The Castro Valley Fall Festival took place on September 6th and 7th. The first day the boys got to visit a petting zoo, but the day was cut a bit short by a kiddo stomach ache.

We went back for day two so we could walk through the whole festival, and the boys enjoyed going on a bungee bouncing thing.

Last week I was able to sneak out for an evening to go see Hamilton at our local theater. The 10th anniversary release was really fun to see, even if I didn’t quite anticipate spending 3 hours on it. It included an introduction with interviews from the original cast reflecting on the experience and anniversary, and also included a 10 minute intermission. It all took me back to where I was 10 years ago, and just how much I loved the whole Hamilton experience as I fell in love with the soundtrack, and finally saw the show live in San Francisco.

The boys have continued swim classes, which are going well but they changed pools on us recently, which means we don’t have the fun opportunity to see an Amtrak train zooming through on a perfectly timed journey to the pool now. Fortunately, on our last Sunday at the last pool we got to see it, and the pool they moved us to is actually a lot nicer and isn’t much further away.

Day to day there’s been a lot of playing with our new cat, Zara, and doing little tasks around the house. The other day Adam helped me vacuum out the van so we could install a new all-weather mat in the back. MJ and I have been going through some paperwork to continue our organization project and clear out some of our storage areas.

I’ve also been trying, unsuccessfully, to resurrect one of our old servers. We have a couple small systems that we used for backups and media when we lived in San Francisco, but over time the raid arrays on those spinning disks died and the systems failed. I figured that bringing them back up would just be a matter of replacing the disks and doing some reconfiguration, but it’s been dreadful. VGA output appeared to have failed on one of the mother boards, so I moved everything over to the other system and then I was getting inconsistent booting even after I sorted out UEFI. I finally got it booted and the RAID5 array built, rebooted it, and VGA this system isn’t working, even in POST. Argh. Why? I guess it’s my fault trying to bring back old x86 systems. Even if it had worked, it wouldn’t be satisfying like getting my RISC-V SBC going a few months ago. Right now it’s just a disappointing time sink. I might try a few more things, but I’m close to giving up and starting again with new hardware and a more modern disk configuration.

And while I’m talking about old hardware, I hauled out my never-used Mycroft Mark I device recently. That’s been causing me a lot of headaches too, but at least there’s more novelty to it. I’ll write up a full blog post about it if I ever do get it running with something interesting. Right now I might be facing some hardware issues AND a system that’s simply too old to run some of the home assistant software that lives in the forks designed for it. I guess I’ll see how it goes. Computers, man.

Our adventure to welcome a new cat has been in the works for a while. At first we weren’t ready, then life was just incredibly busy with life with two young children. But the desire to have a pet again was growing. We had to work out some details, like how we’d handle our summers in Philly (where does the litter box go at the townhouse?) and generally the additional load of caring for a pet when our lives are already so full. But the solutions trickled in and the benefits and positives finally won out.

And then when we were in Philly over the summer, the boys fell in love with a cat they saw at Petco. They went back and saw her several times, she was a very friendly tortoiseshell cat, but we couldn’t really adopt a cat across the country. Still, when we came home the boys insisted that they wanted a tortoiseshell cat. The search was on.

Our first encounter was via a local pet adoption agency, Nobody’s Perfekt Dogs and Cats. They are an incredibly dedicated group of volunteers who rehabilitate, foster, and find homes for animals that had some rough spots in their past. Given that we have two rambunctious boys, we didn’t think any of their animals, many recovering from trauma, would be a good fit, but they were local and they also have a shop of gently used pet items so we stopped by. We had a great conversation with their volunteers, and learned about a tortoiseshell cat in foster care who we were able to meet a couple weeks later, over Labor Day weekend. Alas, in spite of warming up to Aaron a little, we determined she was just too timid and scared for our noisy home, and we hope she finds a better fit, somewhere more peaceful.

But I was ready for this potential outcome. I had scoured shelters ahead of time and found a tortoiseshell-tabby (torbie) at the East Bay SPCA in Dublin, it was Zara!

I was cautiously optimistic since her listing called her friendly, but you really never know how cats are going to react to young children, especially a 4 and 6 year old who aren’t used to engaging with cats. But she surprised us all. As soon as Adam and I went into her room, she rubbed up against his legs, and he was instantly in love. Aaron took a little more getting used to because he was a bit more… excited, but even him she seemed fine with. And both MJ and I found her to be lovely. We filled out the paperwork, and brought her home!

