The weekend before Halloween

The anticipation accompanying the weekend before Halloween around these parts is like the night before Christmas, maybe even a bigger deal than Halloween itself, at least when it falls on as inconvenient a night as a Monday. There was so much going on this weekend, it was almost impossible to choose what to do. When I told Jack on Thursday night about our big plans for the next few days, he thought about it carefully for a moment and then said, "Okay. Let's get going!" I felt like my aunt Annette must have felt in that story my grandma love to tell about me when I was two and looked up at the sky and said "nice day!" Sometimes these little kids can say things that seem so adult you don't know quite how to respond. It's like, oh hello, I didn't see you down there, real person!

Friday we went pumpkin picking in Nicasio-- Danny dropped us off on his way into work and then came and met us for lunch. This was the best pumpkin patch I'd ever been to, gorgeous scenery, a haybale maze to run around in, hayrides to go on, farm animals to visit, and organic $10 pumpkins. I almost laughed when she told us how much they were, but decided we'd had so much fun for free, and I would have gladly paid a cover charge.



And their little blue wheelbarrows made for the perfect harvest photo shoot. Alison would have loved this place. (I wish for the 8 billionth time that you lived here.)

After that we went down to nana's house and showed off our pumpkins and intended to carve them, but never did, because Lauren and Ashley came over and then Peter and Lori too, and we were having too much fun visiting to undertake such a project. (We were apparently also having too much fun for me to take any pictures. oops.) And sadly, such went the rest of the weekend, we kept having too much fun and there was never any time to carve the pumpkins. That felt like sacrilege to me, but the kids didn't mind and I guess this way we can actually eat the pumpkins. If I'm going to pay $10 for a pumpkin, it better not rot on the front porch!

Saturday was Halloween-themed Lawrence Hall of Science day, our first trip where we did not visit the dinos, but instead visited the creepy crawlies. Jack met spiders and snakes and examined skeletons and had a blast. Sadie tolerated being in a dark museum when she really would've rather been out in the sunshine. She loves being outside!



And Sunday was the big Rockridge Halloween festival, trick-or-treating down College Ave, while all the shopkeepers come out and give the kids candy. Jack was less interested in getting candy than running around with the other kids admiring their costumes and telling all of them "I have a tail!"



Did I mention there was a fire truck where kids could climb in and pretend to be firemen? (That's the photo on the bottom left.) Or, in Jack's case, pretend to be Pickles the Fire Cat. Because he never pretends to be a person.

Finally the big day came, and I think Jack was worn out before it even started. He was in a bad mood in the morning, and took an epically long afternoon nap, which I thought was going to be good for the evening, but it didn't really improve his mood, and it just meant we mostly missed the trick-or-treating with his preschool that he'd really been looking forward to. We arrived just in time to see everyone on their way home.

That's okay, I thought, the night is young, still plenty of trick-or-treating to be done. But once we got back to our street, with its spooky music and fake smoke wafting over from next door, and droves of kids already out demanding candy, I think he got intimidated. He went to maybe two houses, and then said he wanted to go home. So we sat out on our porch like we have the past two years and had a little party as we passed out candy. He had fun watching the constant parade of costumes and we went through 9 bags of candy in under two hours and had to go in and turn off our light at 8pm. Every year I buy more candy and every year I still run out!

Sadie had a fabulous time, despite being starving and not getting fed until I was putting her to bed and realized I'd never given her dinner, and despite being up way past her bedtime, and despite absolutely despising her adorable little teddy bear head that I made her wear. She was all smiles right up until the end.

Maybe she'll get me some chocolate next year. Jack does not appear to be very eager to help me out in that capacity.