Some more snaps from our pumpkin-related outings this month…

-M

There are few times of the year I like more than October. The San Francisco weather turns nice, the Halloween decorations come out, and the pumpkin patches open. Here, a few photos from one of our favorite patches in Half Moon Bay.

-M

And here, photos of the girls in action from last week’s meet.

-M

Friends and blog followers know that cross country is Zoe’s sport – well, now it’s Avery’s too! As a fifth grader she’s eligible to join the team, and she’s been running with her sister and other teammates since school started. Their first race was held last week (we’re waiting on their official times, but they both did well!), and look who came to cheer them on…

-M

A photo of the girls after services yesterday…

-M

I couldn’t help but share this pic of Maddie checking out the shofar. (We took the photo for her Instagram, and Avery was the official shofar holder.)

Have a happy holiday, everyone!

-M

When reviewing Avery’s homework last night I noticed a few spelling errors. I gave her the correct spelling of one particularly hard word, but when she asked about another I said she’d need to look it up. I meant for her to check the dictionary (yes, we have one) or online but as I walked away I heard her say, “Alexa, how to you spell ‘stubborn?'”

-M

When we first started this blog, I used to write almost every day: The girls were practically changing by the minute, and there was just so much to share and say. As they got older, though (and especially after I returned from my blogging break last summer), you’ve likely noticed the decline in post volume. Part of it is that there’s less day-to-day life to report on (think more homework, less funny anecdote) and part of it is life is just so much busier for me now. I took on a new, large role at work at the beginning of the year, and between that and the extra responsibilities that come with having older kids (shlepping them to/from places, helping with homework and projects, etc.), I haven’t had the same amount of time and space to dedicate to this site.

This blog is still a great tool to share photos and other snippets of our lives with loved ones (especially since the four of us rarely use Facebook), and I don’t plan to abandon it. But if you don’t hear from me for several weeks at a time (or longer!), you’ll know what’s up!

-M

I often comment on what lazy dog owners we are. Because Maddie is so mellow – and the kind of dog that is just as happy being curled up in a little ball on our couch as she is being outside – we often wind up staying at home and hanging out with her (versus going out on long hikes or big adventures). Still, we of course get out with her sometimes – and last weekend Avery and I took her to Lake Merced for some sunshine and exercise.

-M

So much has happened since I last wrote. We got back from Hawaii, Safta and PopPop came for a quick visit, school started and the girls’ various activities (chorus for Avery, youth mentoring board and yearbook club for Zoe, cross country and school musical for both) began!

Here, the obligatory first-day-of-school shot.

-M

I often include a photo of a particularly happy memory in the last of my vacation posts, but this time around I have a funny one to share…

On the last morning of our trip, we headed to a particularly beautiful part of the island, Makaiwa Bay, the site of one of my favorite family photos. Q and I tried to recapture the moment, but Avery was hot and a bit grumpy and having none of it… Instead of being mad when I saw the photo Q snapped, though, I had to laugh. Life with preteens can be like this, after all (note the crossed arms and unhappy face), and I don’t mind having captured a little dose of reality – it’s still a good memory.

-M

Snorkeling is a must-do when we’re on the Big Island, and this time around the four of us took a small boat out to a turtle “cleaning station” in the middle of the water. Our captain happened to be an underwater photographer, as well, and his photos (especially of the ones of the sea turtles) were an extra bonus!

-M

The Big Island is, as the name describes, big – and there’s so much to explore. With six days there, we didn’t have time to visit all the places we would have liked, but we did get to hit some old favorites (like an incredible snorkeling spot called Two Step, shown in the first photo) and do some new things (like explore the Northern tip of the island on ATVs). Here are some photos of us out and about.

-M

Now, some photos from the first part of our trip, which included a lot of playing in the ocean, swimming, enjoying Hawaiian treats (like shave ice and malasadas) and posing.

-M

The Big Island of Hawaii is my happy place, and also one of the family’s favorite destinations – so several months ago we planned an end-of-summer-break trip there. Here’s one of our family pics, taken on the Kohala volcano. More soon!

-M