We’re her second family, and her first family is the one that named her. Alas, we were told they surrendered her with the reason that she was an indoor/outdoor cat, but would disappear for days at a time outside, and that wasn’t working for them. With us she’s indoor-only, so we should be able to avoid that particular hurdle, unless she gets out. We’re looking at AirTags as a solution to her potentially escaping and disappearing, but that assumes she’s willing to wear a collar.

We did discover a benefit of being her second family through the same SPCA is that while we brought home an 11 month old, the SPCA had her kitten picture!

We kept her in the laundry room for the first 24 hours to get her used to us and the smells of a new home. We took turns going in and visiting with her, but also giving her some space to adjust. We built a brand new cat tree for her, which joined her in the laundry room that first day.

She was eager to explore though, and settled in pretty quickly once she had the run of the house on Monday (Labor Day) and we moved the cat tree into the family room. We had a pretty laid back day welcoming our new cat to our home, and the boys had a lot of fun playing with her.

She’s very people-centric, always wanting to be nearby someone. As soon as Gaby leaves to pick up Aaron from school, she comes into my office. When Aaron comes home, she’s off to play with him. Over night she’s been sleeping in our bedroom, after we extract her from the new game of trying to hide out with the boys to sleep with them. Temperament-wise, she can be very snuggly when she wants to be, but will let us know with a little bite or a swat if she has had enough. We do need to work on her scratching, since she likes to dig on carpets and there are a few heirloom chairs downstairs that she’s taken a particular liking to. I think that’s a surmountable challenge though.

A couple days in I noticed some blood on our bed, and a thorough inspection caused me to discover a wounded pad on her back right foot. I can’t imagine she got it with us, so I think it was a pre-existing wound that opened up with her getting to run and jump around a big house. I took her to the vet, which she wasn’t happy with me about, and was instructed to keep it clean by using some medical wipes they gave me twice a day. She isn’t super happy with me about that either. And unfortunately, I’m not sure it’s healing as much as we’d like to see at this stage, she has a follow-up at the vet appointment this Friday to see what our next steps are.

But back to the good things! The boys have been really great with her. Adam is very protective, and she’s been snuggling up on his lap while he plays video games. Aaron is learning how to be more gentle with her, but she’s tolerating the learning curve, especially since he’s the most fun human to play with around here. One of the most adorable things so far has been the boys building her little forts and beds, and then Zara actually sleeping in them!

MJ and I are totally in love with her too. She’s made a great addition to our family. And I hope she forgives me about the vet stuff soon.

As I’ve written, our first stop was Boston and on Saturday we left midday for the drive up through New Hampshire and into Maine. Our first adventure stop in Maine was one of my favorites, the Seashore Trolley Museum! When I was a kid, I frequently asked to go, and I now often make a stop there on my trips to Maine, so I was really happy to bring the boys. We got there a bit late in the day, but we were able to enjoy a trolley ride, and I absolutely love that journey through the forest and the boys did too.

And then do some exploring through the barns before dropping by their very fun gift shop. The weather was beautiful and we all had a good visit, even if I wished we had gotten there earlier to see a bit more.

When we got to Scarborough, we checked into our hotel and did a quick stop at the storage unit to get an idea of how much stuff we had. It was then dinner at Sebago Brewing Company, where I enjoyed a lobster quesadilla, a spectacular slice of blueberry pie, and learned that breweries in Maine can put THC in their beers. Wow, Maine!

On Sunday my sister Annette and my nephew Xavier made the drive down from their place and met us at the storage unit. We swiftly identified trash and donation items, and got through a lot more than I expected. Annette helped me load up her car with donation goods (mostly old kitchen supplies and such) and we got a lot more done than I expected. Xavier was kind enough to help MJ finish the work on wiring the trailer hitch, which I was grateful for since it allowed Annette and I to focus on storage.

Then it was off to have some fun! We had picnic area tickets to a Portland Sea Dogs game! We love baseball, but amusingly the only games I’ve been to this year were a couple games in Boston, and now their AA affiliate, the Sea Dogs. I swear I’m still a Phillies and Giants fan!

But baseball is baseball, and we had an amazing time with gorgeous weather. It was great to have a game to watch while I caught up with my sister, and our tickets included some food. And the Sea Dogs won! Plus, with the team going away for games elsewhere for a couple weeks, they held a Kids Run the Bases event so MJ and Adam got to run some bases while the rest of us cheered them on.

