Where Did October Go?

What happens when you combine all the fall's activities like soccer (with two different teams), Cub Scouts (with two different dens), the final weeks of tax season, holidays and a new job?  Well, I can tell you what DOESN'T happen...family blogging!

It's not that I haven't been blogging, but it's part of my new paid gig (kind of, read on).  And, unfortunately for my family, I find that the more I write, the more I want to write.  It's like unlocking almost nine years of not being able to complete a sentence.  I keep trying to remind them that they are lucky that I have a computer and that they aren't forced to listen to me ramble on for hours, but they aren't buying it.  It's just nice to feel useful in a non-child-serving capacity.

So, on to our family fun.

CAMPING AT INDIAN HILLS

October started off with the annual Cub Scouts camping trip to Indian Hills.  This is the site with the ultimate playground, zip line, archery, night hiking, panning for gold and mine exploration, enormous boulders for climbing, a bmx bike track and pretty much every fun and dangerous activity a school-aged boy could want to do.  Only a couple injuries incurred, but nothing serious.  Besides, Garrett's teeth were already loose.

 

 

 

 

 

My miner hard at work.  This kid is gonna find gold if he can't make it himself.

 

 

Unlike last year, Garrett had no fear of the zip line this year.  He must have forgotten about last year's Lego bribe.

   

HALLOWEEN

We skipped the expensive pumpkin patch as a family this year and went budget at Walmart.  The best part is that the kids didn't seem to miss it (and we saved ourselves a bundle on overpriced pumpkins and carnival rides, not to mention junk food and meltdowns).  All the kids really cared about is getting the pumpkins carved.  

My future surgeon.

And his sister that wouldn't even get close to the slimy pumpkin seeds.

The final product: A Pokemon character (not sure which one, the names all sound the same to me), a ghost, a bat, and...

...a spider.  Thanks to Dad and Nee Nee for doing the dirty work.  Now I know why they invented pumpkin beer.

Of course, it wouldn't be Halloween if we didn't have our yard decorated (gotta love the quick and easy spider webs).  And it wouldn't be a holiday with Aunt Renee without some sort of craft.  These are the bats, ghosts and spiders she made with the twins. 

 

But, really, it's about the costumes and the candy.  And the cousins.

 

 

I think it's entirely possible that Mark (cousin) enjoys scaring people a little too much.

And the twins loved getting up close to the decorations almost as much as getting the candy.

 

I figure this is the last year I can get away with taking all my favorite candy from the twins.

He's not just being silly...he really is THIS excited about his mound of candy.

We had some other fun too, like Blake's field trip to the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center (which I wasn't able to accompany him to), class parties, the Monster Mash at the boys' school, flu shots and the like.  Like I said, very busy...so much so that I haven't been taking many pictures.

TRAINING

The countdown is on for the Silver Strand Half Marathon the second weekend in November.  Brian and I are looking forward to taking a break from half marathons for a while.  It's not that we don't like racing (okay, maybe only until about mile 10), but we realized that we spent a small fortune on races this year.  BUT, if we find our training slipping, then it's back to the races we go!  Accountability works wonders.

WORK

Speaking of work, I have taken on some part time job responsibilities.  I am working as an independent contractor for a social media consultant, inputting Facebook posts and conducting blogger outreach.  The emphasis is on writing (and following up) and so far it's been fun!  I'm learning a lot, but I think my family is looking forward to me rounding the corner on the learning curve, since I'm spending WAY more time than usual at the computer (and don't think they aren't TOTALLY taking advantage of that).  But, for now, it fills a need for me and gives me a little extra spending money (possibly for the races I mentioned above, since I've missed another work out this week...).

MOTHERHOOD AND OTHER MUSINGS

In addition to my aforementioned job, I have also started a less family-specific and more motherhood-oriented blog called Motherhood and Other Musings.  Feel free to check it out.  If I'm lucky, maybe one day I'll make a few pennies off it.  To boost my viewership, however, I have also been writing articles to submit to mom blogging websites...which is another reason my computer and I have been spending so much time together. 

All in all, it's been a super busy fall.  Up next we have basketball for Garrett on the tail of the last few weeks of soccer, time off from school for Thanksgiving (and Thanksgiving itself), and several other things I should probably start planning for...right after I get my calendar updated.  Good think I have the sugar supply from Halloween to keep my going. :)

Out and About in San Diego

It's vacation time for the Wilcoxes...which means the annual week of "stay-cation" activities we get to enjoy as a family. This is by far the highlight of our summer.

We kicked things off with a day of good old fashioned picnicking with family at Santee Lakes. We even had our 15 (mili)seconds of fame as a local news station filmed us. This quickly became a game of "How Many Wilcoxes Can You Count". Wanna play? (click to access link) I think just about all 16 of us made it on the news clip to some degree. And the kids couldn't have had more fun at the splash pad. For the twins (who can't swim yet), it was a welcomed chance to play independently in the water...however they wanted. It was a great day and fun time spent with cousins.

If there is a table full of girls, you can bet Garrett will be near.

Coming off the 4th of July and needing to recover from way too many nights of going to bed late, we opted for a low-key bowling excursion on Tuesday. Unfortunately, I think the novelty has worn off some for the twins, who were done by the fourth frame (granted a game with six players does seem endless when the ball is getting stranded in the lane every other turn...or taking an eternity make its way to the pins, only to knock down ONE). And the boys were anxious to make their way to the arcade, where Garrett promptly spent the $4 in quarters he brought on pencil toppers (another pointless collectible)...and Blake spent most of his trying to win a stuffed dinosaur for Chase using "the claaaawww". No such luck, but a sweet gesture none the less.

