October 2021

Family Potpourri
—October 1, a Friday, was the season’s first official showing of The Nightmare Before Christmas here at our home cineplex. Always a highlight!
—October 2, we walked over to the lake park for a Water Lantern Festival, wherein participants would decorate a little square lantern (paper sides, balsa base, battery-powered votive) and launch it out onto the water; we were set to leave for Disneyland the next day, but it was a really cool little event and we all enjoyed the sight of all those lanterns in the water.
—Grandma & Grandpa were able to get booster shots, since they were in the first group of eligibility. Yay for more protection!
—We saw the Lendlers for the first time in nearly two years; we’d been planning on going up to San Rafael the weekend that things got really serious with Covid in March of 2020, but cancelled with the promise of rescheduling “in a few weeks.” Ha. Anyway, it was a fun day, which we were able to spend mostly inside until it got chilly around sunset.
—The weekend after we got back from Disneyland, R. and I went to see Wilco at the SJ Civic, a show that had been rescheduled from April 2020. Proof of vaccination required at the door and masks inside, it was really a thrill just to be there — genuinely a joyous occasion, and as nervous as we were beforehand, we were SO glad to have gone. Of note: We did not hire a babysitter, and instead left the kids in charge of themselves; at 14 — which is babysitting age — and 10, old enough to not get into trouble, we realized the kids could handle it themselves! And they did — I had Ami stop by about halfway through our absence just to check in, but it wasn’t even necessary. They made popcorn and watched movies, and when we got back, they told us we should do it again asap! lol.
—Dandy Day: We finally finally got some rain, just in time for the much shorter, no-walkathon Dandy Day, heh. DD itself was fun; Annika prowled around with Niamh and Alana, and Lukas and his friends hit every booth they had.

Return to Disneyland!
After a much-longer-than-expected time away, we finally got to go back to Disneyland on the October break! The Carneys had gone their on their school break, the week before, so we had some insider info, and we happened to be going at the same time (and staying in the same hotel) as the Patels, so we had some pre-trip strategy sessions with them. Finally, the day arrived — and as vaxxed as possible, all masked up, and armed with tempered expectations (no MaxPass, no Fantasmic, no early access, different rules to park-hopping), we set off. We spent the first afternoon just hanging around the hotel and DTD with the Patels, soaking up the atmosphere. The next morning, the group of us met up at GCH’s private security line to get virtual boarding groups for Rise of the Resistance (a new mega-headliner ride in Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge that was absolutely worth all the hassle), and then rope-drop into the park — straight to Radiator Springs Racers, of course! Unlike in years past, we couldn’t ride twice right away; the park was open to the general public already, and by the time we finished, the line was 90 minutes long! So we jumped into other rides, very simpatico with the Patels, and covered as much ground as we could — the new Avengers campus (including WebSlingers, another virtual queue ride that was so fun!), Guardians, etc. We stuck with our friends for a lot of that day and the following two; we really just worked so well together! Sometimes Lukas and Manir would ride something together, and then Annika and Amira would pair up and we grownups would ride in different combos (R. and Ritesh on Peter Pan was a highlight, lol). Lines were long and the park was packed, but we managed nearly everything we wanted to do, including things like riding Matterhorn at night. The Patels were only there for three days, so the last two, we were on our own; we ended up doing some rides, like the Mark Twain River Boat and the Jungle Cruise, that we hadn’t ever done or hadn’t done recently. On one of those days, the four of us got picked to open California Adventure — so exciting! (And then we had to run off to RSR, of course!). We even got to see the fireworks show from the plaza between the two parks on the last night! We all wore our masks 100% of the time (except while eating), and mask compliance was good indoors in general, but about 40% outside; we could tell there were a lot of non-Californians who weren’t used to masking, grrrrrrrrr. The day we left, Saturday, was actually Annika’s birthday; we had birthday breakfast beignets (and a small wrapped gift, per tradition) at Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen before we headed out. An exhausting trip, to be sure, but we were all just so glad to be back!

Annika turns 14!
So, the day of our return from Disneyland was also Annika’s 14th birthday; I had a lot to do when we got home! I made her a favorite meal (risotto) and cake (the raspberry chocolate layer one), and she opened her presents (clothes, anime merch, a few things from Disneyland, etc.). The next day, I had her place decorated at breakfast; altogether I think she had a good one. :-) Her birthday party was the next weekend; the same guest list as usual, but minus Niamh, who was on a trip with her new school and didn’t get back in time. So, Annika, Grace, Alana and Raina   — all vaccinated, and masked when possible — had pizza out on the deck, followed by night swimming (in the renovated pool, with the new lighting), and then a screening of The Nightmare Before Christmas with a hot chocolate bar (where I served hot chocolate in demitasse cups so they could have several different combos — with marshmallows, whipped cream, peppermint syrup, etc.) and lots of treats (three kinds of homemade cookies, plus some other varieties). Can’t do sleepovers in covid times, so the party was over at about 10:00 — it was a hit, and the girls seemed to have a great time. Happy 14th, baby girl!

Halloween
The Friday before Halloween, we had to get up early to get the kids in costume; Annika went as Himiko Toga, the same anime character she’d gone as last year, and Lukas was Edward Scissorhands — a movie he’s seen once, but announced his intention to be, months ago. It was a whole-family effort — I did the gathering and purchasing of costume elements (from Zappos to the hardware store to Spirit Halloween) and — with help from R. — the making of the rest (handmade cardboard scissor gloves, punching rivets through a pair of jeans, etc.), and Annika did the makeup and wig styling. The boy really committed to the part, including the walk, lol! It was a big hit with kids and teachers alike. Los Alamitos had their traditional costume parade, but parents aren’t allowed on campus anymore, so a bunch of us watched from the sidewalk on Firefly — hard to see a lot, but it was better than nothing! On Saturday, we all carved pumpkins, and on Saturday night, Annika went to a party at her old friends’ the Thomases, while R. and Lukas and I watched a movie. Sunday night, the 31st, we all went over to the Marshalls again, meeting up with several of Annika’s friends (Raina, Alana, Brenna, Aino briefly) and trying to avoid spending too much time inside (with people who are vaccinated, of course, but far more casual about masking and such than we are!). A return to almost-sorta-normal, with a few key differences …