That evening we enjoyed dinner at The Great Lost Bear where we continued our trend of bringing our kids to drinking establishments (hah!) but truly it is a family-friendly place and I remembered it from when I was a kid. I now realize why it made an impression, the whole place from floor to ceiling is packed with pictures and lights and THINGS. It’s 100% my maximalist aesthetic, and I find a sense of peace in such chaos. The beers and food were top notch too, and I really enjoyed their buffalo fried cauliflower.

We got back to the hotel late, but I had promised Adam he could stop by a pond near our hotel before heading to bed. With Aaron asleep in the car, MJ ended up dropping off Xavier, Adam and I at the pond, and the boys proceeded to find some frogs. Xavier caught one and Adam was entranced! Those 20 minutes we spent at the pond doing some cousin bonding time was one of the most memorable moments of our trip for me.

But the trip wasn’t over yet! A whole day of adventures and the road trip back to Philadelphia were still ahead of us.

I’d say this was our first proper Great American Road Trip with the kids. They’d done an hour or two here and there, and three hours when we drove from Hollywood Beach to Melbourne, Florida over Thanksgiving, but this was a six+ hour trip. We wanted to stop and visit Boston and MJ’s best friend Matti, and then we’d continue up to Maine to see my sister and nephew, and show the kids where I grew up.

We drove up to Boston on a Wednesday, and made pretty decent time up to Boston in spite of a little traffic and the required potty/meal breaks. At one point we stopped at a Target to pick up some supplies. We made a final stop for fast food in Boston in the late evening and eventually got to our hotel. We did adjoining rooms again, but it was an extended stay style hotel so the rooms were larger and had pull out couches instead of the full multiple beds like we’ve done in the past. It also had a kitchen, which came in pretty handy for washing water bottles and keeping our fruit and leftovers chilled in a real refrigerator. The first night I slept with the boys while they got used to the room, but by the second night I was able to convince them to sleep on their own with the connecting room doors open in case they needed us (or just got scared), and we brought their audio baby monitors for an added level of support. It worked out well.

Our first day in Boston was spent going on their first MBTA subway rides!

We met up with Matti and took the subway over to the Boston Museum of Science. Growing up in Maine, this was basically the closest science museum to us, so it was where our Girl Scout troops did our adventures at, I remember sleeping there at least once (maybe twice?). I have a ton of memories from there, and it had been years since I’d been back. It was a real delight to bring the boys there.

I had hoped that going on a weekday would mean the shows wouldn’t be as crowded, but the Tesla coil demo was already filled up a full 15 minutes before the show, and the 3D movie shows were mostly booked for pre-registered school groups. Still, we had a lot of fun. Aaron’s love of animals drew him into the natural history exhibit and drawers full of specimens, from fur to beetles to bones.

Adam’s more mechanical inclinations had him chasing lights and motors. They both enjoyed the dinosaurs and the Boston Dynamics robot.

The next day we took the other two subway lines (we hit all 4!) and for a visit to the New England Aquarium. Once again, this was the aquarium from my childhood, but the last time I was th/images/journalpics/072025/mtba_subway_fam.jpgere was actually in 2019 when Adam was a baby and we were in town for a conference. My mother, sister, and nephew came down to visit and we had a lovely day together.

It was really fun to meet up with Matti again and go with MJ and the boys. The aquarium was a bit lean on sharks, much to Aaron’s disappointment, but they both love penguins and this is a good aquarium for them.

We split our aquarium visit in half, taking a break for lunch and playground mid-day and then returning to see the rest of it later in the afternoon.

We also got ice cream, during which time the boys insisted upon getting soft serve ice cream from a truck, while the adults partook in Ben & Jerry’s. Yum.

The next morning it was off to Maine! MJ had a few car parts for the trailer hitch we couldn’t complete in Pennsylvania shipped up to Matti’s house, so he collected those in the morning and we got on the road around midday. I was thrilled to be on our way up to Maine, but the boys are real city kiddos and they loved spending time in Boston. We’ll definitely have to make the trip up again in the coming years, but this visit was a great start.

With MJ traveling, the boys and I spent the first Sunday of the month visiting a flea market in town, where I found a Disney’s Pinocchio picture vinyl – the same one my family had when I was a kid!

We then went over to The Chabot theater for an afternoon showing of the new live-action Lilo & Stitch. This is only the second time our boys had been to a movie theater, and the first time we went to one that wasn’t a special event. They did great! The movie was cute and the boys had a good time, but the live-action remakes aren’t really my thing.

I took Monday and Thursday off from work to do other summer things with Gaby (our au pair) and the boys. Monday it was a visit back to the Cull Canyon swimming lagoon for swimming! Unfortunately the weather was on the cooler side, so there weren’t a lot of people there and we were a bit chilly. We still had fun though, got to swim a bit, have some PB&J sandwiches, and try out the beach tent and wagon we bought after our first visit.

