Signs of the Season

It's taken me a long time, but I've finally gotten to the point where I don't take my camera with me everywhere anymore. When we do something on a yearly basis or more often, all the pictures look alike after a while. And these are no different. In our town, the Festival of Lights Parade marks the beginning of the Christmas season. It takes place on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. It's always crowded and this year it was especially cold as well. But the kids love this event and I just can't bear to disappoint them. I loved this parade as a child too.

The key is to go early and put out chairs to reserve yourself a space. And by early, I mean about 11am for the 6pm parade. You don't have to sit in your chairs. It's the kind of town where you can just leave them there. They'll be there when you get back. Well, we forgot this year and Daddy went down there sometime around 2:30pm and found just enough space for two chairs. And that was good enough. In fact, it turned out to be better than good enough because the kids sat on our laps and kept us warm while we waited for the parade to begin.I looked back at last year's pictures before starting this post and I even took pictures of the very same floats. It's a funny thing, how you can repeat yourself over and over without really realizing it. I guess the same floats are just as whimsical and beautiful year after year.I think a nighttime parade makes for an even better spectacle than one in the daytime. Even the marching bands wear lights on their uniforms and instruments. Everything is sparkly and that much more fun.And then I remember...oh gosh, the holidays are coming and I haven't even gotten started yet. Thank goodness those Christmas photos for the Christmas cards are out of the way!

Epic Win

After their Halloween game, the San Francisco Giants were up 3-1 in the World Series. Game 5 was on Monday. It was a rematch between Tim Lincecum and Cliff Lee...the two aces (although I'd argue the Giants have more than one). You can bet that our family watched or heard ever single minute of it.

It ended up being just what the pundits said the first game was going to be...a killer pitcher's duel. And it lasted into the seventh inning...which was not all that long really. When two pitchers throw that many strikes, the innings just fly by. Not a single batter made it past first base. And then? Then Buster Posey hit a single, Cody Ross hit a single and Aubrey Huff, the Giants' red-rally-thong-wearing first baseman, bunted for the first time in his major league career. He was out, but Posey and Ross were on second and third. Pat "the bat" Burrell struck out, just like mighty Casey. And finally, Edgar Renteria came to the plate. He's one of the elder statesman of the Giants. His biceps muscle is completely torn, such that it has actually rolled down inside his arm. In his rookie season with the Florida Marlins, he drove in the game winning run in game 7 of the World Series. He was rumored to be talking about retirement. He took a couple of balls from Cliff Lee and swung at the third. It looked so much like a fly ball. And the outfielders ran back and back until the ball slipped over the wall in the left center field.

Three runs. Any Giants fan knows that's all Tim Lincecum needs. He gave up a solo home run to Nelson Cruz in the bottom of the inning, but blew through the 8th and despite looking like he could finish it out, he gave it up to The Beard, who made his job look easy...not something he's known for.

And it was over. I took no pictures, but there was plenty of jumping around in our family room. And a happy, happy little boy went to sleep that night.

I'm having a hard time detoxing from my overexposure to Giants baseball. Hundreds of thousands of people showed up in downtown San Francisco yesterday to welcome their team back home with a "ticker tape" (aka confetti) parade. I was not among them. I wanted to be there...so badly. But I just couldn't convince myself that it was reason enough to pull Smunch out of school again...it seemed like the wrong message to send. And I couldn't fathom going without my little baseball buddy. I watched on TV, tears streaming down my face more often that not. And yes, I realize how silly that sounds. It just got to the point this year that I felt like I kinda knew these guys just a little bit. And this is what they live for. In many ways, it's a silly, shallow thing that they do...going out there and hitting a ball with a stick. But great sports teams have a way of galvanizing people. And it's so much nicer to have that kind of connection with someone than connecting through some kind of disaster.

It's been a fantastic baseball season. I'm going to be so sad to see some of the players leave before next year...as always happens. But the older I get, the more I understand how nothing lasts forever. All I can say is that I'm glad I was there to see these guys play while they were here.

Stretching the Spooky

Have you noticed that celebrations for children seem to go on and on and on these days? Was it like that when we were kids? Don't get me wrong. It's really fun, but it also makes each event something to "get past" before anything else can happen. Know what I mean? In this instance, of course, I'm talking about Halloweeen.

Halloween in our house started a full week and a half before October 31st. One of the fabulous mommies from Mam's kindergarten class hosted a Halloween tea for all the little girls in the class. She has the perfect house for such things...huge, unmanicured yard and a rambling, non-upated house. Nothing to destroy. Absolutely perfect. And, of course, it was crazy cute.We had a fun couple of hours relaxing in the sunshine and it was a great way to kick of the excitement for Halloween.

A few days later, we made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch, to meet old friends and see everyone's costumes. And, of course, to take photos of the kids that actually include pumpkins. Sir Smunch was a wee bit baffled, apparently.Mam, on the other hand, was all about the posing with pumpkins, even though the bright sunlight wasn't exactly camera-friendly.My sister and I used to pose for these very same pictures in this very same pumpkin patch. Things were simpler then. It wasn't crowded. There was no $5 bounce house, no haunted house. No pony rides or petting zoo. No costumes either. I need to get hold of those photos, just for comparison. I suppose we still did plenty of wandering among the pumpkins, but we didn't look nearly this noble.And I don't recall the need to kick-test them, but maybe that's a boy thing. I'm quite sure there was plenty of this: And my mom probably even helped us pick that pumpkin up and purchase it...unlike me. I opted for the $3.99 pumpkins at CVS instead of paying $20 for this bad boy.

