Moonlit Sunflowers

 A week after our crazy-fun family weekend, Reggie and I hit the road for an Autumn Adventure. Our first stop was to visit the Last family for two nights. We did some fun, seasonal things. About half an hour from their fully decorated Halloween house we went to a unique, night-time pumpkin patch in farm country. We enjoyed the hay ride and 1940s autumn music. There were scarecrows everywhere along paths and mazes to walk through, all lit with colored lights. 

We got there just after the sun set and the moon was shining bright. Though the sunflower fields would have been beautiful to see during the day, my little phone camera captured their beauty in the night.

I'm glad I got a picture of Mariah taking pictures of the moonlit flowers too, with her actual camera - as she is making a photography business for herself which is going great. We are so proud of her!

Our plan was to go to Yosemite next, and stay the night at Camp Curry. I will blog more about that later - but because you cannot build a fire or cook at Camp Curry, Mariah & Ross built a fire for a traditional camping dinner of hot dogs and smores. It was such a fun time with our Last family.

And then . . .Grandpa's Science Day pt. 2

 Reggie went shopping for supplies and tried out the science experiment ahead of time and was never able to make it work. But, he had some back-up plans. 

Backyard Bubbles are always a hit:

An art project of drawing portraits of his co-worker's dog, as a gift:

Some of the entries:

Another, bigger COCO BINGO game

 Harry Potter potions

The day included prizes - of which I told the kids this was a "prizes with no tears" day. They all did a great job, supported each other, and seemed happy with everything - especially the slime! They also had ice cream sundae cones and a take-home snack baggie of Muddy Buddies.

And finally, a big PS - while Reggie was putting everything together our two grandsons got a hold of his phone. It was a great day!

The Haunted Mansion 2026

 

Found only one Headless Horseman this year

This year they had a few creepy actors throughout - probably getting

ready for the night-time festivities.

And that's a wrap on our Filoli Halloween!

Into The Woods, part 2

 Last year Filoli advertised its mini Christmas trains, running through the woods. We missed it, but were excited to see a Halloween version back this year. We were so hot and tired from our walk to get there that we found a picnic bench and snacked and watched the trains and rested for quite a while. It was peaceful and enchanting.

There were little Halloween cottages and decorations surrounding the tracks.

The blue-light fog added to the atmosphere.

This owl tree house was so cute!

I didn't want to leave, and told Reggie he had found our future retirement home.

Of course the one huge troll was still there

                                   and a little stage with magical capes. The kids put on a play.

We finally made our way back to the mansion by way of the giant slug trail.