We picked up the wagon at Costco, and it collapses really nicely. The beach tent came from REI, and it’s not one of the easy pop-up ones, but setting it up is easily done with a single person and a few minutes of focus. It was actually good chilly and our visit to short to use the tent, but I could see it really coming in handy during longer visits on warmer days.

On my Thursday off I took everyone up to Fairyland in Oakland. It’s been on our list for a while, and I realized that at 4 and 6, Adam at least would age out of it in a couple years. Now was the perfect time to go! Gaby and I packed up a bunch of snacks and drove up. Parking was easy and it wasn’t busy when we arrived. The park is also celebrating their 75th anniversary this year, so at ticketing we got our Fairyland keys that were decorated with sparkles for the anniversary. So cute!

As one of the first theme parks, it inspired many others over the years, notably among them being Disneyland. I suspect it’s seen better days with fresher coats of paint, but these aren’t things that kids notice, and to Adam and Aaron it was one of their favorite days out in a while. There are lots of places to run and climb, there was a little train that we rode a couple times, and the carousel and Ferris wheel were kids-only, which they thought was pretty fun(ny). There was a giant (kids-only) dragon slide that they went down about a half dozen times, and they both thought it was hilarious to hide inside various little houses inspired by fairy tales.

We saw a puppet show at 11AM, during which we followed the lead of a bunch of other families in using the opportunity to have the kids enjoy their PB&J sandwiches. The Pinocchio puppet show was cute, but Aaron and I were quite distracted by a squirrel who understood it was lunch time and got very close to us in his efforts to take Aaron’s sandwich.

It was also great that they allow outside food, and even the in-park food didn’t seem wildly priced, maybe we’ll check it out next time. I think going on a Thursday morning was a good choice too, even if it required a day off from work, it meant there were virtually no lines and even the school groups that were there didn’t make the park feel full. In all, the place was pretty low-stress and enjoyable for all of us, as soon as we left the boys were asking when we could go again.

MJ returned from his work trip late on Thursday night, just in time for us to enjoy Father’s Day weekend! Saturday was spent at the annual Castro Valley Car Show. One of the reasons we delayed our trip to Philadelphia was to avoid missing local summer events like this, so it was nice that we got to go this year. Adam even found a Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, famously the same car that KITT is in Knight Rider, though this one was white and I think it was from 1983 (the one in the show is a 1982).

Sunday featured a trip out to the Hiller Aviation Museum for Father’s Day! They had some activities for the kids, but they didn’t seem too interested in them, so we skipped them in favor of the standing exhibits, including a 747 that we went in twice, and a large gallery of various other aircraft.

We also took the recommendation of a woman in the gift shop who said we should check out Sky Kitchen just across the runway at the San Carlos Airport for a kid-friendly lunch, which definitely hit the spot. Afterwards, it was easy to come back and check out a few things we didn’t get to before lunch, and to spend a little time in the gift shop. We also ended up getting a membership because we all really enjoyed it and there was more we wanted to see.

And then it was the countdown to our trip to Philadelphia! The boys and I finished a jigsaw puzzle that we’d been working on for a few weeks and I wanted to finish before we left.

I also took a long lunch one day and went bowling with Gaby and the boys to make sure we had our fun with the Kids Bowl Free pass once more before we left (though we will have some time in August to use it too). Leaving for six weeks is always a bit nerve-wracking for me as we prep the house, make sure we don’t forget anything, and get our house sitter all set up, but I paced myself as much as I could and made extensive use of lists, and it wasn’t as chaotic as it usually is. I’m definitely glad we didn’t leave right after school ended, it was really nice to do California summer for a little while before Philly summer began.

We got in on a Friday night, and the next day the Churchville Nature Center happened to be having a day of activities for members. It was a nice, local thing to do with all of us feeling a bit tired. They had animal caretakers out with some of their snakes, reptiles, and turtles, and several activities for the kids to engage with. The boys got to touch a turtle shell and a snake skin, and they both were quite fond of the bearded dragon.

Over the week we lucked out with great weather, so the boys spent a lot of time outside with their au pair, but also enjoyed indoor activities and toys they hadn’t played with in a few months. I’m glad they were occupied, as I was in the midst of a very busy time at work with a major product launch on the horizon and two major projects I’m working on barreling in on their concluding phases. I wish I could have spent more time with family, but I was simply inundated. MJ had his best friend come into town, and even her I didn’t see much as I was sequestered in my office, and then working a couple late evenings while she spent time with MJ.

