Spooky Shadow Puppets

This has been Calvin's favorite Halloween-themed play so far! It was inspired by our #spookyplayeveryday photo round-up on Instagram. 

It was the same day as my online Jamberry party on Facebook and I kept forgetting about the spooky play thing. It was one of those mom-brain things where I'd remember for a sec and think, "Oh! I'm supposed to make shadow puppets because the word of the day is shadow!" And within seconds I'd get distracted by something else and I'd forget about the shadow puppets.

I finally remembered again after dinner, and by that time it was so late I aaaalmost decided to just forget it and skip that day. But I had dreamed up these shadow puppets and I knew they were going to be cool... and my inner perfectionist cringed at the idea of skipping a day. So like the stellar procrastinator that I am, I pulled it together at the last minute! Seriously, I started making the puppets at like 6:45pm and my online Jamberry party was starting at 7. James had just gotten home from work, and I, like, threw the puppets and flashlights at him and said, "Here! Shadow puppets. Go!" 

Before long, I could hear Calvin laughing so hard that I had to go see what fun those silly boys were having!

Calvin thought this cat and pumpkin game was HILARIOUS. And he has played with the shadow puppets several times since then, including trying to play with them during the day in the bedroom when it is not dark enough! Hey, I'm glad they were a hit! 

Here's how I made them:

I used cardstock and wooden BBQ skewers. The cardstock I used was some scrapbook paper from an old Mat Stack, and it was paper I was never going to use for anything else because I, um, think it's ugly. 

I have a bunch of Halloween cookie cutters, which, lets be real, are obviously for play-dough and not for actual cookies because I hate baking. And here I found yet another non-baking use for them! I used them as tracers for the shadow puppets! 

If I hadn't had these cookie cutters, I might have freehanded some shapes (easy ones like a moon, a bat, a pumpkin....), but if drawing sounds scary to you, you could always print some Halloween clip art and use it as tracers. Or, better yet, print it right on the cardstock. 

I cut out my shapes and taped them to skewers, and Voila! Shadow puppets!

Spooky, shadowy fun!



BOO!

Camping at Anthony Chabot Regional Park

Apparently we never go to the same campground twice. We've been on six camping trips since the kids were born, to six different parks! We've camped in very different areas of northern CA, and each has been beautiful in its own way. This time we were off to the East Bay to Anthony Chabot Regional Park in Castro Valley. 

We got to our campsite really late this time because we left after James got finished at work, and it was a bit of a drive. So we set up our tent and ate our late supper by the light of our headlamps, then after Henry went to bed, James lit a campfire and we had some S'mores. 

James setting up the beds in the tent with a little "help."

During the night we woke to the sound of a light rain. We knew there was a chance of rain on the forecast, but we didn't really believe it would happen! Luckily, I did pack our rain jackets. By morning, though, it wasn't really raining, just a heavy fog and some dripping from the trees. The fog gave the campground an eerie, kind of mysterious atmosphere. 

Pancakes for breakfast, of course! Our camping tradition. This time we got it right and picked a "just add water" mix: the Toasted Coconut Pancake Mix from Trader Joe's, and oh man, these pancakes were like dessert for breakfast! So yummy!!

James and Calvin played with bubbles in the fog. Calvin chased the bubbles around the campsite and watched them drift off over the hill.

We brought Henry's walker again so he could get a little practice.

James and I had a bet going on whether the sun would actually come out that day. I thought it was going to stay foggy. We bet Sunday's breakfast dishes. I lost and the fog did burn off, but James did the dishes anyway :)

We hung around the campsite all morning and Henry took his nap after lunch. James and I actually managed to play a card game, Council of Verona. 

Lounging in the cabana with He Who Will Not Nap.

Our campsite was actually on a cliff overlooking Lake Chabot. Later in the afternoon, once the sun was up and Henry had napped, we drove over to the marina and rented a boat for a ride on the lake. These boys love boating!

Another campsite dinner, and after dinner we played with glow sticks as it got dark until it was time to put Henry to bed and make the campfire. We usually don't let Henry stay up for campfire time because Danger. Also, he seems to need more sleep than Calvin. 

No rain the second night, and no fog the next day. Just some low clouds over the lake that burned off pretty early.

We packed up right after breakfast on Sunday and headed home. 

Another family camping trip in the books! Very chill. We find that with camping, yes, there is a LOT of work in the set up and clean-up, but the payoff is the chance to hang out with the family off the grid, surrounded by some beautiful scenery. We like the calm. The space. We like the chance for our city-living boys to get dirty out in nature. We think it's worth the work ;) 

A Pumpkin Farm and a Pebble Beach

Half Moon Bay, CA is known for its big Art & Pumpkin Festival every October and there are several pumpkin farms in and near Half Moon Bay. Last year we took the boys to the pumpkin festival there, and then to Bob's Vegetable Stand and Pumpkin Patch. This year we decided to skip the festival and head to the pumpkin farm earlier in the month. Half Moon Bay is also known for its beaches, so we decided to make a full day out of the trip and go to the beach after we picked out our pumpkins. 

Bob's is a very chill "pick 'em where they grow" pumpkin patch. No mazes or moon jumps at this farm. There are a few farm animals to see, and a big haystack and hay pit to climb up and jump into (unless you're like me... just looking at all that hay makes me double check that I've got my inhaler on me!). Here are some photos from our trip to the pumpkin farm.

We brought Henry's walker, but he preferred to ride in the wheelbarrow :)

We left with two huge pumpkins, 3 little orange ones and 3 little white ones. Calvin is adamant that we carve a dinosaur onto one of the big ones.

After we left Bob's, we headed farther south to Bean Hollow State Beach. This is a pebble beach which feels really neat on your bare feet and hands! The boys really liked playing in the pebbles, but at times it was hard to keep Henry from putting them in his mouth :/

We had packed a picnic from Trader Joe's. And PBJ's for the boys.

Bury Calvin in pebbles.

Bury Henry in pebbles.

Bury Daddy in pebbles!

The California coastline never disappoints. 

If you're headed to Half Moon Bay for pumpkins... let me suggest a trip to the beach while you're there! :)