We’re in the midst of the busiest trimester of the year. The Jewish High Holy Days typically land somewhere in September, then my birthday pops up, and we’re immediately plunged into Halloween season, which is our favorite time of year, the boys as all year how long it is until Halloween.
My birthday was a very low key affair. We did cake, presents (Wallace and Gromit Lego set!), and then dinner at a local brewery.
While we were out to dinner we got to see the in-progress status of the new beer garden that the BART blog mentioned back in May. So cool!
Unfortunately, things got a bit complicated with some health stuff that came up, which resulted in us starting Halloween-themed festivities right at the beginning of October so MJ was able to join us before he was out of commission for a few weeks. Our first stop: Joan’s Farm and Pumpkin Patch! The boys and I discovered it last year while MJ was traveling for work, and we had a really great time, so we were eager to share that experience with him. Since we had to go there early in the season (the first day they were open) and arrived just after opening, we successfully avoided the crowds and heat, and had a great morning!
We got the wrist bands for the boys so they could do unlimited activities, including a giant inflatable slide they went on at least two dozen times. They weren’t enamored with the corn maze this year because it didn’t quite manage to grow out this year, but we made up for that later in the month. We did the hay ride as a family, and the driver was kind enough to explain the controls and engine to Adam afterwards. They had a lot of fun with the barrel train, which we practically had to pry them out of after the third or fourth time around.
They also had a lot of fun at the Nerf-fueled shooting gallery.
And we got decorative pumpkins! Since it was the beginning of October, we held off on our carving pumpkins, instead focusing on “the biggest one they could find” in the patch, and a bunch of small ones that we’ll be keeping out through Thanksgiving.
After Joan’s, we had lunch at Zephyr Grill & Bar nearby, where Aaron apparently had the best mac and cheese of his life and keeps begging us to go back to. Noted! He’s also been really, really into hibachi lately, but unlike the places on the east coast, the ones out west don’t tend to do sushi, which leaves Adam in a tough spot because he’s happy with crab stick sushi, but isn’t a fan of hibachi. That said, Benihana has a limited sushi menu, so we’ve been able to finagle our way into some crab stick sushi for him the last time we went.
The following weekend our au pair Ana took Adam up to the city with her boyfriend so they could enjoy Fleet Week. She had taken both boys the day before, but the San Francisco fog wasn’t cooperating and while they were able to hear a lot of the planes, visibility was quite limited and they had to delay most of the shows. Adam was eager to return though, so we’re grateful he was able to go with them and enjoy it, and he seemed to have a great time getting to know her boyfriend.
With MJ at home recovering, I had Aaron for the day, but we wanted to stay close to home just in case he needed anything. With that in mind, we started our adventure together by walking over to brunch at The Breakfast Club, and then went over to Aran’s Art Studio. In spite of being within walking distance of home, we had never been! With Aaron’s affinity for art, it’s quite the oversight. They have glass art and ceramic painting there, and we went for the ceramic painting. Aaron picked out a lucky cat to paint, and I went freestyle on a small plate, which Aaron helped me complete by adding some ants and a bumble bee at the end.
From there we walked over to the new toy store that recently moved downtown, The Prize Booth. We’d been a couple times to their old location, but since it was a place we had to drive to and in a totally different part of town, it was more of an adventure. Since they moved here a couple months ago, we’ve already been twice. Aaron surprised me and went with a STEM toy, a simple assembly water-filled tornado toy that we had fun putting together when we got home.
And to conclude this post the way I started, more birthdays! As an adopted cat, we aren’t sure when Zara’s birthday actually is, so we picked October 10th. She got to enjoy toys and special treats, which the boys were really excited to give her:
They were also excited to make cupcakes for our au pair, Ana. Sadly, she is only with us for a year, so this was the one opportunity to celebrate her birthday with her. I’m glad the boys wanted to take the time to make it special, as she’s been such an important part of our family over this past year.