Angels are in town for Fleet Week. During the week, I caught a few glimpses of them practicing from the back yard. Some people might have laughed at my pictures.

But distance aside, it was really cool to watch them from our house.
On Saturday morning, Phil took Alex, Zachy and Mady over to Oakland airport to see if they could get a closer look at the planes.

Not only did they see the Blue Angels and Fat Albert, they had a chance to talk with some of the support personnel! And received these awesome posters.

Saturday and Sunday afternoons we returned to Oakland airport to watch the team take off and land. We could also see parts of the show in the distance. I think everyone can agree that these pictures are much better.

Fat Albert:

 Waiting for take off:

 Fat Albert coming in for landing:

Breaking formation for landing:

Mady really took a liking to Fat Albert. She was very sad when she found out that Fat Albert had to "go home" when the Blue Angels left.

Although we didn't get to see all of the tricks, it was lots of fun watching them take off and land. And we didn't have to spend the entire day trying to maintain the perfect vantage spot in the City.