Batgirl's Halloween

Neither Billy nor I are big Halloween fans, but we get to enjoy it now because Nora loves everything involved.  Early in October we took a family trip to a local pumpkin patch that has several different types of kids activities.  Despite the face she's making in this photo, she claims the corn kernel sandbox was her favorite part.

We decorated the small pumpkin she picked out as a "Pumpkin Patch." Naturally, since we waited until after we returned from California to carve the giant pumpkin, that one had to be Minnie Mouse.  Nora also enjoyed eating the seeds Dad seasoned and toasted!

And, having saved the best for last, here are the pictures of Nora's costume this year. When I first asked her what she wanted to be, she wasn't sure.   We looked at a google image search of "toddler costumes," and I was excited that she kept picking Batgirl because I thought we were going to have one of a thousand Elsas.  BUT imagine my delight when I discovered that Batgirl's alter ego is Dr. Barbara Gordon, who has her PhD in Library Science and is the head librarian in Gotham City.  As you can imagine, this made the costume a big hit at the costume storytime we attended at our public library.

We sent Oma a few pictures of Batgirl and, as usual, she did an amazing job interpreting them and crafting a one-of-a-kind costume for Nora.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of Batdog, but Nora was VERY excited that Mom made her stuffed dog Percy a matching cape. Nora loved being one of many superheros in her class during the Halloween party and parade, and we stopped at a golf course near her school to take some pictures afterward.

We took Batgirl trick-or-treating around our court for the first time, and she did a great job talking to all the neighbors, telling them Happy Halloween, and saying thank you for her candy.  After that we went up to Gram and Pop's house to help hand out candy, which she also loved.  Based on her excitement about Halloween, we are in for a real treat come Christmas!

California Trip: Work and Tourism

We spent the latter half of our trip to California in Pasadena so I could conduct several days of research in the Mary Austin archive at the Huntington Library.  I had applied in advance for "reader's privileges" and was even awarded a travel stipend by my department to help defray the costs of the visit.  I was a little disappointed that my research didn't garner any big discoveries, but it was still productive. I got to look at plenty of information that relates to my dissertation chapter and even got to read a draft version of the novel that will serve as the focal point in the chapter.  Once I start focusing my work on that chapter, I'm sure I will get a better idea of how the things I read in the archive will be useful.

Billy decided to stay in California with Nora rather than traveling back home early, and I am so glad he did! It was great for me to have them with me for breakfast and dinner each day, and it allowed us to do several "touristy" type things that really made the trip memorable.  One of my favorite Mary Austin stories, The Walking Woman, tells the story of a woman who finds contentment through a combination of love, work, and motherhood.  Obviously, this story has always resonated with me, and it felt just exactly right to be doing my archive research on her with Billy and Nora in tow.

This also meant Billy and Nora got to enjoy plenty of daddy/daughter time while I spent long days at the library doing research.  Fortunately the weather was great for our entire visit, so they went to several different parks and a children's museum in Pasadena.

We also got to see my good friends Krista and Jordan and their girls, Clara (5) and Evie (4).  They live in Oakland now, and thanks to a last minute Disneyland trip, we were able to meet them for dinner on Monday as they drove back up north.  Even for a super short time, it was great to see them and get to see the girls interact for a little while.

One of the unexpected perks of doing research at the Huntington is free access to the grounds, which includes 120 acres of botanical gardens.  I finished my research early enough on my last day to spend several hours wandering around the gardens with Billy and Nora, and we barely saw even a fraction of the property.  I can't believe I never went there as a kid!  We visited the Rose Garden, Japanese Garden, and Children's Garden, but I would have loved to spend another day visiting the others.

We were fortunate to wrap up a great trip with a full day at Disneyland.  Initially we weren't sure how much Nora might enjoy the theme park at this age, but we decided to go anyway because I grew up going there regularly with my parents and siblings and wanted to be able to share the experience with my own little family.  We're so glad we went, because Nora loved it.  She is a big fan of "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse," a tv show for preschoolers, and she was so giddy about meeting the characters that she surprised me when she said the rides were her favorite part.  She handled lines up to 40 minutes long without a single complaint, and stayed cheerful and excited way past her bedtime despite not having a nap.  I was glad she was in good enough spirits to stay for the parade because she was jumping, dancing, and waving to the characters the whole time.  I don't know how much of it she will remember as she grows older, but she loved everything about it and for me and Billy, it was a perfect day.  I wish everyone in her family could have seen how thrilled she was with the whole day... but I guess we'll just have to go back!

