Halloween Synopsis

Our kids love Halloween for MANY reasons. Of course, we do love going to the pumpkin patch and carving our pumpkins each year. Honestly, who wouldn't love doing those things???

Another reason our kids love Halloween is they get to wear their costumes to school instead of their uniforms.

(Side note: They have a MUCH more lenient uniform policy than we ever did as kids. I see this as a good thing because it creates less resentment toward the clothes as kids age. They even get to wear shorts!! My inner St. Charles student is very jealous of that fact!)

In order to wear a costume to school, the uniform has to follow certain guidelines (understandably), which can make deciding on a costume a little tricky at times. In years past, Annika has really liked the idea of a scary costume, which doesn't fit the school policy, so she wound up having a school costume and a scarier trick-or-treating costume. I decided we were done with that... too much work for the grownups. Fortunately this year. both kids chose easy and school-friendly costumes. WHEW!!!

Annika dressed as a kid who overslept for school and Conor dressed as a Jedi. (He did have to leave the light saber at home because of the -- quite appropriate -- no weapons part of the school costume guidelines).

All smiles

"In character" poses

The note on Annika's PJ shirt

In other pre-holiday news, the kids decorated pumpkins as literary characters for their library projects. Conor decorated his to look like a Master Pokeball (does a Pokeball really count as a character???) while Annika chose the Headless Horseman. (Yes, we beheaded a Ken doll .... what's your point??)

Conor showing off his Pokeboall

Annika and her headless horseman

Ready for school!

We also spent some time this weekend decorating Halloween cookies. I know, BIG surprise there, huh??? I had to play with my new cookie presses... I simply HAD to! They actually worked out really well because decorating them was quite quick and considering they were for Conor's class party today, many cookies a bit faster = win!

The kids are now old enough, they really enjoy lending a hand with the cookie decorating and really do a good job. It is neat to be able to give them a little instruction and a pastry bag, and then let them go to town on their cookies. The ownership of the creativity and skill is really fun to watch.

Annika putting smiles and eyes on our happy bats

Conor giving his ghost cookie a green heart

 

Bats and ghosts

Cookies for the 2nd grade's Halloween party

Family Pumpkin Carving

Last night, we covered the kitchen table with plastic garbage bags, grabbed some knives and spoons, and collected our pumpkins from the front porch for our annual family pumpkin carving event.

Now, when I was a kid, we grabbed our pumpkins, knives, and spoons. We carved triangle eyes, a triangle nose, and a zig-zag mouth and called it good. Fast forward many years to when I married an artistic man and we had kids. Now, pumpkin carving requires a sketch pad and a lot more pre-planning than I ever imagined. That said, our pumpkins looks WAY better than any of my pre-Eric pumpkins every did.

We had lots of fun making grossed out sounds as we scooped out the pumpkin's insides and sang along with "Monster Mash" on our Echo/Alexa. Once the pumpkins were hollowed out, Eric sat down with each kiddo to sketch out his/her desired pumpkin face/expression. (Meanwhile, I went to the computer and printed up the Seahawks "12" logo and used a pin to transfer the numbers to my pumpkin. I figured the Hawks deserved a nod after their nail-biting win a few hours before!)

I have to give Eric immeasurable props for how he handles this process with the kids. They often want VERY elaborate things that simply aren't possible ... due to physics or the tools we have on hand. He very gently guides them toward a more practical design while keeping the essence of their ideas in mind and always remaining positive and having them talk through the evolution of the design. There are many moments that I've stood there and thought "Dang! He is such a great dad." and watching him figure out pumpkin faces with the kids was yet another example of when I had that exact thought. Conor definitely wanted jagged teeth in his pumpkin. Annika HAD to have a tongue sticking out. Conor wanted angry eyebrows. Annika wanted vampire fangs. Leave it to Eric to figure out how to incorporate their ideas and transfer them onto a pumpkin. :)

Let the pumpkin carving begin!

First cuts

Conor takes after Eric ... lots of sketches!

Annika and Eric co-piloting the knife process

Conor's topless pumpkin

Scoopin' out the guts

Planning time!

More sketching!

Annika inspecting her pumpkin's insides

Getting out the last seed stragglers 

Conor's pumpkin mid-carved

ROAR!!!!

BLEHHHHHH!

After many, many, many knife cuts and pottery tool scrapes later, the kids' pumpkins were done. We all agreed they looked amazing and would make our porch very "Halloweeny".  The icing on the (pumpkin) cake was the LED pumpkin lights that I picked up at the dollar store earlier in the day worked like a charm!! 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!! BOOO!

