Fall fun with family

Spencer has been a busy guy as usual this fall.  Halloween taught him more about candy, including negotiation for extra candy (a rite of passage for all children), and all about witches, jack-o-lanterns, and all things "spooky."  In fact, he now regularly asks if people wearing hats with any kind of pointy top are a witch.  His wonderful Aunt Katie and cousins Bella and Mallory also visited us in late October to see the sights -- and Spencer was in heaven playing with his family.  Which meant that he was primed to see the majority of the Rees clan in Orlando over the Thanksgiving holiday:  there were at least 9 cousins there to entertain him and show him new tricks.

His favorite new sayings lately have been telling me:

• "Mom, I am an adult." "Well, you're still a kid, Spencer." "No, I am a small adult."
• (When telling me about his day at Universal Studios with his grandparents, which included a ride on ET the Movie): "Mom, there was a creature, and we were riding a HUGE bike.  I didn't like him, but we were saving his friends."
• (When talking about what he wanted to see at Disney World): "I want to see the castle from the beginning of the Andy's House movie" (aka Toy Story)
• (When playing with his cousin for hours but then forgetting her name the next morning): "Where's my friend, that girl?" (dramatic pause)  "What's the girl's name again?"

Here are the photos/video from the recent events:

First up, enjoying our time during the Lyles/Kehneman visit!

And Halloween shenanigans with our Bat-family and friends:

Early November fun at a friend's birthday party with a backyard petting zoo:

 And clowning around at home:

After flying out to Orlando, we spent the first day there surprising my parents with a 50th Anniversary celebration, which including lots of immediate and extended family love:

 

Then, we hit Magic Kingdom early the next day:

 Including Mickey's Phil-Harmagic 3-D show ("That fish was trying to come and get me, mama")

 And the teacups and Dumbo of course:

 

And a (giant) ice cream treat:

 

After Disney, we moved onto Universal Studios again (since we had annual passes from earlier in the year thanks to Grammy and Grandpa!):

 

We also enjoyed our rental house and just hanging with the family at the house pool and local park:

 

(Spencer's commands in the pool: "Get far, far back, Daddy" when I jump to you & "Little Aquaman is ready")

And then for Thanksgiving Day, we headed back to Disney (just the Animal Kingdom Lodge this time) for our Thanksgiving feast, which included viewing of giraffes and zebras after stuffing our faces on the buffet:

 

 

Finally, back in California, we of course got our Christmas tree!  And we went for a small hike on San Bruno Mountain before facing our normal routines again: 

 

The end of summer, summer, summertime

The end of the summer included some fun friends and family time, a road trip to Santa Barbara, and a flight to Portland for a wedding in Hood River.  The weather in Santa Barbara was fantastic and Spence wasted no time hitting the beach. The weather in Portland was great, then deteriorated in Hood River, but Spence wasted no time hitting every puddle and even managed to get in a few bluebird beach sessions.

A few favorite sentences lately:
"What's that noise outside? (Pause) It's a lion. (Pause) Or a cheetah."
"When I get big, big, bigger, I will drive and open doors."

Uncle Matt likes to ride the see-saw:

Finn and Spencer drying off after some fun times in the pool:

Grammie and Grandpa came to visit!

Pismo Beach pit stop on our road trip to Santa Barbara:

An epic swing set right on the beach--although the salty ocean air did rust it out a bit and increase the squeak-factor.

Spencer enjoying the beach, free of worries and his clothes. 

Airbnb life requires matching monkey luggage. Here is Spence rolling into Santa Barbara in style.

Santa Barbara had the finest seaweed:

And Portland had the best VooDoo doughnuts:

And beautiful Multnomah Falls:

Finally, some good gardening work back at home requires proper gloves:

Summer living

We took a very short-lived trip to Tahoe in July.  Although the camping plans were quickly scrapped because of a terrible campsite, we at least got a full day of beautiful Tahoe hiking and exploring in before heading back to the city early.

 

And of course we have adventures at home, in the city, and at the pool this summer too.  This included Spencer's first Giants game and cable car ride, in addition to adventures at the California Academy of Sciences.

 

And we wouldn't be crazy parents unless we videoed several of these adventures: