We look forward to this day every year. Happy Halloween, everyone!

-M

A classmate of Avery’s had a Halloween party on Saturday night, and there were lots of activities for the family: a haunted house, donut-eating contest, and cookie decorating. And luckily Zoe had friends there to play with, too.

-M

The last weekend before Halloween means lots of holiday-themed activities, and Saturday morning found us at the zoo for its annual event…

-M

October just isn’t October without a trip down to Half Moon Bay (we’ve gone every year since Zoe was a baby!) and this year’s trip happened last weekend.

-M

Over the last few years, we’ve spent a few Sunday afternoons helping out at the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank. We headed there again over the weekend, where we were part of a group that bagged 7,500 pounds of peppers and packaged 600 pounds of oats.

These two look kind of cute in a hairnet, no?

-M

When I was little I often put on little birthday parties for my stuffed animals or Cabbage Patch Dolls (remember, Mom?). Well, the acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree, and Zoe recently announced she was throwing a Halloween-themed birthday party for two of her stuffies, Shadow and Mist. She spent several weeks planning, including making invitations, decorations, a slide show, goodie bags and presents for the birthday, er, creatures. It was quite the party, and she said she’s already thinking of next year’s.

-M

Speaking of the girls getting bigger (and how they’ll soon grow out of certain activities), they scolded me at dinner last night about that morning’s drop-off. They had both run ahead of me when we walked into school, and I stopped by each of their classrooms to say good-bye before taking off. This, I was told, was not cool – and not something done by other parents.

“You didn’t have to follow me,” complained Avery. “I mean, it’s okay to walk me into the classroom but not to come in after me.” And though I just popped my head into Zoe’s class (I didn’t even walk in!) she found it “embarrassing.”

Sigh.

-M

During our recent visit to the pumpkin patch, I tried getting a photo of the girls in one of the hay maze openings.  Turns out they’ve grown too big to both fit – but they had fun trying.

-M

Since the fires up north, we’ve all been paying attention to the air quality index and planning our activities accordingly. During a recent yellow (“acceptable”) air quality moment the other morning, the girls and I slipped away to take our annual trip to a nearby pumpkin patch – and we practically had the whole place to ourselves.

It occurred to me while there, as it did last year, that we might not have many years of this left. Pretty soon, I suspect, visiting patches or Halloween-themed spots, picking out little pumpkins and posing for photos for her mom will be the last thing Zoe (or Avery) wants to do. But for now, I’ll savor our adventures!

-M

I don’t often do “dramatic play” with the girls – it’s not really my thing – but the other night I felt inspired and wound up playing “baby” with the girls. For a good 20 minutes I played the role of a toddler who was comforted and held and put to bed by Mommy (Avery) and Auntie (Zoe). It was so sweet to watch Avery’s little face pressed up against mine as she softly sang “Light a candle for peace” and “99 bottles of beer” (the latter which I sometimes sang to the girls when they were little) and helped get me to sleep. And I must have played my role well, too, because I heard her tell Q, “We’re playing baby with mom, and she’s really realistic.”

-M

It’s been a bit of an odd week here, due to the fires I mentioned below. They started last Sunday, a day after we got home from Wine Country, and they’ve been wreaking havoc ever since. And we’re not unaffected: We have many friends with relatives or homes in Sonoma or Napa Counties, and – depending on the direction of the winds – the smoke has made its way to the city several different days, limiting our outdoor activities. (Avery’s soccer practice and game were cancelled, as were Zoe’s cross-country practice and meet – and neither girl had outdoor recess or PE all week.) We’re also planning a quiet (inside) weekend at home, while we would normally be at a pumpkin patch or at some outdoor fall-themed event.

We’re only facing minor inconveniences, of course, and my heart goes out to all the people who have lost their homes or loved ones. It feels surreal to be close to something so tragic, and it’s hard not to feel helpless when following the news. Everyone is just hoping and praying that the winds will slow and the fires will finally get under control.

-M

More photos from our first patch of the year, which we visited with friends last weekend. (Though this particular town – Petaluma – is okay so far, it’s right around all the terrible fires in Sonoma and Napa Counties, and we’re all just sick over what’s happening.)

-M

As most readers know, we (okay, I) love a good pumpkin patch. We visited our first one of the season on Saturday.

-M

Our friends have a large garden in the back of their Sonoma house with lots of fruits and veggies – grapes, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc. – to pick. Avery was particularly fond of the small green apples she got to collect and at one point told me, “I love having a farm in the backyard.”

-M

The girls had off school on Thursday and Friday so good friends invited us to their family home in Sonoma. It was an amazingly relaxing time, with the girls swimming, making and throwing water balloons, and playing other games outside. (As for the adults, we just hung out, and even got some shopping in.) After a crazy few weeks of work, it was exactly what I needed, too!

-M