Kids Cabin Halloween Party

Brooke's good friend, Ryan, invited Brooke to attend a Halloween party on Saturday at the Kids Cabin.  Although we don't love the physical location of Ryan's neighborhood (click on link to see) since it's not close enough to town for us ex-city dwellers, we LOVE all the cool activities/facilities, etc it has to offer (Kids Cabin complete with Adventure Trail, waterslide, pool, restaurants, tennis courts, ice rink, pond stocked with fish for the kids to catch, sailboat, free ski instruction with Olympic skier, horse back riding at their equestrian center, world class golf course, community movie theater with free movies for residents, hiking trails, bike baths, gym with great classes, organized activities, etc.  Never seen anything quite like it).  Although most of the houses at Promontory are around 6000 sq ft, they do have 'cabins' available at 2,000 sq feet which would make a great vacation home (hint, hint).   Mom & Dad, when you come at Thanksgiving, I think you need to tour Promontory so that you consider a condo in Park City (the same applies to Carol and to Ron when you come out next time)!  :)

 Brooke, Keller and a new friend (aka Snow White)

Kids gathered around to learn rules of a game

 Brooke with her friends Keller (robot) and Ryan (bandito)

 Bunny getting dressed as a chicken

 The kids posing in front of the Kids Cabin.  They played games, had pizza and then went trick or treating around Promontory.

Garden After Dark 2011

On Thursday evening, we went down to Salt Lake City's Red Butte Garden for their annual Halloween event called "Garden After Dark".  Every year the theme is slightly different.  This year's was all about bioluminescence--plants and creatures that glow in the dark.  As always, we arrive around dusk and stay for about 2 hours, by which time the garden is pitch-black.  It is truly beautiful to wander through the gardens underneath the moon, particularly when lit by twinkling lights, black lights and fire pits.   We have such a fun time that it has become an annual tradition for our family.   If you haven't been and are in Utah during October, it is definitely worth the trip.

 Busy making her owl mask at The Sprout House

 The yellow highlighter glows under the black lights

 The snake maze ends at the 'mouth' of the snake....tonight they had it lit up with smoke coming out

 Brooke running thr

 Running through snake maze (during the summer, it is covered in green plants.  Right now it is mostly vines and lights (the lights look cool once it gets dark)

 Brooke at the Make A Wish table.  You write your wish on a star with glow in the dark ink and then hang it up on the star walk when you are through.

 Brooke posing by Star Walk

 Learning how to make a 'magic mushroom' (ha!  Not THAT kind...this is just the glow in the dark kind)

 Attempting to give the correct 'mushroom' shape to the bag

 Coloring the mushroom and adding color

 Brooke and Daddy posing at the start of the glowing maze (they had 'glow worms' hanging from the ceiling, glow in the dark spiders, stars, etc).  As you can see, it started getting dark pretty quickly from this point on.

 This was one of our favorite things.  They hung up a sheet with special light pens.  The kids could draw on the sheet--drawings would glow and then disappear.  Adults were pushing their way in to try it out, too.

 Unicorn prancing ahead down the path

 Entering 'the enchanted forest' (last year it was a spooky walk, so this one was a lot more fun)

 Unicorn with her Daddy in enchanted forest.

 Magic mushrooms in enchanted forest (also lots of butterflies and fairies....and, unfortunately, spiders on their webs, as well)

 Glowing bubbles

 Unicorn watching the glowing bubbles

 Daddy and Brooke on way to one last romp through snake maze before going home (John and I were both wearing our puffer jackets and were FREEZING)

Running through the maze for the final time....dark, smokey and crowded.  It felt good to get in the warm car and go home

World's Biggest Leaf Pile

John was raking the fall leaves this morning, so Brooke took advantage:

I Left My Heart In San Francisco

We (me and Brooke) accompanied John on his last business trip to San Francisco.  First, he was going to be gone for two weeks in a row with only 15 hours at home.  Second, because I was really missing San Francisco and my friends there.  And third, Brooke had been asking about it so I thought it she was old enough to start appreciating where she was born, where mommy was from and where mommy & daddy met and lived for many years before she was born.

