Busy October Weekends

I've put this off far too long. I take pictures with the intention of each outing having its own post, but I fell behind and October has been a crazy busy month for me. So this is going to be a long post because it's two (maybe three) that are combined into one. I want Halloween to have its own post.

General Conference

So, the first weekend in October was General Conference. Not much to post about that except that I enjoyed it thoroughly. The kids are getting a little older and it's getting a little easier to pay attention for my own sake. I don't expect the kids to pay much attention for now, but they surprised me. They were sitting at the table eating their breakfast while Elder Costa was talking. His topic, if you'll recall, was about following the prophet. That phrase was reiterated a few times, apparently, because all of a sudden Akiko and Moses started belting at the top of their lungs,

"FOLLOW THE PROPHET!
FOLLOW THE PROPHET!
FOLLOW THE PROPHET!
DON'T GO ASTRAY!"

It was pretty funny. They made me proud. The kids did a lot of playing while Conference was on, but they were listening, especially Akiko. Every once in a while, Akiko would pause her play to ask us to explain something that a speaker had just said. I gotta admit, it was pretty cool that she was listening.

Oh, and the Conference Casserole was delicious!

Fleet Week

The second weekend in October heralded Fleet Week, an annual tradition in San Francisco. Fisherman's Wharf, more specifically. Joseph's office got tickets to watch the airshow onboard the Red & White Fleet, a tourist cruise line. Because little boys are so naturally inclined to get super excited about things like boats, planes and trains, Joseph got a couple extra tickets for Moses and me. 

The Many Modes of Moses

Moses is going on a adventure to the big city, but first he has to get there. It's too far to walk, so he'll be taking lots of rides in different vehicles.

Moses is super excited that he gets to ride on so many different kinds of transportation. Let's count how many modes of transportation Moses will take on his big adventure. 

1 - The Van

The first thing Moses gets to ride is the van. He is excited to get his adventure started.









He eagerly gets into the van and climbs into his car seat. The van takes him to the train station.

2 - The Train

Moses made it to the train station! In order to ride the train, he needs a ticket.










Moses buys his ticket from the ticket machine. Good job Moses!

Now that Moses has his ticket, he waits for the train to come. Look! There it is! The train is pulling into the station.












Moses climbs onto the train and finds a seat. He likes sitting next to the window so he can look out.

When Moses gets into the big city, he walks to the office and gets some work done before it's time to head out for the rest of his adventures.

  

 3 - The Taxi

When it's time to go on the big adventure, a taxi is called. The taxi will take him to the Wharf. The taxi ride is rather scary as the driver swerves through the big city narrowly avoiding other cars and pedestrians. Thankfully, Moses gets to the Wharf in one piece.

4 - The Boat

Moses made it to the Wharf! He's so excited! He gets to go on a boat now!

Moses climbs up the ramp onto the boat. Now the real adventure begins. Moses has never been on a boat like this before.

The boat takes Moses out into the Bay where he gets to see the Golden Gate Bridge from an angle he'd never experienced before.

The boat also takes him really close to Alcatraz, the island prison-turned-tourist attraction.

Moses gets really excited when he sees the the firemen on their fireboat. Moses didn't know that firemen didn't only drive fire trucks. They get to ride on boats, too!

Moses also enjoys a breathtaking panorama of the big city.

But the real reason Moses is on the boat is to watch...

... the US Navy's famous Blue Angels as they put on an airshow over the Bay. It is spectacular and thunderingly loud.

The show is amazing!

They perform tight diamond formation loop de loops.

The solos make horrifyingly close and low passes. 

They perform so many awesome stunts.

Moses loves that he gets to watch the big, fast jet planes fly over him while he is on a boat in the middle of the Bay.

5 - The Daddy

After the airshow, Moses and his daddy think it would be fun to walk back to the train station.

Moses lets his daddy carry him many different ways. Here he is carried on daddy's hip.

They stopped to gawk at a "scary" crab sculpture.

Here is Moses' favorite way to be carried by his daddy. He loves to ride on his daddy's shoulders. This way he is able to see over all the other people on the sidewalk.

After a while though, Moses starts getting sleepy. It has been a long day. Moses' daddy cradles him like a baby for a few blocks so he can get some shut eye.