The next weekend we were fortunate enough to be in town for cousin Sammy’s birthday. Amusingly, it was at another nature center, so the boys definitely got their fill of local critters on this trip! Aaron got to pet a snake, hold a friendly cockroach, and feed a tortoise. Everyone got to enjoy beautiful cake made by Aunt Yilia.

Throughout our stay it was nice to have their grandfather stop by a few times to play with the boys, and go out with Irina and Sammy a couple times. One day we went to the library, where I worked from for a couple hours. Libraries continue to be a reading lifeline for me, as I was able to continue reading a large book I started on the west coast without having to haul it across the country, a quick search showed which nearby branch I could pick it up at without even having to do a transfer. And yes, I realize ebooks exist, I have a Nook and a Kindle! But it’s not my preferred experience.

On our last full weekend there I was clued into the Himalayan blue poppy blooming at Longwood Gardens, and we decided to make a day of it. Our kids love gardens and flowers, and I’m a big fan of the sprawling Longwood Gardens, having formed many pleasant memories there. It was about an hour long drive, but Adam and I hunted for colorful cars to complete a rainbow and Aaron took an unapproved nap. Disappointingly, it was too early in the season for any of the fountains to be on, but we did get to enjoy the tree houses and all the springtime blooms starting to come up.

And then there were the blue poppies. I’m not actually one to chase flowers, but these ones are breathtaking and difficult to grow, so I was really happy to get to see them.

It was my first time being in the area for children, because the last time we were at Longwood Gardens was nearly 7 years prior, when I was pregnant with Adam! They also redid the bonsai tree area since I last went there, so that was nice to visit. It was a tiring day for everyone with a lot of walking, but I think we all enjoyed it.

MJ and I got out on a rare date night while we were in town. The final Tuesday we drove down to Philadelphia to eat at Buddakan, one of our favorites. I made my way through a sake sampler and a cocktail as we enjoyed various dim sum dishes and a small steak. I’m glad we went and we enjoyed it, but I think when we visit over the summer we’re going to expand our options some beyond just our usual places. Surely some new, exciting places have opened that we have yet to experience!

On this trip I also discovered that my favorite bagel place in the world has a location just 20 minutes from our townhouse! Yum Yum Bake Shops was my go-to when I worked in Lansdale and wanted to ruin all the work I’d just done at the gym. Their bagels are chewy and perfect, and I haven’t managed to find that level of perfection since, especially not on the west coast. So, one morning I braved traffic down Street Road and made the pilgrimage. I also got a giant donut for the boys because I accurately predicted that they’d get a kick out of it.

Finally, this trip was notable because we had a new car. Well, a minivan. I’ll write about it soon, but we purchased it right before we left and then had it shipped across the country, since it needs to be registered in California (long story). This meant that for this trip, and over the summer, we’ll have two cars! It’s quite the indulgence, but it was good to have overlap. The Acura MDX has been a great car there, but with it hitting the 8th model year it’s going to need a California smog check unless we can get an exemption, and we can’t get that done in Pennsylvania. Two cars did mean that I had to spend some time cleaning out the garage, and then we had to squeeze both cars into the garage upon our departure. But they did fit! Even if it was very tight.

We took a Saturday afternoon flight home at the conclusion of our two weeks. It was a solid trip, and I’m grateful that we finally made it a visit without anyone getting sick or any other major calamities. It’s also starting to get a bit easier to travel with the boys, partially due to them getting unlimited screen time on flights and them actually starting to really love that perk. With each trip they’re also doing a better job of carrying their own backpacks and suitcases through the airport, which is a load off from us. Plus, diaper-free travel is a game-changer! I never want to change a diaper in a busy airport restroom again.

Last weekend we took advantage of the beautiful weather by visiting one of MJ’s colleagues up north where his family has a bunch of animals, including a horse, mule, and mammoth donkey!

The boys haven’t spent much time near large animals, so it took a little time for them to warm up to the idea of entering their enclosure. Both of the boys enjoyed climbing into a dry riverbed in their back yard. Adam got to run around their back yard with a wheelbarrow and help sweep out a part of their [freshly empty] aviary enclosure.

The promise of getting to see inside the barn is what finally got the boys in with the animals, where they both got to brush the horse and donkey while they were munching on some hay, and Aaron got to feed the horse some carrots. I wouldn’t say they got comfortable with them, in fact Aaron got a little spooked toward the end and climbed up me screaming when the donkey walked by him, but they are big, and I think it’ll just take repeated exposure to them to reach the comfortable state. As for me, the mammoth donkey was an absolute delight.