Of course there was a heat-wave while we were there (apparently one of the first heat waves all year), so we had beautiful weather during our entire trip.  This always makes trips there bitter sweet....it is so easy to forget the days of endless fog during 85 degree days in the most beautiful city in America.  Made us all very wistful.  Including Brooke:  she kept asking why we ever left San Francisco in the first place.  She couldn't stop exclaiming how beautiful everything was and saying "wow!  San Francisco is the most wonderful place I have ever seen!".  She thought that driving over the hills was like being on a roller coaster and she loved the beach, the bridges and the 'jail island'.  It didn't hurt that she was able to play with her good friend, Kyle (who she knows from Park City) on our first day there along with her babyhood friend Lila (who we see every time we are back in SF).  We also got to go to Amy's house and Brooke hung out with her little ones, Everett & Harper.  Brooke loved hanging with the 'big kids'!

On our first morning, John went down to his meeting and I took Brooke to Crissy Field to meet Kyle, Lila and their parents (and younger siblings).  The kids chased birds, played in the sand, in the water and with each other.  It was a perfect morning back in the city.  We showed Brooke the first house she lived in for the year after she was born (1/2 a block away from the marina green).  On the second day, we went downtown to do some shopping.  After getting Brooke the bridal veil and bouquet set she had been asking for at the Disney store (a bribe to behave while I shopped), we went to Neiman Marcus for lunch in the Rotunda Room.  We had a wonderful (if not inexpensive--that was probably our priciest meal of the trip) meal and then Brooke wanted to go look at the women's shoes.  The Manolo Blahnik rep happened to be there and got a kick out of Brooke looking at women's shoes dressed as a little bride.  She asked our permission to take photos of Brooke wearing their 'wedding shoe' (beautiful blue satin pump with rhinestones) to send to their president.  She thought it would be cute for their 'First Look' campaign.  Would be great if she ended up with a modeling contract in return for our shopping trip!  :)  We met up with daddy that evening, had a cocktail and then went to our old favorite neighborhood Thai restaurant for dinner.  I miss having access to such wonderful food for very little money!

On Saturday I took Brooke to the Academy of Sciences which was one of the highlights of our trip (for her).  It opened the fall that we moved out of the city so it was my first time in the new building.  While the new building is spectacular, it was a little sad that the old building I remember from my childhood is gone.  There was a cool rainforest exhibit where you could walk among the creatures and plants (including butterflies!).  Below us was an aquarium that you could go underneath.  Brooke loved looking up and seeing the fish swimming above her...she kept asking if she was under water and why should could breathe (it was while we were walking around this exhibit that we received the sad news about Jack.  I tried to explain to Brooke that Jack had been sick and was now in Heaven).

In the afternoon, we met MY childhood friend Nicole and her family (her son Victor is two months younger than Brooke and we spent a lot of time together when the babies were infants).  We met them at the new Children's Museum at Yerba Buena Gardens.  It was opening weekend so everything was free, including the old carousel (dates from the same time as the Palace of Fine Arts).  We had a lovely time!  Brooke had a bit of a crush on Victor (she says that he smiles a lot and that he was cute). 

We had to leave at noon on Sunday, so that morning we took a drive around the city and up to the Headlands so that Brooke could have her drive across the bridge.  She kept crying when it was time to go home because she wanted to move to SF.  Maybe someday, Brooke!  Daddy and Mommy love it just as much as you do.

 3726 Webster St (sniff!)

 Brooke & Iris at Crissy Field

 Brooke, Lila & Iris

 Kyle, Brooke & Lila

 Kim, Tina & Jeremy

 Beautiful view of the city from Crissy Field

 Brooke, Jeremy & Kyle

 Kyle, Jeremy & Brooke

 Brooke with her favorite shoes (she wants Santa to bring her the sparkly blue one for Christmas)

 Brooke with Harper & Everett on our walk up Union Street for frozen yogurt after dinner

 Brooke & Harper with Olive (Brooke wants a doggy just like her.  So does mommy)

Below:  one of the photos the Manolo Blahnik rep took along with several photos from the Academy of Sciences and Kids Museum (the clay figures were things we all made for our own claymation video.  Brooke made the princess and I made the unicorn).