The pumpkin patch trip (followed by the annual pilgrammage to Jake's Pizza) was a whole week before the big event, giving us time to work up some eager anticipation for the Halloween parties and parades at school on Friday. As usual, I overvolunteered my time, not realizing that Smunch's Halloween party was at the very same time as the kindergarten parade and party. Fortunately, the front of his classroom is directly opposite the back door to Mam's kindergarten room and I managed to go back and forth and not miss much.

However, I was in charge of one of two crafts for the second graders. And all 80 second graders would be rotating through Smunch's classroom, so it wasn't a small job. The craft had to be explained three times and I'd failed to cut streamers to length, which turned out to be a fatal flaw in my plans. There were always at least two of us busily cutting streamers as fast as we could. The projects turned out cute though and the kids seemed to like them.I loved seeing all the kids' ghost wind socks together on the table. They're way cuter as a "flock" than they are flying solo. I wished I could've taken them all home myself!In mid-craft, I ran over to the kindergarten yard to watch Mam's parade. It was small and low-key, but obviously, it was important that I made it. She was already dressed when I got there. After the grand march, the kids were treated to Frankenstein hands (gloves filled with popcorn with candy corn "fingernails") and pudding with chocolate crumbs on top...in addition to cheese pizza. Spoiled any?I ended up having to drag Mam back to the second grade room, where she made her own ghost, we cleaned up and hightailed it home for lunch before going back to school to help Smunch get dressed for the whole-school parade.
The parade was fun, but very long and too hot for so many kids sitting out on the blacktop. Mam only begrudgingly participated in this second parade, even though most of her class had returned for the event. For Smunch, it was the main event. But he didn't see me in the sea of parents, so I didn't get much of a photo.His mask was always falling down, so his chin was pointing up towards the sky trying to keep it on.

After the parade, the second graders (and many younger siblings) headed to the multipurpose room for a 20-minute viewing of It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, complete with their own Frankenstein hands (their other craft from the morning) for munching.Then all the little monsters and goblins went home for the weekend, completely hopped up on sugar and excitement...thinking the next 24 hours couldn't pass fast enough.

Soccer Girl

My daughter is a fiesty little girl. It's always irritated me that when it comes to sports she's...well, she's a bad sport. She took one soccer class a couple of years ago and loved it. But she was ready to be done and it quickly became something she only played with her brother. And, of course, playing with her brother is frustrating and tantrum inducing.

I signed Mam up for a week-long soccer camp with the idea that it would give me an idea whether to sign her up for AYSO soccer in the Fall. Of course, it turned out that I had to sign her up for AYSO back in April, so camp was useless in that regard. Fortunately, she loved it!She was happy to go every morning, she came home happy, fell asleep fast and slept long.

On the last day of camp, the kids had a World Cup tournament. Mam and her buddy from school were both members of Team Germany. Of course, she didn't bother to tell me that. Apparently, many of the kids didn't really inform their parents about the teams. During the "Parade of Nations" there was definitely an overrepresentation of American flags. During the games, she called for passes...bossily...she ran the field, she kicked the ball. She scored two goals for Team Germany...enough for them to win their game against Team USA. And she was a giant show-off about it. She took the soccer seriously, but not so seriously that she couldn't pose for a picture mid-game.This was probably the funniest moment of the tournament.That's almost the entirety of Team Germany standing in front of the goal. See anyone with the ball? Nope. The other team was at the other end of the field, fighting each other for the ball, with a single member of Team Germany playing offense. Turns out Mam has the same penchant for playing defense as her brother.

What floored me the most, however, was how much her brother enjoyed watching her and cheering her on. He's clearly her very biggest fan. After her second goal, he couldn't keep himself from running out on the field and giving her a big hug. It was very funny and very sweet. When the tournament was over there were more hugs even though Team Germany had hardly been dominant.I knew Smunch was a big sports fan, but what could be better than having your big brother as your biggest fan?

Bring on the Lights

Each year, our town has a ridiculously well-attended parade on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. As an adult, I don't think I'd spent my time or body heat going to the parade, but as a parent, this is an absolute must. The kids just can't miss the Festival of Lights parade and now that Smunch can read, I don't think he'll ever let us miss it again. There are too many fliers and posters about.

Although they changed the rules about saving yourself a spot this year...people used to put out chairs and tape of pieces of sidewalk for themselves days before the event, it didn't help. There was barely a spot left when we arrived nearly an hour before the start of the parade. Still, the kids had fun with glow sticks and running around in the street before the main event. I brought a thermos of hot cocoa, which turned out to be a brilliant idea.As with every year, downtown glittered with lights on the trees and lighted floats on the streets.The wait for Santa may have been a little long for us mere adult mortals, but I suspect it was worth every minute for our little folks. Apparently, excitement can keep you plenty warm!

Festival of Lights

Each year, in preparation for the holidays, our relatively quaint town in Silicon Valley holds a sweet little parade it calls the Festival of Lights. This year was its 30th year and it gave us an excuse to bundle up the kids and head downtown on Sunday night. Despite the fact that this is hardly a world-class spectacle, people taped off portions of the sidewalk and placed lawn chairs starting early Saturday morning. It may be a small community, but it's a very type-A community.

We're not type As and we didn't tape off or blanket our piece of sidewalk. We had to settle for the dregs of sidewalk sitting, which was just fine. We staked our our own little piece of curb on State Street just about 20 minutes before the parade started. Time enough to get some coffee for us and glow necklaces for the kids.







It's mostly a parade for the kids, but now that we've got kids, it's really a blast to watch their mesmerized little faces. Almost makes me feel like a kid myself!












The parade includes a fleet of hand-pushed "floated" decked out in lights, several local high school marching bands, fire engines, police cars and a smattering of other marchers dressed up and waving.


The grand finale each year is the arrival of Santa, complete with his sleigh and reindeer. Almost makes you want to go get a tree and put lights on your house, doesn't it. Nevermind that it's still November!