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride was my dad's favorite and thus, our first stop.  It was pretty emotional for me to be there with Nora and Billy without any hope of ever going with Dad, but I know he would have been thrilled that Nora enjoyed it even though it "was kind of a little bit scary."

California Trip: Family

The day after Nora's birthday we flew to California for a much awaited family and work trip!  One of my dissertation chapters is about Mary Hunter Austin, whose primary personal archive is at the Huntington Library in San Marino.  The other three subjects of my dissertation have archives that are much easier for me to visit (two at Yale, one at Maryland), so I am fortunate I could combine a visit to see my Southern California family with my research at the Huntington.

Nora was very excited to fly on the airplane and had been anxiously awaiting the chance to do so.  We're happy to report that she was a terrific air traveler this time.  Now that she has a longer attention span for shows and movies, likes to play apps on my phone, and periodically falls asleep in her carseat if she's really tired, she was a great little flyer.  This was a HUGE relief to me and Billy after our trip to Oregon last year, when flying with her at just under 2 years old proved to be a disaster even with her own seat.

We arrived in LA late, so we stayed overnight at a hotel and slowly made our way up the coast to Lompoc.  We stopped for brunch on the beach in Santa Barbara at a restaurant we visited with my grandmother on one of our last visits before she passed away. The weather was so unexpectedly nice that we put Nora in her swimsuit and spent about an hour playing on the beach.  Both my maternal grandparents had their ashes scattered over the Pacific Ocean, so it was nice to spend such a peaceful, beautiful morning "visiting" them.

Once we got to Lompoc, we got to spend several days with my dad's family.  Aunt Ashley and Everett were even able to join us for our visit, and I think getting to share everything with her cousin was Nora's favorite part!

We visited the niche where the ashes of my dad, grandfather, great grandmother, and family friends are interred.  Nora was very excited to see that Mimi had placed little pumpkins in their vases!

My Aunt Carrie and Uncle Steve were kind enough to let me, Billy, Nora, Ashley, and Everett stay at their house.  Nora LOVED getting to "spend the night" with her family for so many nights in a row, and I liked having the chance to spend time with Billy, Carrie, Steve, and Ashley even after the kids went to sleep.  Everett will turn 2 in December, and it was fun to watch Nora play the role of "older cousin."  She is used to being "the little one" in most circumstances, but she adapted quite quickly to Everett's interest in what she was doing.  It was fun for us to see how much he has grown and developed since we last saw him a year ago.  He is VERY curious, just like his cousin.  Sometimes he is busy on the go and very chatty, and sometimes he seems happy to sit quietly and observe what's going on around him.  I could tell he was really paying attention to everybody, especially Nora, and that was cool to see firsthand.  I was such a shy kid growing up, and Nora can be that way too, so I was also pleased that he and Nora alike felt very at ease with all of our family members and happy to engage with them.

Unfortunately, I didn't take too many pictures of the big family and friends cookout Aunt Carrie and Uncle Steve hosted on Saturday night, but it was a lot of fun!  My cousin Christine even made the drive up from San Diego for the night to see us, and my cousin Russ was visiting, too.  Family friend Melissa is 9 years old now, and she was such a great little "babysitter" to Nora for the evening.

A big group of us went to the Santa Barbara Zoo, which was a fun thing to do with the kids and gave us a chance to chat with everyone who came: Aunt Carrie, Aunt Dana, the three of us, Ashley and Everett, and Aunt Kim and Uncle Craig.  We also stopped at In-N-Out afterward, where Nora was initiated into the neopolitan milkshake club.

Aunt Dana helped us pick out pumpkins and we carved them together at Mimi's house!

And Nora and Everett loved being escorted around Uncle Steve's farm, where they got to sit in the tractors, taste the vegetables from the fields, and take a "ride" in Papa's Model T.

Thank you to all my family members for making us feel so welcome!  We loved getting to spend time with everyone, and it was so fun to see Nora interact with so many of the people who made me feel special when I was growing up.  We love you guys!

Soon to come: pictures of the LA half of our trip and Halloween!