The boys also enjoyed snacks and Adam got gracefully introduced to chess while Aaron found the drums in their living room, both precisely on brand for the boys right now. It was a fun afternoon, and I’m really grateful for them opening their home to us for a visit.

On Sunday morning we had swim class, but were then off to the annual Hayward Executive Airport Open House. We’d never been to this airport, it seems mostly focused on private aircraft and training, but we do drive by it frequently, and I suspect most of the small planes that fly over our house are based out of there. The event offered an opportunity to see the airport, and had a bunch of local government services, the parks department, library, and others with booths giving out little goodies for the kids and sharing about their community services. The boys got to hop in a helicopter, as well as various police and fire vehicles.

Aaron and I took a stroll around some vintage cars, and there were a number of small aircraft on display. We grabbed lunch from some food trucks, and then at 1:40 we had our slot to get a tour of the air traffic control tower! The boys were absolute champs getting up six stories of stairs to get to the top, but I think they were briefly amused by the lights and monitors in the tower, even if their patience quickly waned, and MJ and I certainly enjoyed it more.

After the tower, it was time for a plane ride! A couple local groups were giving 15 minute rides over the east bay in a series of small Cessnas. MJ and I have both been in Cessnas before, but I love the experience whenever I have the chance. Commercial flights are so detatched from the whole flying experience, intentionally so, but a ride in a small plane is such a delight, it really feels like flying! MJ went up first with Adam, and then Aaron and I took a ride in the same plane with the same pilot. I’m not sure that Aaron could really see outside the plane, but he sat up front with the pilot and seemed to have fun looking at all the switches and dials.

By the time the flights concluded the event was wrapping up, so timing worked out nicely. I had planned on getting some house stuff done when we got home, but my sleep hasn’t been the greatest lately and we were all pretty tired when we got home. Pizza was ordered and baseball was enjoyed for the rest of the evening.

This upcoming weekend only has one adventure planned, MUNI Heritage Weekend! So we’ll be up in San Francisco on Saturday, but Sunday we’re planning on just doing swim class in the morning and trying to spend a chill day tinkering around the house for the rest of the day.

Fortunately, I have a great life, so personal hardship doesn’t make it worse. I also don’t have depression that’s debilitating enough to keep me from work and from the care of myself or loved ones. I am grateful for this, I know how lucky I am. It’s very hard some days, but it’s still possible to cope, even if I’m not feeling like my best self. And keeping our lives activity-filled on weekends does help keep my mind off how I’m feeling.

Retail therapy and seeing something to completion also help a little, perhaps unfortunately, but it did mean that finally getting a couch ordered and delivered for my office was a high point. We’ve actually done this before, but the couch was moved into the family room and we really like having it there, so we ordered an identical one to replace the one in my office. It’s actually a sofa bed, but it’s not a traditional one with a thin mattress, it’s the Serta Ainsley (Monroe on Wayfair) and it’s quite comfortable both as a couch and a bed. Since my home office doubles as a guest room, it’s nice to finally have it back, plus it’s a comfy spot to work from when the mood strikes.

We’ve been getting out around town lately, and the end of August brought one of our favorite events, Castro Valley Cruise Night! People bring their antique, vintage, and tricked out cars from all around the area to simply cruise down the boulevard. It’s just a couple blocks from home, so it makes for a very easy event for us to attend. A few booths from local law enforcement and emergency services are set up to meet the community, big speakers for music are set up midtown, and the community really shows up with folding chairs and snacks to hang out and enjoy the cars. It’s one of those events where we really feel community, and it’s energizing and makes me proud of our diverse little town. After doing some walking, we ended up at our favorite sushi place for dinner, and then got to enjoy the rest of the sunset and walk home and keep the boys out too late, oops. But we all had fun.

Last weekend we made it back over to the Chabot Space & Science Center for their first Friday event, and this month it was Science Fiction themed! We’re members, so it was a free event for us, but it would have been worth the price of admission. We were delighted to discover that the Sacramento Astromech Builders brought a couple droids that responded to activity, so the boys and I had a great time engaging with them. They also had face and arm painting of space designs, which Aaron was eager to get, and then Adam was too once he saw how great Aaron’s turned out. Since the event ran from 6-10PM we got to peek into the telescopes before and after sunset. Before sunset we went to their two smaller, older telescopes to see a couple stars, which were just pinpoints of light. After sunset we went over to their biggest telescope and saw the Ring Nebula! Aaron especially really seemed to enjoy that it looks a bit like a doughnut.

