Month in Review - October

Here we go again ... I'm super far behind. Life has been so busy lately I haven't had anytime to share all the fun we had in October. Since I have a TON of pictures, I'll keep the chit-chat to a minimum and let the pictures tell our story. We started the month of October with our first family camping trip. The following weekend, we kicked off the Halloween festivities with a trip to Smith Family Farms to pick some pumpkins and enjoy the farm life. Between the barn yard shows, mazes, petting zoo and tractor rides, we experienced it all.

The next day, we continued our Halloween activities by heading up to Kunde Family Winery. I got to enjoy a tasting and a few of their wines while Landon got to decorate a pumkpin and get his face painted. It was a beautiful winery and I'd like to go back again to take a tour of their beautiful property.

We I also spent a good part of our weekend building ALL of Landon's Legos. I may have gotten to work on putting together a few of them and then became borderline obsessed. As a matter of fact, Landon went to bed Saturday night and I continued to build. It was the OCD in me. No surprise though that they've all already been destroyed.

The following weekend, while Adam was taking an exam, Landon and I visited the Bay Area Discovery Museum for their Halloween fundraiser. We love this place, but the Halloween event  made it even more enjoyable. The kids got to dress up in their costumes, the normal exhibits got a Halloween makeover, and they added all kinds of extra things. We had a lot of fun and spent the majority of the day hanging out there. Landon and his best buddy had so much fun that I hope we can do it again next year.

Sunday, we took a sailboat ride on the bay. While we've been out on the bay a few times before, this was our first time on a small sailboat. Our last trip on the bay was in a big catamaran so this small sailboat was a lot different. Landon didn't like that he couldn't run around like on the other boats, but this ride was my favorite thus far. I recommend everyone take a boat ride on the bay, it is the best!

During the week, we managed to carve pumpkins. This was the first year Landon could really participate in the carving and he loved it. I let him draw his face then helped him as he carved it all out. I think I might have been even more proud of his finished product than he was. Adam and I used stencils on ours and managed to not mess them up!

We also managed to squeeze in a short, but amazing weekend in the High Sierras. We tried to convince Landon to skip Halloween the following weekend so we could all go back, but he wasn't buying it. Next year, we may need to take a whole week for a trip back.

The week before Halloween, I took a very short business trip down to LA. This was the first time I flew Virgin America and now I never want to fly another airline again. Hands down, it was the best flying experience I've had so far. Despite the short visit, I did manage to take in a sunset at an LA beach. LA has bigger, sandier beaches, but Northern California is much prettier. I came back home to a work Halloween party and with little time prepare, my Mom gave me the best idea for a good last minute costume.

October was an amazing month and the last day was the best of it all. We spent the day soaking up some sun at a new beach. Near Half Moon Bay is recently re-opened beach called Martin's Beach. It's a highly photographed beach and only recently reopened to the public after a few years of legal battles with a property owner. We had a great time playing in the sand, lounging in the sun, and taking pictures. You can guess who did what.

But before the sun set, we headed back home to get ready for the main event, trick or treating. We considered going to a new area this year, but decided to go to back to the same neighborhood as last year. San Francisco is supposed to be the best place in the US for trick or treating. With lots of neighborhoods doing it up big, it was a hard decision. Crowds and parking helped us decide and we enjoyed it just as much this year. The homes are AMAZING and many of them go all out decorating. Maybe next year we will try a new spot, but it will be hard to beat SeaCliff.

We left once the bucket was full and he couldn't have been happier to have so many treats. We went home and inspected the goodies before eating a few pieces then calling it a night. October was a real treat for all of us. From our two camping trips, to our Halloween festivities, our boat ride, and our winery visit. We couldn't have enjoyed it anymore. Till next year, October!