2017 Family Pumpkin Patch Excursion

Today, we made our annual excursion to Fairbank Animal Farm to pick our our pumpkins for Halloween.  This year was extra special because the Hall family joined us.

Considering the day before, we were about to start researching plans for building an ark, we were beyond overjoyed to have nothing but sunny weather today! I'm talking we needed sunglasses it was so nice! The rain from the previous days required us to don our rain boots to avoid getting overly muddy, but oh well!!

We started off visiting the goats (like we'd start anywhere else ... duh!) and moved on to the various birds (ducks, geese, peacocks, chickens) and fed them the little cups of feed that we got when we paid for our admission. While it is fun to see the birds, it is also a strong reminder that I'm not much of a captive bird gal ... they suckers are loud and smell like ... well, wet birds.). We made our way to the piglets (about a month old) and were (once again) awed by the sheer size of their mamas. Those are some large tired ladies ... then again, I would be, too, if I'd given birth to 12 children a few weeks before!)

We wound our way through the petting barn and got to pet the baby chicks, ducklings, and bunny. While they were cute, the baby sheep and month-old twin goats were what captured my heart. Beyond cute!! We also saw a couple of bearded dragons and a legless lizard (which ... only after my snarky statement "yeah... most people just call 'em snakes" I learned is quite different from a snake due to its eyelids, external ears, and uniform scale pattern.) Annika and Benji even watched a chick break out of its egg and join the world. How exciting is that???

Anyone want to guess who won this staring contest??

Eric proved to be an expert goat scratcher ... pretty sure she would have
followed him home if the fences hadn't gotten in the way

Annika giving the chicks a little love

Annabelle, Conor, and a goat
(I love how stumpy the goat's legs are!!)

Annika and Benji watching the chicks emerge from their eggs in the incubator

After we gave the animals their much-deserved attention, it was off to the pumpkin patch to pick out our perfect pumpkins! (Or in Annabelle's case, three perfect pumpkins!) Picking out THE pumpkin is such a different experience for adults than it is for kids. I'm pretty sure the kids inspected almost every pumpkin available before choosing which one to take home. Well.... Benji actually picked out his huge green pumpkin pretty early on, but then had to check out all of the other options before finalizing his green pumpkin decision. Annika and Conor both tromped through multiple pumpkin patches and considered many pumpkins before (finally) making their decisions. Annabelle went with three little pumpkins instead of one big pumpkin approach. We adults, on the other hand, basically walking into the patch, found some that fit our criterial (not rotting, not eaten by a squirrel, fairly uniformly shaped) and called it good within a couple of minutes. Yeah, we're just boring that way

Eric and Annika with her pick of the patch

   

Conor considering a massive green pumpkin

Pretty sure this thing weighs more than she does!

Conor and Eric returning from the patch with Conor's gem

The Halls

The Olson Four

Annika and Eric wheeling the pumpkins to the front of the farm 

While the dads paid for the pumpkins, the kiddos opted to run around the little play/photo area and burn off a little energy. The kids were in and out of the teepee, up and down on the wagon, and all too eager to put their faces in the various painted scenes so we could take their photos.

Conor being silly in his stump hidy hole

Annika and Annabelle just kidding around
(haha! Get it???)

Our cute babies

Hanging out with Alan Alda

So, did I tell you that I met Alan Alda last month?? No? Oh!! Well, sit down and I'll fill you in.

I don't think it is any sort of secret that I grew up in a MASH-loving home. Even long after the show was off the air, my brother and I would sit together watching episodes. I'm not talking right after the show was off the air. I mean going on 15 years after the show was done, we were still watching the show together. If we happened to turn on the TV and found a rerun playing (and, let's face it, there was a time in our not-too-distant past that there was ALWAYS a MASH rerun on!) we'd compete to figure out who could name the episode the fastest once it began or by watching the still images shown during the closing credits (if we missed the actual episode). 

My admiration of Alan Alda's work isn't strictly for his work on MASH (although, that was the beginning of it). I've admired his portrayal of countless characters, both on the big screen and on TV. Heck, I learned how to core a head of iceberg lettuce from him in the movie "Sweet Liberty". I kid you not!!