We braved the beach on Wednesday...with the rest of San Diego and out of town visitors. But the boys love any opportunity to crash into waves and the twins to dig in wet sand. Garrett also got try out his new boogie board, which he picked up quickly.

Blake has been saving diligently for an iPod Touch, so rather than spend his money on a boogie board, he opted for the less expensive water toy- the pool noodle.

The twins are still not too excited about moving water, but Chase had a great time making friends with the sand crabs and Ella enjoyed the multiple trips to the "big girl potty" and the perpetual process of getting sandy, showering off, getting sandy, showering off, so on and so forth.

Chase's red bucket is full of sand crabs.

Even though going to the movie theater for the first time to see Cars2 was supposed to be Chase's potty training reward (it didn't take long for me to realize that unlike his sister, Chase isn't quite ready to potty train), we had planned to go all along and decided to go through with it. The twins did better than I thought through the previews, but Chase promptly declared he was ready to go home after they ended (flashback to fireworks...). We convinced him to stay and to eat his popcorn. They made it through almost half of the movie before they decided they would rather explore. Ella was especially upset to learn that when the movie ended, it was over and time to go home. She learned the hard way that movies at the theater do not pause while you get up to play. Needless to say, the twins' lack of naps this week was quickly catching up with them.

But not to worry...the backyard camp out was sure to wear them out! We saw this as a trial run for "real" camping and campfire fun for the twins. The kids had a blast roasting hot dogs and smores on the little red bbq.

And playing outside after dark wasn't so bad either.

But NOTHING can compare with sleeping in the tent!

Do you think someone is excited?

It was a perfect night for camping and I loved that the option of modern conveniences was footsteps away! The kids did great sleeping in the tent (except maybe Chase, who was fighting with his brother in his sleep...literally! and Ella who woke up three times to go potty).

Judging from the next morning, I would say it was a success.

But, alas, what would a true vacation be without a trip to Urgent Care? Chase tripped running out of the tent and spent the night and morning scooting around so as not to put pressure on his foot. An x-ray confirmed no broken bones, but follow up will be necessary if it doesn't improve by next week (which it seems to be, thankfully!).

And then there were the little things that make vacation...plenty of junk food, time spent with extended family, staying up late and sleeping in (for the kids at least), lots of sunshine and water and hopefully some good memories. Restful and relaxing? Not exactly...but nothing with four kids ever is. And it's just enough to make you long for the predictable chaos that is "normal" to recover from the "fun".

Something tells me I'm not the only one...

Dos Ninos at Dos Picos

Actually, there were about 10 boys all together. And a few girls. It was an "unofficial" Cub Scouts camping trip to Dos Picos campground in Ramona and the kids had a blast. I think the grown-ups did too. Campfires, fishing, hiking and playing...what more could a boy ask for?

After spending hours packing up the Explorer, Brian made the 20 minute drive to the campgrounds. Let's just say that Brian would have made a pretty good Cub Scout (..."always be prepared"). Camping is one of his absolute favorite things to do, so he was happy to arrange for the trip and is always looking for a good excuse to put his flashlight collection to use (you think I'm kidding...). Besides, Renee is a professional when it comes to camping- literally!

After settling in to camp, the boys set out with the telescope to do some star gazing. The park ranger even crashed their party and helped point out some of the constellations. Gotta love and activity where the kids lay still and concentrate!

Day two started with a pancake breakfast which Brian started cooking at the crack of dawn. Making pancakes for 16+ people is a big job! But he loves it...and it's part of the camping experience. And, by the way, it's a little known fact that camping and bacon go hand-in-hand. The bacon was such a hit that it was subsequently added to EVERY single meal thereafter.

Renee (Brian's sister), is a wildlife biologist and was kind enough to make the trip from Arizona to teach the boys about birds and help them to earn their birding patch.

After a short lesson on birds, bird habitats and bird identification, they ventured out hiking and birding. Here is some of what they found:

A hawk's next, probably a Red Shoulder Hawk.

An owl house.

Kudos to Renee for getting 12 kids to walk quietly, look and listen for bird sights and sounds and use the binoculars for their intended use! Well done! And I bet they actually learned a thing or two.

After lunch and some intense lightsaber duels, the boys once again set out for some fishing and playground fun. And while each boy had a chance to fish, only one fish was actually caught (and thrown back), although there were a few "near" misses.

When they weren't fishing, the kids were enjoying the outdoors and fantastic playgrounds on the premises (the more antiquated "wooden" structure became known as the "splinter" playground...

but then there was the newly constructed, plastic and metal playground which was better suited for climbing, sliding, etc). All in all, there were plenty of ways to expend their energy.

The second night was met with a campfire, hot dogs (with bacon, of course), monkey bread (compliments of Renee), campfire stories and just good old fashion camping fun. The twins especially enjoyed joining in some of the "camping" fun like exploring the campgrounds (or looking for dinosaur bones), greeting the "dinosaur" ducks, wandering in any and every direction, being mesmerized by the campfire...but especially playing in the tent.

Ella-Goldilocks-Wilcox tried out every bed and warm accessory (hats, scarves, jackets) and stayed in there for quite some time playing with flashlights in her new "house".

Chase figured out pretty quickly that the "door" was zipped closed and he was therefore "locked in" so he didn't spend as much time in the tent.

Most of his time was spent at the table eating all the junk food he never gets at home. I think the twins may have even had too much fun, as I was up most of the night with them (at home), trying to comfort them from their nightmares.

Maybe it was the spooky pair of eyes they felt watching them...which happened to be just the hungry raccoon waiting patiently for someone to leave the trash unattended. Either way, next time we will be tenting it!

Everyone packed up the next morning and headed home just in time to miss that evening's rain storm. Friends, family, fun, the great outdoors and a few new skills. What more can you ask for? Hasta la vista...