I didn’t realize until I got home that I was also wearing R2-D2 socks!

Aaron sits for some arm art

That Saturday marked the Castro Valley Fall Festival, which, yes, is held at the end of summer. It was warm out, but thankfully not overwhelmingly so, and we were able to enjoy a couple of hours there. I bought a couple local themed t-shirts from an artist there and we had some good food truck snacks. One booth had watercolor paining that the boys enjoyed, and there was a petting zoo! Aaron got a pony ride while Adam spent some time with older kids on a climbing structure.

Every Sunday morning the day has begun with the boys in swim classes. We actually started when we were in Philadelphia back in June and did them through July, then took a break in August as we settled back into school routines here in California. They’re held at a gym that’s about a 10 minute drive or 20 minute walk and single stop BART train ride. So far we’ve done both, and the boys definitely prefer the BART ride when it’s warm enough to take a stroll through parking lots and down sidewalks in their bathing suits and towels.

I’m happy to say that as of yesterday, they both graduated the first level of swim survival classes! Next Sunday they’ll have their first “Minnow” lessons, having completed the “Starfish” level. Luckily for us, they had openings in the same time slot, so it won’t be a big change for any of us.

We’ve also been putting some thought into what other activities to sign them up for. I feel like this is one of those things that really blind-sided me as a parent. I vaguely of knew about extracurricular activities, but it takes a lot of work on the part of the parents, and there’s a lot of pressure to sign your kid up for the “right” one. I’ve watched with a bit of shock how hard it is to get into some activities and the lengths people go to in order to get on the right lists and programs. Then I discovered that ones that are almost as good seem to have open availability. I obviously want our kids to be served well by the programs they’re in, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned about parenthood it’s that the needs and values of the whole family need to always be factored in when making decisions about what we commit to. We’ll see what fits the criteria for us in the coming months.

We went on a lot of adventures. Possibly too many. The first day they were here we spent a lot of time on public transit making our way around San Francisco. We took BART up in the late morning and then immediately took a historic street car over to Fisherman’s Wharf where we finally got to ride the SkyStar Wheel (Ferris wheel). From there they did a little tourist shopping before we headed up to Ghirardelli Square.

Someone remind me never to go to Ghirardelli Square for ice cream on a summer weekend again. It was never a calm experience, but now it’s pure chaos. It’s loud, you hover over a table to find seating, and it’s quite the opposite of relaxing. We did eventually find a table to enjoy our ice cream, but I think Aaron was a little tired at this point so I had to sit with him for a while to calm down after he had a huge tantrum over not getting to finish the brownie on the sundae (it was offered to him multiple times!). Honestly, next time I might just take visiting friends and family to the Factory Store in San Leandro, it has a lovely little ice cream cafe that is enjoyable to eat in.

Once Aaron had calmed down and everyone used the restrooms the next thing on our agenda was riding on a cable car. We hopped on a bus and made our way down Van Ness to pick up the California Street cable car at the end. Unfortunately that’s when we learned that the cable cars had shut down for the day due to the Vice President visiting for a campaign fundraiser that happened to be taking place at a hotel located on the cable car lines. Thanks, Secret Service. Taking a peek at the time, we made a diversion to a nearby Grubstake Diner that MJ had heard good things about. It didn’t disappoint! The bus ride to Civic Center there did disappoint though. It’s not the best part of town, the bus was late, and I think that particular adventure was a lot for my sheltered Maine relatives, hah! Still, it got us safely to BART and all three of the kids fell asleep on the train ride home.

Sunday I wanted to be a bit more chill since everyone was tired, so we had a quiet morning at home together, and then decided to head up to Joaquin Miller Park in Oakland to finally visit the Chabot Space & Science Center. It was amazing!

The gems of the center are definitely the telescopes, and we’ll be back for some of their telescope events in the near future. It was fun checking out the exhibits, and there was a lot of interactive and play stuff there too, which will be nice to take more time with when we go there with just the boys.

They also have a planetarium that does shows all day, and I love planetariums. It’s also a gentle introduction to a theater environment for our rambunctious kiddos, and just like our planetarium experiment in Philadelphia back in July, this one went pretty well.

