Halloween

 

 

 

 

 

Halloween is a big deal for kids, and an even bigger deal in Burton Valley. Ours started with carving pumpkins the day before with Julie’s friend Ava. On Halloween, Thursday, the kids had a regular half day, then had classroom parties before everyone gathered in the back fields for the annual parade with their little buddies. After school, our neighbors had a brief front yard gathering, then we joined another family and Nate’s friend Sy to do trick-or-treating nearby. The end result? Two tired kids by 9pm, and 4.5 lbs of candy each, which we measured on my kitchen scale. The kids seemed especially excited by their five full-sized candy bars and bag of Doritos. In the interest of limiting cavities (if that’s possible), we said they could eat all the candy they want this weekend, as long as it was after breakfast, and that their stash would go away after two days. 

A Big Pumpkin

Last weekend we went to Fairfax to attend an Irish Music Festival, and we ran across this. The largest pumpkin grown in Humbolt County this year….it’s huge! We should check again this weekend to see if they have a good sale on pumpkin pie. 

All Ready For Halloween

This year it’s the Candy Corn Witch (soon to have a small bag of candy corn to give out) and “Bacon,”  which we bought off Amazon for $10.

Raking Leaves

The pay is poor, the hours are long, but at least she looks good doing it.

October weekend nights

Gina's Biketoberfest

 

 

 

 

 

 

I knew I married right…Gina planned a surprise date on Tuesday of biking along the Bay Trail from Alameda up to Point Richmond, all along the waterfront. We could see SF across the bay, and we passed the old Ford motor plant, which is now a glass-enclosed event facility with attached restaurant. Our end destination was a German restaurant in tiny Point Richmond for an outdoor lunch of mugs of beer, spaetzle (with bacon), and salad.  On the way back, we biked through a tunnel towards another tucked away community -- Brickyard Cove, where huge yachts were moored along waterfront condos, and the historic bee-hive brickyard factories stood in arty decay. 

Nate's Chabot Space Mission

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nate's fifth grade class went to the Chabot Space Center for an all-day Challenger mission simulation to Mars. The kids had selected their specific positions a few weeks ahead of time, and Nate selected Navigator because, as he said "I like math and I get to control the ship!" They were given computers, headsets and a mission booklet that helped instruct them along, including the times they encountered sudden asteroid and dust storms.  Mid-way through, the mission control kids swapped with the space crew for the return flight home. Adults were assigned the roles of aliens, and could only speak the words of "I don't know, what do you think?" if ever asked a question by the kids. 

Oktoberfest

 

 

 

 

We returned to SF on Saturday for our friends' annual Oktoberfest. Like last year, it was a full day of eating, including making our Laugenbrezeln (pretzel) recipe. Mid-day we took a break from the food to walk the three-mile route through the "black forest" near Cole Valley, around the ridge, and back to the house. After dinner, we were treated to an impromptu costume play performed by all four of them, which probably had a plot but was too hard to discern amidst all the giggling. Or perhaps they were too tired from all the eating. They were asleep in the car before we even hit the freeway.

Napa & SF Day

 

 

 

 

On of the the half-days for the kids last week (teacher/parent conferences), Gina and I stole up to Napa for a quick breakfast and coffee. We stopped at Oxbow Public Market where Gina found what must be the largest real pumpkin. It probably grew in Oregon, but the market wouldn't stop you from thinking it came from the fertile grounds of Napa. After picking up the kids, we drove into San Francisco to take them to the Mission to walk along Valencia Street to visit Dave Egger's Writer's Workship & Pirate Store, Paxton Gate, Dandelion Chocolate, a bookstore, playground, and a couple other stops. Typical SF visit, I guess: part literary, part gastronomy.