Alas, there is too much to see and so many exciting things going on. Honestly, nothing beats a good walk sometimes.

So, Moses ends up walking a big chunk of the 2.5 miles back to the train station. He sees lots of things at the Wharf, follows the bricks down Embarcadero, and is amazed by the big, tall buildings in the financial district.

Moses had such a great time on his big adventure to the big city. He got to see some of his favorite things and had lots of new experiences.

THE END

Now, I'd just like to post a few other pictures of the adventure that weren't included in the story.

My boys on the train. Asher was super happy and cute, but anytime I pull out the camera he gets this look on his face. It's probably because he's wondering where his mama's face went.

But I did get a super cute picture of him once we got to Joseph's office!

Outtake 1

Outtake 2

There we go! That one's a keeper!

Moses loved every inch of the boat.

He found these drainage holes on the deck. He loved them!

He kept finding feathers to put in the hole so they'd fall into the water below. Every once in a while an updraft would blow the feather back up through the hole. Boy did Moses get upset with that! It was hilarious!

Little Asher's first time on a boat. He did really well the whole trip. He didn't, however, like the really loud jets much, unlike his older brother.

My handsome husband and his littlest man.

 

Oh look! There I am finally! Unfortunately, Akiko wasn't able to join us. It was a Friday, so she had school. She got to go to McD's, her favorite restaurant, with her uncle as a special treat instead.

Half Moon Bay & the Pumpkin Patch

 The third weekend in October we took a trip to Half Moon Bay. It was the weekend of the HMB Pumpkin and Art Festival, so it was way crowded and traffic getting into HMB was horrific. But it was still a lot of fun.

Here we stroll down main street and take in the ambiance of the festivities. Asher got a ton of attention which I simultaneously was proud of and thought odd since he was certainly not the only baby there. Just the cutest, I suppose.

Proud papa and his little guy.

Silly kids love their hotdogs.

The kids got to get some face painting done. 

What a little beauty! The butterfly was pretty, too.

Moses concentrated really hard to keep still. Everyone thought it was so cute and funny. He kept this pose the whole time.

A closeup of Akiko's butterfly. I really liked the blue sparkle dust.

Moses' pumpkin is almost finished! See? He kept so still as the girl painted his face.

Finished products. What a couple of cuties!

We stopped at a lot of really great booths, but most of them are non-interactive. So, when we got to a hatmaker's booth, we couldn't resist letting Akiko try on some of the hats.

What a stylish little cowgirl!

On our way out of HMB, we stopped by the pumpkin patch to pick up our jack'o'lanterns. Akiko really wanted to push the wheelbarrow herself...

... but it proved to heavy for her. So she let Sam give her a ride in it instead.

So many pumpkins to choose from! Akiko inspects them carefully before making her final selection.

And the winner is...

... this one!

She even insisted on carrying it back to the wheelbarrow herself. What a strong girl I have!

Moses wasn't as excited about the pumpkin picking process. He had fallen asleep in the car and was woken up when we got to the patch. It was also cold (about 55* F). But, he still found a pumpkin that he liked.

We even found a nice little one for Asher.

The kids with their spoils. Moses cheered up dramatically once he got to ride in the wheelbarrow. There was also the promise of...

... a train ride! The kids got to choose one activity each. Moses has been really into trains lately. (Thomas, anyone?)

He loved every minute of that ride!

Akiko chose to ride the pony. She loves horses/ponies. Did you know that she has a pet Pegasus/unicorn? It's name is Uni.

While Joseph purchased the pumpkins and put them in the car, the kids played in a little play yard. They had a little trouble figuring out the seesaw alligator.

There you go! Now it works like it ought to.

Silly Moses in the house. Have you ever noticed he hardly has the same expression in any picture in this ginormous post?

And here's Silly Akiko! Boy, do I ever love these super silly kids!

Hmmm... looks like Moses locked himself out of the house.

The kids had tons of fun. It was a long day, but well worth it.

Even Asher enjoyed himself immensely.

So there's our super exciting October so far. Everything else has involved various school activities and getting costumes ready for the big day. (PS: The costumes are awesome!) Just for the record, though, since Halloween falls on a Sunday this year, we won't actually be going out trick-or-treating. Most of the festivities will be on Friday, the 29th. Till then...