On Monday I worked from the San Francisco office and then Gaby was kind enough to shepherd everyone from Castro Valley into San Francisco on BART before concluding her day with the boys and heading home. This was when we fixed our missed cable car opportunity! We waited at the Powell Street turnaround for a while, and then caught a cable car back down to Fisherman’s Wharf. We had a nice walk and discovered the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park Visitor Center that has a surprisingly extensive exhibit about the history of the area, and everyone really seemed to enjoy it. From there my sister picked up some more tourist goodies and then we got on a street car to head home. Mission accomplished!

On Tuesday afternoon once Adam finished school I packed up my work laptop and we made our way over to the Oakland Zoo. I settled in near the bison paddock for a couple hours to finish work while Gaby and Annette took the boys around the zoo. I met up with them around closing to go on some rides in the area just outside the zoo.

We let everyone have a chill, local Wednesday and Thursday while I worked from my home office, and then took Friday off for some final adventures! In the course of the week, I discovered that going swimming was on their California list, but the beaches are far and not really swim-friendly, so I asked a local friend what she recommended and that’s how we ended up spending the afternoon at the Don Castro Swim Lagoon. It was perfect! I can’t believe we hadn’t been before! Admission for the six of us was a total of $15 and they have life guards and a very clean facility. It’s still beach-like, but it’s all man-made and effectively a big pool, which you notice when you swim out to the deeper parts since you can touch the concrete bottom of the “pool” out there. We had snacks at the beach and wrapped up around 4PM to clean up and eventually meet MJ for dinner. MJ was picking up the family car in Dublin, so we all hopped on BART and then caught a bus to meet him at Lazy Dog right on time to eat.

Our final adventure was on Saturday, to a railway museum that I’ll write about soon. They headed out on an overnight flight back to Maine on Saturday night. It was nice having them visit and seeing the boys bond over adventures, video games, and even chill TV time. I also enjoyed having some quiet time with my sister to catch up on family stuff and how she’s doing in general. We live such different lives so far apart, it can be tricky to stay connected, but these visits every year or so certainly help.

We came back about a week and a half before school started back up, with Aaron going back to his pre-school and Adam entering Kindergarten on August 7th. It gave us time for our au pair, Gaby, to take them out on some local adventures around town, over to the seed library at the Hayward Public Library, and to San Francisco. That Friday I drove them over to the Oakland Zoo where I settled in to work for the afternoon while they enjoyed the critters, and caught up with them at the end of the day to visit with their final remaining elephant, and then go on some rides outside the zoo once the main zoo closed.

We also got all the cars washed (an at-home car wash for our 2000 Alero, thanks boys!) and even jump-started one of them, since we’d been gone so long.

That first weekend back we went back to all our old routines. Saturday morning Farmer’s Market, we went to a book sale at the library and then a garage sale, had lunch at our favorite cafe. On Sunday I took them out for donuts and then we made our way over to the hardware store to pick up a couple plants and some soil to complete the dream Adam had all summer: planting a garden. I had gone out to Home Depot earlier in the week to pick up a garden box that was on clearance, and we assembled it, but quickly discovered that we didn’t have quite enough soil to fill it. Later in the week Gaby helped him with planting some seeds, which I’m happy to say have started sprouting.

Buying soil!

Freshly assembled garden box

Unfortunately it wasn’t all fun, MJ had an accident at the end of July that severely damaged his shoulder (thankfully no breaks) and that’s still healing, but he has been in a lot of pain for several weeks. Plus, he’s had to work doctors appointments and restricted driving ability into his schedule, which hasn’t been easy. A lot more childcare has shifted to me, but at least we’re back in California where I have some additional help around the house overall, so I’ve been able to manage the extra load, mostly.

Still, life kept moving along! While working with Adam on his planting adventure, and coming home after 8 weeks away, I realized how much our yard had gone to the weeds. It was bad. And honestly I don’t have the time or inclination to manage it, as much as I’ve tried. We ended up hiring a gardening service that pulled out all the mulch and weeds from the front, replaced a whole section along our front walkway with white rocks, and completed some weeding and tree trimming in the back. It’s still mulch, but it looks a lot better, and our neighbors certainly seem to appreciate it, and so do I.

Front garden before and after

The start of the school year was rather anticlimactic. Due to the arrangement of classes this year, Adam has the same teacher and classroom as he did in TK, so there wasn’t much to prepare him for, and Aaron went back to the same preschool. They both enjoy school right now, so there were also no tears. Aside from me coming close after we dropped them off, Kindergarten is a big step! Plus, it was nice to see us all get back to our routines, I certainly enjoyed being back in my home office here. Now we just need to get back to all our big home projects, the first of which is doing some furniture shuffling. But first, my sister and nephew came into town, and added on a few more adventures to the tail end of our summer!