Hallowonderful

Halloween is always one of Ava's favorite "holidays" and the season of spookiness lasts several weeks at our house.

Actually, preparations began several months ago when Grammy and Poppy started growing pumpkins in their back yard.  The pumpkins were successfully harvested, have decorated our home, and will be carved up later today.

Ava has had many chances to get into the Halloween spirit beginning with a trip with her friends to Disneyland to dress up, enjoy the rides, and trick or treat.  

Reconnecting with the earth, Ava's class visited Tanaka Farms where she got to pick her own pumpkin.

At this point we really didn't need more pumpkins, but a trip to the pumpkin patch is always fun for exploring and going on rides.  

How come they didn't have bounce houses and slides at pumpkin patches when we were kids?

Blue Jay Way

In her second year at Brywood - and her first year "in a grade" - Ava is becoming a proud member of the Blue Jay family.  She participates in all the school activities available to her including Dress Like a Pirate Day, Twin Day, the pancake breakfast.  Last week she rode the school bus to Tanaka Farms where the kids picked pumpkins and other veggies, and were able to visit the petting zoo.  

Of course there's more to school than theme days and field trips.  Ava loves her teacher and spends a lot of time on Reading, 'Riting, and 'Rithmetic.  She seems to learn something new each day and has fun doing so.

Breakfast with Shamu

Ava loves getting up close to the animals at Sea World, and her favorite show is "One Ocean" featuring Shamu, baby Makani, and friends.

As you approach the main stadium you can get a view of the killer whales (orcas) under water.  Usually they swim quickly by, but every once in a while (or if your camera is on burst mode) they slow down enough to snap a picture of them.

Partially visible from the main areas, but still somewhat hidden, is Dine with Shamu.  Thanks to a birthday present from Auntie Hannah, we were able to take Ava to Breakfast with Shamu.  Featuring a full buffet spread, we were able to enjoy our food while being just a few feet away from the whales.

As we ate, so too did the wales.

The whales had time for free play, but also put on a splash-tastic show for us.  It was a lot of fun and we'd highly recommend the breakfast experience to anyone who loves Shamu.

The Baseball Bunch

As the baseball season winds down, we'd like to take a look back at Ava's own year in baseball.  Some of these moments have been represented on our blog (Arizona, San Diego, Worcester, Boston, and New York), but several more remain.

In six years, Ava has been to 9 Major League ballparks and is well on her way to seeing all 30 top flight stadia.  This year Ava has seen minor league up and comers in Rancho Cucamonga and San Bernardino, has played at the new Dodger Stadium playgrounds, watched Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers on the road in San Diego, went to her first A's game, and has received autographs from numerous mascots, current, and former players.

Even though the Dodgers didn't win the World Series this year, there's always next year...

   

New York, New York (Part 2)

After being closed for almost nine months, we were fortunate that the Statue of Liberty re-opened while we were on vacation.  We were lucky enough to get tickets that allowed us to climb to the top of the monument.  The inside of the monument includes a museum featuring Lady Liberty's former torch, artifacts, and replicas showing just how large she really is.

The views of the City from Liberty Island were beautiful and the statue itself was quite impressive.

Ava is a fan of Eloise - a six year old who lives at The Plaza.  As a very special treat we enjoyed an Eloise Tea complete with sandwiches, scones, and sweets.

Moving from Manhattan to the Bronx, we visited the New Yankee Stadium.  Ava is proud of the fact that she is older than the new stadium (opened in 2009).  Living outside of DC for three years before the Nats came to town, Chris and Abby's closest MLB team was the Baltimore Orioles who happened to be in town.  Ava proudly cheered against the hometown Yanks without getting any dirty looks from the locals.

Even though the Yankees don't have a mascot, Ava was able to meet the Cracker Jack mascots Sailor Jack and his dog Bingo.

Taking a break from the hubub of Manhattan, we took the subway to Brooklyn to enjoy some time at the beach including visiting the original Nathan's, jumping into the Atlantic, and enjoying some of the carnival amusements.

Heading back into the City, we stopped by the New York Public Library where Ava entered the scene from Goodnight Moon and saw the original Winnie the Pooh animals. 

Just behind the library is Bryant Park where adults were laying out in the sun and kids were enjoying the carousel.

We wandered around Rockefeller Center and the surrounding area on our last morning in town.

The final stop of our trip was the American Museum of Natural History where we saw halls of mammals, Ava got in touch with her Micronesian roots, we got up close with dinosaurs, and Ava was able to touch gems and minerals.

Ava really enjoyed her time in New York and is looking forward to a trip in the future.  Goodbye New York City!