A number of years ago, Alan Alda was in town while promoting his memoir "Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: and Other Things I've Learned". Naturally, I went to the reading and was nothing but incredibly impressed with his way of interacting with the audience and his personable nature. At the end of the reading portion, he signed copies of his book. I bought 2 copies -- one for me and one for my brother Troy and asked for the inscription to read "Merry Christmas, Troy. Alan Alda". 

Fast forward to last month. I got a call out of the blue from Troy saying that we were going to a VIP reception with (and for) Alan Alda, who was in town to promote another book he wrote. I was floored and (yes, I'll admit it) giddy! After the reception, we'd get to hear Alan Alda speak to the audience about his book that discusses effective communication.

The next day, Troy and I met at a small Mercer Island restaurant, had a quick bite to eat, and headed to the reception. After wandering around a bit looking for the right building, we got to go right in and bypass the non-VIP people (tee hee hee... we were VIPs!) and join the other VIPs at the reception. We walk in and BAM! There was Alan Alda sitting at a table signing books. Troy and I giggled about how many times he must write his name during one of these events and how tired (bored?) he looked.... not to mention what his internal monologue must have been.

Waiting in line to meet Alan Alda

Hey, look!! It's Alan Alda!

We received our copies of his book and joined the line of others waiting for their turn to get their books signed. As we neared the table, I have to admit my giddy-o-meter when from "holy moly" to off the charts. 

Before too long (the line was kept moving at a really good pace), it was our turn to have our books signed. I told Alan (yea, we are totally on a first name basis now) that being there was my brother's birthday present to me. He (Alan, not Troy) very sweetly wished me a happy birthday. (YES! Alan Alda wished me a happy birthday.... booyah!) I also told him this was the second time I was at one of his readings, which (according to Troy) put a genuine smile on Alan's face. Pet Troy, he seemed touched that I was a repeat audience member! We shook hands, and then moved along... me with my feet a good 6-8 inches off of the ground.

Signed books selfie

Following the reception, we were ushered to the larger area where the presentation/interview would take place. Troy secured us some great seats earlier while I held our place in the book signing line, so we were probably no more than 10-15 feet away from the stage and dead center. During the interview, a local Seattle Times reporter and Alan talked about his work with scientists and researchers to help medical professional and other scientists improve their communication skills, especially when conversing with non-scientists and patients. 

Hey, look! It's Alan Alda

Mid-interview

Sharing a story with the sudience

Thank you, Troy, for a truly wonderful evening. Yes, it was amazing to interact with Alan Alda (squee!) and listen to him speak (in person), but beyond that, sharing the experience with you means the world. You know me well enough to know that event would make me beyond happy and it would give us yet another moment to reflect back on with fondness and smiles. Also, thank you to Eric and Staci for being willing to take care of our respective kids solo so Troy and I could have a night out. 

Geocaching with Conor

Just over a week ago, Conor and I decided to go on a little date while Annika was with her robotics team at Geek Girl Con and Eric was futzing around at home. This time of year, we need to take advantage of sunny days, ya know!

Because I was still deeply embedded in surgery recovery mode, I opted for (what I thought) was a fairly benign geocache for us at Carkeek Park. Umm... I thought wrong.

We encountered some serious elevation changes and off-the-path bushwhacking along the way. It also took MUCH longer than I expected to find the geocache because the compass didn't come in very handy when it came to avoiding drastic drop-offs and thorny bushes we didn't want to walk through. (Yes, we are rather non-daring in that regard.) That said, we did discover some new parts of the park that we hadn't been to before and had some spectacular views along the way.

My geocaching buddy

Conor reading the carvings in the lookout rail

"Mama! Stop! This is a great picture place."

"I'll sit here so you can take my picture."

"Mama!! This rock is a good sitting place. My legs are tired.
And you can take my picture while I rest."

Geocaching Selfie

Look what we found!

Opening the geocache

His nautical pose???

My sweet boy

After we found our geocache, plucked a goody from the case, and added a new goody to the stash, we meandered back down the hill and wandered over to the beach. Why? Because Conor was very sweet to point out that "Water is your favorite thing to see, Mama. We should go to the beach because it makes you happy." (What a guy!) It didn't hurt that he also wanted to play in the sand and throw rocks into the water! We founds lots a rocks (a few came home in his pockets ... shocker!), played on a driftwood teeter totter, watched the wind surfers, and waved at a passing train. A good day, you betcha!!

Teeter tottering on the beach

The saddle of this log made for some neat waves

"Mama, now I'll take your picture" (photo credit: Conor)

Hanging out on the bridge over the railroad tracks

Beautiful Puget Sound and Carkeek Beach