October! Paris was of course the major highlight, but Shane and Isaac deserve some airtime, too. We kicked off October with a quick weekend trip up to Bellingham to finish up Isaac’s passport/Nexus pass application at the Blaine Custom’s Office. Plus…pumpkins!
Apples were actually the main attraction at Bellweather Farms, so we bought a bag to fill and boarded the tractor trailer for a ride out to the orchards.
His little hand on her leg…
So, about U-pick with a toddler…works much better with raspberries than apples! He filled our 9-pound bag in about two and a half minutes, wonderfully proud of himself and also confused when we told him he was doing too good a job. Make it last, Bud!
Since our apples were picked in under five minutes and we had a couple more hours until our passport appointment, we took our time saying hello to the cows.
And then ran same extra laps in the Gala aisles.
Boy down!
Sampling the merch…
Juliette said it was the best apple she’d ever had. I agreed it was perfectly juicy and crisp, but also, the whole of experience may have added some extra flavor.
Still T minus 90 minutes to appointment time…corn maze it is!
Isaac passed his global entry interview with flying colors, we grabbed a quick bite, and then settled into our hotel for swimming and movies. Mission accomplished.
We breakfasted early the next morning at Old Town Cafe, where the pancakes, mimosas, and toy-packed play area were all a hit. Something for everyone!
We drove over to the waterfront after breakfast to throw rocks and have a go at the playground.
The previous day’s tank top weather was already a distant memory…we jumped back in the car and then Isaac fell asleep as I was giving Shane directions to a coffee shop where we could warm up, so we decided to quit while we were ahead and hightail it back to Seattle. Quick trip. Easy-ish trip. Good trip.
October brought more soccer, and more time on the sidelines with my favorite fan.
It’s great when Grandma comes and can take a turn on toddler-duty so that I can focus on sister. Juliette snagged the ball with just a few minutes to go and ran it down the whole field for a goal. Isaac did 47 laps on this log / balance beam situation. They’re both winners.
Lately Saturdays are for soccer games, and Sundays are for kicking the ball around with Shane and Isaac at Hiawatha. Juliette’s got soccer fever and I think her brother is catching it.
My parents spent some time with us in October between a couple of east coast trips – it’s nice to live near an Alaska Airlines hub. Isaac taught my dad a few things on the art of accessorizing.
And both kids lapped up the time with extra playmates.
Shane had a birthday and we got out to Fonda la Catrina for tacos and laughter with our crew.
We saw the Taylor Swift Eras movie and all loved it in equal measure. Or maybe Shane loved it the most? Anyway, it was fun.
And we did our usual park circuit. Lincoln in October is such a gem.
I spent the last weekend of the month in Florida with my parents attending my grandma’s memorial service. She passed away in August and I’m so thankful I had to the chance to spend time in the presence of people that loved her so dearly. I met some distant family members for the very first time and connected with cousins that I haven’t seen in decades. Nothing but the kindest things were said about Grandma that weekend and it was all true. She was resilient and kind-hearted and open-homed. She was entrepreneurial and courageous and hopeful in the face of challenge. She WAS the goodest and faithfullest servant. She loved seashells and flowers and even when dementia robbed her of her memories, her kind-hearted nature prevailed. Love is her legacy.
I have fond childhood memories of my Florida beach visits. I took a long solo walk one afternoon at Indian Rocks and felt sad and thankful all at once. Rest well, Grandma.
The end of October also brought Halloween season, complete with giant spiders on the neighbor’s fences and trees…
(Isaac wasn’t a fan at first, but when he felt how soft this one was, he tried to pull it down to give it a hug.)
We picked up a couple of pumpkins from the corner market after one of Juliette’s soccer games and then got down to the business of carving.
Isaac was given a marker and a packet of stickers rather than a blade and told to make his pumpkin pretty, but he wasn’t buying it. What Juliette was doing looked way more fun.
Or did it?
Such drama! Get in there, girl!
She pawned off the dirty work on her little brother. And he loved it.
Seriously. I couldn’t get his arm out of there!
At some point Isaac started putting the guts back into the pumpkin so he could pull them out again, and I let that go on for awhile, but eventually we needed to get down to business.
Mission accomplished!
When it came to Halloween costumes, Juliette rejected all of my cute woodland-animal ideas, but her eyes lit up when on a whim I suggested Cruella Deville. I think it was the promise of red lipstick that had her hooked. Isaac was a Dalmatian and of course was adorable, but somehow, so was his evil villain of a sister!
We did the neighborhood with Isaac and it took all of one stop for him to get the gist of the gig.
TRICK OR TREAT! MORE PLEASE!
My dad wasn’t intending to trick or treat himself, but when a neighbor offered him an IPA, he wasn’t about to turn it down.
The porch with the cackling witch statue was not so much a hit. Isaac still points to that house out our front window every couple of days and says, “keery!!!” (scary). I assure him that the witch has left and then he brightens up with, “all done keery!”.
Again, we quit while we were ahead. Isaac was trying to eat his candy as quickly as it was being dropped into his bucket, so we called it after just a few houses.
Juliette, though, was just getting started.
She met up with her buds and the moms and I spent an hour or two drinking tea from our travel mugs while our girls ran from door to door.
Happy end of October!
…and happy December?! How did that happen?!