Halloween Fun

On Halloween, Cora broke out the red contacts she last wore three years ago.  So creepy!

She also learned to tie a necktie. 

Liana and her parents came over for the evening, along with Melanie, Nick, Ellie and Grandpa.

Here are the big girls - Ellie was already out trick or treating. Violet is a character from her favorite video game, Genshin Impact, while Cora is a and Liana is a pirate.

Violet is wearing high-heeled boots and a cool pendant she made herself, while Cora is wearing my old suit from when I was a working woman.

Colleen brought over her traditional desserts - witch finger shortbread cookies, and a gorgeously decorated spider web chocolate-peanut butter rice krispy treat.

Stace set up the Dracucar and the firepit, so the men could hang out in the front yard while the ladies went around the neighborhood. It was a lovely evening!

 

More Archery

With the summer heat mercifully behind us, Violet has been able to get back to her mounted archery lessons.

October is a very busy month at Gilchrist Farm, with lots of harvest/pumpkin festival fun, and the main ground we use has turned into a parking lot. So, Natalie got creative, and created a walking course in the river bed.

Violet's normal horse Dixie didn't take to the course, so Violet got to ride Natalie's horse Poncho this week. He's a pretty boy, and a lot more lively!

You can kind of see one of the targets behind Violet here, on the left side of the stream bed.

We've also been going out to the city's archery range lately too. What a great facility, and free of charge!

Here, Violet is using her new quiver.

I'm very glad she has a hobby she enjoys!
 

Trunk or Treat

Here's Stace's annual entry to the Trunk or Treat festivities: Dracucar!

Stace went all out and repainted the cornhole board, to go with the car.

It's fun that Ellie is now old enough to enjoy Trunk or Treat, and Melanie was able to bring her. Here, she's getting candy from Pirate Colleen after walking the plank. 

We thought the Gravity Falls-themed trunk was fun.

 

Tidbits

We have a big national and local election in November, and my friend Suverna is running for our school board. I know she'll make an excellent board member if she's elected, so I've been helping her out a bit with her campaign.

We recently purchased a solar generator system, for backup power in the case of emergencies. I've been doing a lot of research on the many brands and types, and we settled on this kit, which came with everything we needed. It came charged up about 1/3 of the way to full, and with the panels, charged up in a few hours.

Last week, I had lunch with my friend Jenn at Chuy's, a Mexican place that's been around forever, but I hadn't been to since shortly after high school. 

It was so good, I took Stace back on Tuesday, for Taco Tuesday specials and the Dodgers playoff game.

Good thing we did - by the next week, the Dodgers were knocked out of the playoffs early, and Chuy's shut permanently! After being open for decades...

Stace was feeling creative, and knocked up this little wheelbarrow, similar to ones his dad has made.

We had a Sunday evening firepit, and roasted a few marshmallows. It was lovely.
 

I took the girls to the Filipino grocery store on Sunday, to buy more dried boba for making drinks at home, along with more ramen. We then went to a new boba place in Canyon Country. Pricey but tasty!

Yosemite: Day 3

On Monday morning, Stace, Violet and I went back to the river for some quiet time and so that Violet could paint. What a lovely time!

Stace is hard to see here, but he's in the grass on the left side of the photo, doing his own pencil sketch of Half Dome.

Vi on the left, I'm on the right. Yes, she's reached my height, maybe a little more! And check out that Half Dome!

Here is Violet's finished watercolor - I'm in love!
 

We packed up and headed out. On our way home, we stopped in Tulare so Stace could get an up-close look at these random WWII planes at a strip on the side of the freeway.

And we also stopped at a local coffee shop for a caffeinated treat. These little tidbits are some of my favorite parts of road trips. 

All told, we had a GREAT time together and I'm so glad we were able to make this trip happen!

Yosemite: Day 2

On Sunday morning, Stace and I were up earlyish, having our hot drinks and oatmeal (thankful our tent cabin had a heater and an outlet for an electric kettle). 

Then, Stace and Violet went down to the river

Later, we all took our bikes out and rode on the trails to some of the nature centers and hiking spots. 

Along the way, we stopped to admire this little bear, as he wandered a bit too close to the campground for some visitors' comfort. A lady was yelling and banging on a pot, which is understandable, since you can't let young bears get used to being close to tents and little kids. 

We relaxed for a bit and had a snack overlooking the river; Cora climbed down and sat on the big boulder across from Violet. She's in the photo but is hard to see.

We also went into the nature center nearby and checked out the exhibits. This was near the start of the Mist Trail, which we did on our last trip but decided to skip this time. 

More wildlife! These guys were so cute, and unafraid. There were four, though I think there are only three in the photo.

We then continued on our ride, stopping later at Yosemite Village for another snack and walk around the big market. We also went through the old Yosemite Cemetery, and the Ansel Adams Gallery, where we bought Violet a travel watercolor set.

We proceeded to Yosemite Falls, but since it's autumn, there wasn't much water coming down.

Then, we agreed that the girls could ride back to the tent cabin to relax.

 

Stace and I carried on a little further, finding another nice vantage point to enjoy the river and all the scenery.

We found a sandy beach where kids in bathing suits were braving the cold water. Stace thought he'd join them, though very briefly.

Riding home!

When we got back, Stace and Cora went to order a pizza for dinner, while I got showered. The toilet and shower blocks are very well kept, and stocked with shampoo and body wash. So, it's all shared facilities like any campground, but a step up from most I've been to!

We aren't sure why we couldn't get the auto-timer photo to come out clearly, and we tried a couple of times. But you get the idea - we had our dinner outside the cabin, and later went for another walk around Curry Village before retiring for more card games in the cabin.
 

Yosemite: Day 1

Stace has been itching to get back to Yosemite National Park since our first family trip in 2018. In April, we purchased an annual national parks pass when we visited two parks in Utah. So, when I  knew the girls had a random three-day weekend in October, I wondered if we could put together a quick trip to Yosemite. 

On Friday, we drove up after work and school to hotel in Fresno, so we were more than half-way there when we woke up Saturday. Plus, we were all packed with clothes and food, so it was quick to get off on the road. 

We arrived to the park by around lunchtime - here is the famous Tunnel View, when you come around the bend and first see the glories of the Yosemite Valley.

After we got checked in and got keys to our tent cabin, we wandered around Curry Village, where the eateries, shops and amphitheater are. This fat squirrel grabbed our attention thanks to his girth.

We got our stuff settled into the cabin, ate a late lunch/early dinner, and then took a nice walk. We started off going down to the Merced River, which was much more shallow than our June 2018 trip.

We even spotted a deer - see it across the river from us?

We carried on until we walked to the Ahwanee Hotel, a fancy 100-year-old hotel built to bring in the rich people who then would advocate for Yosemite.

We walked around, admiring the splendor, and enjoyed a Women of Yosemite museum exhibit. on our way back, we stopped for a photo. We couldn't get one with us all smiling, and then this happened. 

So many "WOW" moments in Yosemite!

We were heading back during the "Golden Hour," that perfect time for photos, and many photographers with huge lenses were setting up for artsy pics of Half Dome.

 Queen of the Mountain!

We also had fun looking around the shop as we picked out treats to eat back at the cabin for dessert. Cora found a book that was right up her alley. ("Off the Wall: Death in Yosemite") 

We then returned to our tent cabin, had dessert, and played card games. It was a great day together!